Great Wall

My wife and I are English teachers in China, and her family (5 people besides us) came to visit us in China. We wanted to take them to Qinhuangdao to see the ocean and the Great Wall. This hotel was a good choice for us, and at a reasonable price as well. The rooms were very clean. The beds were pretty comfortable by China standards, and the bathrooms had nice Western toilets, a good size sink for 2 people, and a tub with shower. The people at the front desk were very helpful in several situations: helping us carry our bags to our rooms, recommending places to eat, telling us where we could find a China Unicom to put money on our phones, and helping us choose the right buses to get to the Great Wall and ocean. We ate at one of the restaurants for dinner one night. The restaurant was a little pricey for the meals that we got, but it was still a good experience with excellent service. We also had breakfast included with our stay. This was very good with a wide selection of things to eat: omelet and egg bar, buffet style line with a lot of Chinese breakfast options, and a toaster with different kinds of breads, butter, and jams. There was also a bar, a spa, and another restaurant here that we didn't try. In other words, this hotel had a lot of options and things for people to try. Although we didn't try all of them, the ones we did try were very good for us. Overall this was a very good hotel for us to stay at for the price that we paid. We had a good nights rest in a clean room and got the help we needed to find the Great Wall, which I highly recommend seeing.

Took my son ( living in Beijing) here to see the sea. Booked via eLong - which came up with this hotel as being 'seaside'. Most certainly wasn't. Not really impressed. Asked for a non-smoking room - which we were given, which stank of smoke and had numerous cigarrette burns in the carpet. Only stayed one night but I was disappointed in the experience. Definitely aimed at business clients and the 'Standard Twin' room even charged extra if you used the Nescafe in your room. After a courtyard hotel in Beijing which was so relaxed and hospitable this was a disappointment. Nice public rooms however, and the 'Coffee' Restaurant was a good place to hang out. Everything seemed to close down very early.

Pros: - in the middle of town - service was fine - free internet Cons: - breakfast was bad - dinner wasn't very good - not located near the water