Golden Shine International

I’ve stayed at various levels of accommodation in China over the past five years and this hotel ranks in the bottom three. It is actually two buildings, both with large, cavernous lobbies. The building with the reception desk often has smokers (despite non-smoking signs) in it and the smoke swirls throughout the huge space...including to the second (mezzanine) level where the mediocre breakfast is served). Front desk staff do not speak English. Hallways to the rooms are dark, with filthy carpet and a smoky/musty odor. The elevator door doesn’t stay open very long and I have the bruises on my arms to prove it. Get in quickly! My room had adequate space, but the dirtiest carpet I’ve seen so far—lots of large stains and obviously the vacuum cleaners are not picking much up. The bathroom had what I call ‘drain flies’ flitting around. Water pressure was adequate and water stayed hot. Shower curtain rather dingy looking. The bathroom exhaust fan actually worked quite well. Towels were thin, with holes in them. I had to ask repeatedly for clean towels the second day and to have my room made up. Bed linens were clean and pressed—the cleanest part of the room. Air conditioning was inadequate but the outdoor temps were lovely and cool and the window opened. Too much traffic noise at night, but at least you could cool the room down. My friend’s room across the hall was smaller in size but just as grubby. The best thing this hotel could do is tear out all of the carpet and put in tile floors (and then keep them clean). There is a pleasant park nearby, many restaurants and a Starbucks within two blocks. After the inedible breakfast (noodles were cold, fruit was flavorless, no yogurt, eggs had cracked shells), we spent our remaining mornings at Starbucks, starting with coffee and a pastry as soon as they opened and staying until noon (for a mango/passionfruit smoothie). There’s a lovely bakery across the street from Starbucks and a MacDonalds (if necessary, not my choice in China!).

Booked this hotel via agoda, stayed 2 nights in April 2016. It is a very big hotel. The building is modern, the room was kind of old. It is a typical Chinese hotel, not suitable for western style. The location is good, lots of eating places around. The service was basically met the requirement.

Stayed here for 3 nights. It's located slightly far away from center of the city, but it's relatively easy to get to everywhere in Dalian from here with taxi. The room is average, but I really liked taking morning strolls at the park nearby that had a beautiful river. They did fail to register my residence with the authority, but they were able to provide a written and stamped proof of residence that I was able to use to get residence permit in China.