City Hotel

I can't believe how accurate some of the bad reviews here can be. The place is constantly under renovation of sorts but I don't see any work done. Sheets of plastics are laid all over the corridors. The room however is clean and pretty standard though WiFi is almost non-existence unless you made the effort to stand outside on the corridor near the lift, which I did, in order to make urgent calls. Please note that they charge 10CNY for their maps. I mean, seriously that is the first time I heard a hotel charging for maps. And it's not even a hostel. It is a proper hotel. NONE of the previous hotels/ inns/ hostels from the 7 provinces of China I been to charged for maps. You don't have to buy it. The city is well-connected underground through the train station and easy to walk. You can easily download a map online or just snap a photo at one of the various signage maps underground. There is one provision shop just opposite the door step and another supermarket within 1 minute walk. It is right behind a series of shopping malls and train station. With good landmarks like the Bell Tower and Drum Tower, you can hardly get lost. I sent my clothes for washing and they can't send it back to my room. When I reached the room and called the reception regarding my clothes, they told me to collect from the reception desk the following morning within the specific time. The room does not come with breakfast either. While it isn't downright bad, I honestly won't consider staying there again. It might be better to pay a little more for the higher star hotels or simply stay in a cheaper AirBnB option.

Don't go by the pictures for this place - you will be sorely disappointed. They demanded a 200 CNY deposit, hilariously there's an itemised list of charges in the room for any kind of imaginable damage... staining the sheets or dropping cigarettes on the carpet. How they could possibly know, I've no idea - the entire shower cubicle (glass) was cracked and taped over... the carpet was frayed, and covered in stains, bits of old gum and I don't want to know what else. Stained sheets, dusty curtains and a stink of mould. The best bit? Being outside all day in the rain, freezing cold waiting for a bus... finally making it back in to discover there was no hot water. After a long wait, the best that could be achieved was lukewarm. It was 5 degrees outside, and the heating in the room also didn't work. I was so cold, I stuck the tiny little hairdresser under the dusty sheets with me for warmth. People were smoking in the hallways, and dropping ash all over the nasty carpet. They even smoked in the lift. This hotel needs to be completely refitted - it is nasty. There was a lovely 1 inch gap under my door too, so I could hear everything going on in the hallway. And there were a lot of goings on, with drunken Chinese guests and screaming kids running around at all hours. Laundry service is hysterically expensive, considering how budget the hotel is - 8 CNY per pair of underpants, 60 CNY per pair of trousers/skirt etc. I travelled alone and at 5am when I needed a taxi to the airport, no one would help me at reception, citing that 'they don't have any taxi numbers'. They absolutely did not care to help me. No English is spoken here either so come prepared if you're crazy enough to stay.

The pictures and the image on arrival do not reflect how it is. It is old and needs a complete refit and has an air of dirty and run down.There is a smell of cigarette smoke everywhere from the lobby to the lift and in all the corridors, so this then drifts into the room, very unpleasant. Dirty, frayed carpets,ragged curtains and thin, torn towels are immediately obvious. The bed was like sleeping on a sheet of corrugated iron, I found two extra duvets in the wardrobe, folded them in half and slept on top of these to make it just about bearable. Stayed 6 nights, WI-fi didn't work, cups and glasses were not changed, neither was the bedding. The internet did work in the lobby, sometimes. The location is the only good thing, close to the metro, underpasses, shopping centers and the main tourist sights of the Bell and Drum Towers. Breakfast was a small Chinese buffet, nothing appetizing or exciting, go out if you have a choice, there is a Starbucks nearby.