Culture Plaza Hotel

Stayed here for five nights in a single room. The good things I can praise the hotel are the room size (pleasantly big), room temp is ok and easily adjustable, the bed (king size!) and its pillows, and the nice sturdy disposable slippers. Unfortunately, the room, which was in a non-smoking floor, smelled like cigarette at times; lacks enough light (during the evenings I found the room so dark that its hard to read or do work), hangers in the closet were dusty, remote control doesnt have English in it, TV is smart tv type and purely Chinese as well (also I dont know if you need to pay to watch the movies or not, no information at all), breakfast was the same everyday but the spread (chinese) was alright, and nothing to see within walking distance except a multi-story bookstore (but the books are all in chinese).

This is a nice modern hotel with only one drawback ...the hairdryer is the kind that attaches on the wall and looks like a vacuum cleaner! . Not a big deal though. The owners also have a bookstore so there is a library feel to the room . very nice . Good buffet breakfast too.

Checked out 7th November after six nights in room 1802. The room is quite large with a firm kingsize bed - slept like a log - and a huge bathroom - the bathroom has a shower over the bathtub which might be awkward for some - I found it ok. The room is basically quiet without much road noise from outside the building although some muffled sounds can be heard from the room next door if people are speaking loudly. The room comes with free wifi and the included breakfast has a large range of options - I enjoyed freshly cooked eggs or omelettes each day. The only two negatives that I encountered were beyond the hotel's control. On the 5th floor there is a huge Chinese Restaurant "Ming Ren Ming Ren" restaurant where I felt unwelcome.I think the restaurant has different ownership to the hotel. See my separate Tripadvisor review under "HangZhou MingRenMing Jia (Wen No.2)" The other negative were loud and noisy guests coming back late at night - on two nights there was yelling between rooms either side of mine. On the second night I had to open my door, at midnight, asking them to "please be quiet"..no problems after that. This hotel is located near the CBD and close to Westlake Cultural Square - there are some interesting local restaurants withing a few hundred metres of the hotel. Try the Sushi restaurant "Share Manu"...fresh sushi made on the spot - across the road is a small noodle shop - no English spoken or an English menu...Nuirou Mian and you will eat a nice bowl of Beef Noodles - about 100 metres to the right of the hotel is a little whole in the wall shop making biscuits and sweets...just right for those of us with a sweet tooth. I found all hotel staff friendly and helpful - front desk - restaurant - house keeping and in the coffee shop near the entrance. I didn't find any problem speaking English with staff, at times there were a few laughs - I use a translator app called Pleco that is helpful when you get stuck. I recommend this hotel for good value, at around AUD $80 with wifi and breakfast,