China’s hotels develop fast due to the booming economy and recent increase in tourism. There are a good many well- reputed international hotels as well as China-born hotels for your choices in most popular destinations, such as Beijing, Xi’an, Chengdu, Guilin, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Hangzhou, Suzhou etc. You can select normal hotels from 3 stars to 5 stars. Besides, many international and domestic brand boutique hotels are also good choices for those travelers who prefer to have more personalized and unique experience. The following tips are good to know before you travel to China.
▶ Can the hotel staff understand English?
For all the 5 star hotels, the receptionists at the Front Desk can speak good English, and most of the other staff (room service, restaurants servants, etc) can speaking some English, more or less. For most of the 3 star and 4 star hotels, especially the hotels selected by our company, many hotel staff can understand English and some can speak English well.
▶ Is the tap water drinkable in hotels?
Tap water is not drinkable except in some of the hotels. In hotel rooms, there will be thermos of boiled water offered by the hotel free of charge or sometimes an electrical water boiler with which you can boil water by yourself. Bottled mineral water is recommended, especially for the first few days of your tour. The bottled water can be purchased easily for about ＄0.3 to ＄0.75 per bottle everywhere. In general, the hotel provides 2 free bottles water in your room each day.
▶What are the hotels like in China?
There are lots of hotels in China. Quite a few of them are above 3 stars. Hotel star in China is assessed by China National Culture and Tourism Bureau with very strict criteria. Generally speaking, the services and facilities by the hotels above 3-star include:
1)C entral control air-conditioner, a color TV, telephone, refrigerator and a double curtain in the room
2)A private bathroom with 24-hour hot water, disinfected towels and glasses, tooth brushes & paste, soap, bath lotion & shampoo and toilet paper.
3)One or two beds, a wardrobe, and a dressing table, with ceiling lamps and bedside lamps.
4)An electrical water boiler, with which you can boil the water to drink.
5)Round-the-clock room service
6)Concierge service, bank service of exchanging money& post card delivery service
7)Business center
▶ About China hotels all-sided circumstances
The check-in hour in most of China hotels is 14:00 and the check-out hour is 12:00. Although an early check-in is usually available if you negotiate this with the hotel staff very often a late check-out will inevitably raise an additional surcharge.
Most hotels will ask for a cash deposit upon check-in and often it can be more than the total rental of the room itself.
Finally, many guests have reported that the beds in Chinese hotels are not of adequate softness. This is because the Chinese believe that the bed must not be too soft as a hard bed helps to maintain a sleepers body and posture.
Throughout China (including Hong Kong), 220 volt/50 cycles is used. If your appliances are designed to operate at 110 volts, then you will need a Converter. Two-phase and three-phase sockets are commonly used in hotels. You may also need an adapter plug in order to use your electrical appliances, however thankfully in most cases, should you forget to bring your own you can always ask the housekeeper or the front desk personnel to lend.
