Introduction to China Accommodation

Hotels range from five-star to one star-rated, inexpensive hostels, local guesthouses and roadside inns. Some hotels offer typical Chinese or local features and architecture, while others are completely modern, and of course there are those that are simply average.

Not all the hotels can accommodate foreign visitors, but three, four and five star-rated hotels certainly do. There are both domestically run hotels and international chain hotels, especially in highly developed or tourist cities, where you may find Sheraton, Shangri-la, Hilton, Hyatt, Holiday Inn, Four Seasons, and so on.

Price, however, is not a good guide to quality. Eastern China, for instance, is far more expensive than western China. Large cities are more expensive than small cities. Tourist cities are more expensive than non-tourist cities. Most hotels charge much higher rates during major holiday periods, particularly around Chinese New Year, the first week in May and the first week in October. Even within a major city, a more expensive hotel is not necessarily the best.

Quality can also vary considerably between hotels of the same star rating. Standards of service and cleanliness vary in the lower star-rated hotels, as does the amount of English that is spoken. Four and five star hotels, particularly those from international chains, have some staff who speak reasonable English, but it is unusual to find the majority of the staff not speaking any English. In three star hotels the people on the reception desk can usually be relied on to speak some English. It is not difficult to reserve a hotel by phone, fax or on the Internet. However, hotels of less than three stars may not have staff with good English-speaking skills, which makes phone or even e-mail reservations difficult or unreliable at times. Many travel agencies, tourism or transportation companies offer a reservation service, and there are many on-line reservation centers offering very fast and nice service.

Do not leave money or valuables lying about in your room. Take them with you or leave them in the security in the room or at the receptionist if it is available. Common check-in and checkout times are respectively after 2pm and before noon. Extra costs will be charged if you check in before 6am.