Holiday Inn Chengdu Oriental Plaza — Hotel in Chengdu

As I am now a Spire Ambassador, I cannot imagine how any elite members would want to stay here. Compared to my last few stays with other IHG branded hotels or at competitor hotels, I have been provided with complimentary upgrades to suites. So, for this particular hotels, in that regard it is very uncompetitive.||How can they say to us that the room has been upgraded to an executive club room? It is exactly the same as a normal room, but on a higher level. It is still 30 square meters, but the room looks old and dreary with no inspiring views. It is so small. ||Setting the temperature at 24 degrees with no way to adjust it. I tried it a few times. Also, this is the first hotel where the volume on the tv is set at 30. Barely audible at times. What is up with that? ||The price is not competitive at all either. Around 500 to 600 RMB per night? Even the 7 days hotel offer newer and more comfortable rooms at a much lower price. The upgraded room that I was given was the same price that I originally had for my reservation. So, was it really an upgrade? Is it too much to ask for elite members especially Platinum or Spire Ambassadors to be upgraded to at least a junior suite? The hotel was definitely not in medium or high occupancy. Think low occupancy. And yes, I understand the reason for it. ||Breakfast was fine though. The restaurant staff members including the chefs were all very nice and helpful. Also, the housekeeping staff were all very nice as well. Thank you to housekeeping for keeping the room clean and organized. ||Other IHG branded hotels ranging from Holiday Inn Express to Holiday Inn to Intercontinental all offer complimentary suite upgrades without asking. I am also a Hilton Diamond member and I was offered the second best suite at the hotel proactively. Even as a Hyatt Explorist, I have been upgraded to very beautiful guest rooms as well as including suite offers. ||We cannot imagine staying at this particular IHG...

The hotel was just a short 25min drive from Chengdu Easy train station and only a 2min walk from the river. My guide helped me check in as the reception staff didn't speak any English. I was allocated a room on the 23rd floor away from traffic noise but unfortunately near other guests that liked to slam their doors late at night. Not the hotels fault and you always get inconsiderate people but frustrating nonetheless.||The room was clearly a smoking one as there was an ash tray and it stank of stale smoke. It's mad to think hotels still allow smoking inside. If I'd been here for longer than 2 nights I'd have asked to have moved. The room itself was actually okay. Comfy bed with firm and soft pillows, powerful shower and white company amenities. There was an iron and ironing board, tea and coffee making facilities. No idea on the WiFi as again no devices would connect to Chinese internet. They did have a couple of plug options thankfully as my adapter would only connect in the double round pin option, for some reason not all plug sockets will accept the international adapter I found. They also had one USB charging socket. The room also had night lights which stayed on, these were dim enough to not disturb sleep but bright enough to help if you wake up in the night needing the bathroom. The room also had extremely aggressive air con. ||Breakfast was on the ground floor and a nice big varied buffet of western and Asian options. I love trying local cuisines but breakfast is the one meal of the day I have to have western, so this variety was perfect. The only problem here was the breakfast room wasn't big enough for the hotel. I ended up having to share a table with a...

This was my 5th stay here since Aug-2013. I was greeeted promptly and my Platinum membership recognized, with the expected upgrade to the executive floor. Upon arriving in my room it was quite warm (25ºC.Indicated) and figured It would cool doen in an hr. Not so. I called maint. and they arrived within 5 min. They asked what temp. I was hoping for, in Mandarin, and I told them 21ºC. they replaced the thermosta tand within 10 min. it was the right temp. I think the thermostats are "placebo's". Over to the Club to unwind and do email. The staff is eager to help but they still don't 'get' what a club is for. 3 brands of beer, 1 bottle each, displayed on top of the under counter refridgerator. Inside, 1 bottle each of only slightly cooler beer. The hostess brought me a properly cool bottle from in back, (where they seemed to have to go for everything) then poured it into a tumbler, too fast, resulting in 1/2 head, overflowing the glass. Alas, I resigned myself to the fact it was a management failure, not the individual, and reminded the front desk on Check out, that "there was work to be done" in making the club truly efficient. The Chinese guest expressed a similar sigh of resignation. All the staff are friendly and eager to please, but many still unaware of what quality service really entails. Having been in China nearly 15 years, I speak a modest amount of Mandarin which makes my stay reasonable. For the non-Mandarin speaker, you may often find your host or hostess running off to find a supervisor who speaks English, or German, or Spanish. However, I will continue to stay here tho, as my office is literally across the street and I've enjoyed...