玉泉森信大酒店 — Hotel in Jinan

I traveled with a school group of teachers, administrators, parents, students and community members for 10 days in China. While in Jinan, we were booked at the Yuquan Simpson Hotel, No. 68 Luo Yuan Road, Jinan, Shandong, China. The hotel is walking distance to the city square, which is lovely at night. The staff tried their best to be helpful and accommodating, especially with such a large group. The hotel lobby was nicely decorated and inviting, and there is a very nice coffee shop with delicious pastries, but that's where the positives of this hotel end. ||||After checking in, our group (and everyone else) had an endless wait for incredibly slow elevators, coupled with the stench from a sewer issue permeating the hallways. Once in our room, we were surprised at the "themed room" decor. The photos on the hotel site looked nothing like any of the rooms we were assigned. Our room featured a disco strobe light in the corner of the room (that seemingly could not be turned off), crayon shaped ceiling lights, mirror and vinyl on the wall serving as a "head board" of sorts, and a Winnie the Pooh wall clock. Other rooms had cartoon-like monkeys, and other odd characters. There was nothing charming or "themed" about it. The combined bath/shower room featured a large picture window looking into the bedroom area which was concealed only by a thin shower curtain. Not much privacy once the light was on! ||||We stayed in this hotel twice during our trip. The first stay included a non-working air conditioner, though the hotel staff did manage to find us a fan; and drainage problems along with a sink fixture that fell apart. Contrary to the listing on the hotel site, we had to ask for a hair dryer; it was not available in the room. For our second stay, the sewage odor was almost gone except for the hallway by the elevators on our floor. The toilet would not flush, and it leaked; the sink would again not drain. However, the air conditioner did work, and this time, there was a hair dryer. ||||Now oddly, there was one other strange feature that we found not only here, but in other hotels we stayed at in China. The beds in the room seemed suspiciously low to the ground, with absolutely no give at all. We found ourselves sleeping on the hardest mattress in the world. It became clear that this was no mattress, but only the box spring of the bed! In fact, we walked by a room on our floor with a large window where we could see mattresses piled up to the ceiling! The mattresses had been removed from all the beds. We wondered why the hotel would have done this, though honestly, aside from not being able to sleep on one's side, those of us with back problems had no complaints in the morning! It was just bizarre.||||In all, I am glad that our stay in this hotel was brief. It would not, I am sorry to say, be my choice for a return...

Yuquan Simpson Hotel, 68 Luoyuan Rd, Jinan tel: 0531-8888-8887||Centrally located in downtown Jinan with good range of restaurants and shops nearby. 24 hour Airport shuttle service available at the door and is very reasonably priced (20 RMB).||Lobby staff have good English and their immediate priority is to take the full amount of your stay plus a further CNY200 bond per night in advance. Lobby has no relaxing areas and is not a friendly atmosphere. The 4 star rating is definitely way over reality. Room was tired and poorly maintained. Main complaint was no WiFi in room (despite being advertised as such) and of the two networks 'available' in the lobby only one would connect and then it had no Internet connection. So NO internet available. Had to buy water for room as none provided. Bed was firm but comfortable, but the traffic noise is very bad, even on the 18th floor. Need earplugs to get any sleep. Large theatre-type projection TV required a lot of switch playing to get working and then there are only Chinese language programs. Most of the speakers didn't work. In-room safe is good, but they don't tell you how to locate the code reset button - it is hidden next to the inside hinge. My friend in another room and I both set the ear-piercing alarms off. Nothing in the mini-bar, but there is a 7/11 just around the corner (turn right-right). The fire bucket under the handbasin is a bit of a concern and the emergency torch didn't work.||Breakfast included in the tariff starts at 6am, but don't get there before 6:30 as most is not ready. Breakfast staff have no English and the extensive range is heavily focused on the Chinese market. Limited range of western food selections, but the coffee is good. ||Cancelled my 2nd night and...

Great location within a 10-15min walking distance from Jinan's Baotu spring. Direct bus transfer from the airport (count 1hr commute) makes it very convenient, though buses are not as frequent as one would hope. The hotel itself is a bit dated, giving it a retro charm of 1990s China hotels, which if you're ok with that, won't be an issue, because the room is otherwise extremely spacious (one of the largest one I've ever seen) and clean. Buffet breakfast is the perfect option to start the day - choice is so huge it's almost impossible for 1 person to try everything. Staff was friendly and helpful. If you like table tennis, do bring your equipment, there are dozens of tables waiting for you... or the China table tennis team, which I understand came several times here to train. Our stay was way too short (half a day between 2 connections) so we hope to come back soon and explore Jinan city more in-depth. If so, Yuquan Simpson Hotel will definitely be our top choice, for its convenience, reasonable prices and great connectivity to the tourist sights. Oh, and at night there's a dozen or so food stalls across the street, late into the night - perfect for people like us who arrived very late (almost midnight)...