Crowne Plaza Qingdao — Hotel in Qingdao

This was our first time at this Crowne Plaza in Qingdao and I booked it to celebrate an anniversary. It's located central near the sailing marina and other shopping malls nearby. There are several good restaurants across the street as well. If you have a few minutes to kill, stop by the Bentley dealership that's connected to the lobby. During check-in, my Plat status was recognized and we checked into our Club Room without issue (though a 166% deposit was run on my credit card and I had to ask for a receipt). We were given a sea-view room, though we didn't luck out with Qingdao fog and there wasn't much of a sea to view. So if the weather is looking iffy, there's no reason to pay extra for sea-view. The room was big, nice, and came with nice perks (some drinks, laundry, happy hour, etc). The breakfast at the lounge was nice and the staff were very attentive, but we were saving ourselves for a champagne brunch at a competing hotel that day and didn't dig in too much. We requested a late checkout and received a 3pm checkout without issue. Check out day we were running late due to lack of taxis that day, and reception extended checkout by an extra 30 min which we appreciated.

Negative things that stuck out in my mind: We checked out the pool and were disappointed to find that the water was pretty cool....not cold....not warm....just cool. The jacuzzi was the same and I couldn't figure out how to turn it on.

At one point in the lobby we noticed small baby (not infant; like 3 - 4 years old) peeing on the floor and no attempt being made by the parents to take them to a bathroom. Hotel staff did not take any action. This was partly surprising, partly shocking as this was 25 feet away from a Bentley and Ferrari dealership in a top-tier Qingdao hotel. My wife was not impressed.

And the one that annoyed me the most: as mentioned, we were running late checking out. Upon receiving the bill I did not closely scrutinize it as I’ve learned to do while in China. It was only after I got home that I realized that my hotel bill was for 20% more than my reservation's quoted price (including fees and taxes). I contacted IHG via the website the next day but have yet to hear back. My only option is to dispute it with my credit card, which I plan to do after submitting this review.

Will we stay here again? Possibly. Will I closely review my final bill upon...

I had high hopes for my stay at the Crowne Plaza Qingdao after using other IHG hotels around the world over many years. I will break the review down into bullet points:

The lift malfunctioned while we were inside. After a very loud crash onto the roof of the lift, we dropped roughly half a meter and froze for a few minutes while more stuff continue to fall down the lift shaft onto the roof of the lift. Throughout this no member of staff would answer the emergency call button, luckily the emergency protocol of the lift activated correctly and we were safely lowered to the basement.

We arrived at breakfast at 9:30 to find all of the drinks finished, most of the foods finished and no cutlery on any tables. Very few options were refilled upon request, the majority was never replenished.

The building is very old, the rooms have not been updated or decorated in some time and still have the lingering smell of years of smoking combined with a hint of damp.

The staff do not speak English which itself is not an issue, but the hotel is advertised as having English speaking staff. Whilst my Chinese is passable for checking in and handling most issues I did not know to get across that I did not enjoy almost dying in a lift and not having any assistance provided.

Out side of breakfast area the toilet was clogged, leaving toilet water and human waste spilling onto the floor with no warning or wet floor sign.

Overall this hotel has completely destroyed my opinion of Crowne Plaza hotels. I frequently travel to Beijing and Maastricht and the Crown Plaza's there are clean, efficient and safe however I do not think I will continue to use them as I am worried they will inevitably fall to the quality of the Crowne...

Just checked out of the Crowne Plaza - wow- what a treat it's been. Booked in initially because other hotel I stayed in (care not to mention) was very poor indeed therefore I picked the Crowne Plaza. The similarity of the two hotels is the price but that's where it ends. The Crowne Plaza is light years ahead in terms of cleanliness, food and staff attentiveness. The value for money (my room rate negotiated and booked by my Chinese employer) is amazing - the rooms are spacious and well equipped, the location is good for shops, harbour and nightlife but what stood out for me was the staff service: everyone from chambermaid right up to management have been fantastic, very helpful, good command of English and above all, happy and smiling. I feel quite sad - like I have left my friends behind. I have stayed in lots of hotels around the globe (many 5 stars) but this one takes top honours for service. Well done. Before I sign off I'd like to comment on the food. I chiefly used the self service restaurant because it had a good variety of western food (although I am not adverse to Chinese cuisine), especially the Indian curries and Nan breads - all freshly made on site combined with Tandoori oven! One very very small niggle (and this is true for all Chinese establishments I have visited in the past 18 months), the plates are cold and the food is warm at best. This is a cultural thing I guess as we westerners serve food hot on hot plates but this is more an observation than criticism. Just one point: the plates were actually stacked in a warming machine but the machine was turned off! Anyway - I have just instructed my assistant to book me in again for a 3 week stint in 2 weeks time...