The Westin Qingdao — Hotel in Qingdao

When planning my trip to Qingdao, I solicited accommodation recommendations from many fellow travelers. Their consensus boiled down to two choices:| • For extended stays: The Westin (unmatched value for money)| • For brief visits: The St. Regis (the pinnacle of luxury)||⸻||1. Distinctive Floor Configuration||The Westin Qingdao comprises two separate sections: floors 1–22, and the exclusive high‑rise floors 53–54 (I have experienced both).| • Floors 1–22 (Partial Sea View):|Although partially obscured by adjacent buildings, these rooms offer a harmonious blend of urban and ocean vistas. In the evening, the city’s light shows illuminate the skyline beautifully from your window. (Junior Suite or higher is recommended for the best experience.)| • Floors 53–54 (Full Sea View):|The panorama is truly breathtaking. On lower floors, I often found myself visiting the MIXC mall for entertainment—but upon receiving a room on the 53rd floor, I scarcely wished to leave. Unlike the St. Regis, where the May Fourth Square monument feels distant, the Westin’s upper floors afford an unparalleled, bird’s‑eye perspective. Note, however, that rates increase significantly on these levels.||⸻||2. Cleanliness: ★★★★★||The Westin delivers consistently excellent housekeeping relative to its price point. Only the 5th floor permits smoking; elsewhere, corridors remain entirely smoke‑free. Each guestroom features operable windows, allowing fresh sea breezes—particularly on floors 53–54—to enhance the coastal ambiance. Be advised that the 5th floor can carry residual tobacco odor in the evenings, so it’s best to avoid that level if you are sensitive to smoke.||⸻||3. Facilities: ★★★★||While the property exhibits signs of maturity, there is none of the mustiness often associated with older hotels. Meticulous maintenance preserves a classic, dignified atmosphere—akin to the Sheraton Songdo Incheon—rather than a dated, neglected feel.||⸻||4. Dining: ★★★★||My succinct recommendation: as a visitor, head to the MIXC mall. Any restaurant with a long queue is likely worth the wait. Recently, the Butterful bakery has been particularly popular.||⸻||5. Nearby Attractions & Tips| • MIXC Mall Access: Use subway Exit E and follow signs for “A”—it leads directly into the mall.| • On‑Site Starbucks: Located on the hotel’s first floor; check its closing time in advance.| • May Fourth Square: From Starbucks, walk straight for five minutes to reach the square—an ideal pairing of coffee and scenery.| • Optimal Timing: The mall opens at 10 AM; daytime sun can be intense, so plan accordingly. A 4–5 PM stroll around May Fourth Square offers pleasant temperatures and lighting.| • Hisense Mall: After a seaside walk, visit Hisense Mall’s rooftop observatory for another perspective on the nightly building light show.||⸻||6. Tips for Marriott Platinum (and Above) Members||Rather than checking in on the 5th floor, request lounge check‑in on the 54th floor. Simply inform the staff you wish to use the lounge, and they will escort you upstairs with a special key card. The lounge team—particularly Manager Carol—provides exceptional, personalized service, recognizing and rewarding repeat guests with upgrades and attentive support. A seamless lounge check‑in often turns first‑time visitors into loyal patrons.||⸻||7. Working Remotely on a MacBook||Your productivity experience varies by floor. Below the 22nd floor, I preferred working at M Stand café in the MIXC mall. However, on the 53rd or 54th floor, working in your room becomes a delight. Even without a sea‑view suite, the cityscape from 50+ floors up is spectacular. In a 53–54th floor suite, you can look directly down at the May Fourth monument and Olympic rings—chairs are even positioned to frame this view, making it the ultimate...

There are too many issues with this hotel to address, so I will do my best to keep it short. Definitely the worst Westin property I have ever stayed in, out of 5+ ones in the past. I stayed at room 1907, Jr. suite over the past 3 nights.

We arrived to the hotel at 3:20pm to check-in, and the guy behind the reception desk (Abel Hou) told us the room wasn't ready yet. Aside from the lack of any mannerism (not even a "hello" or "你好"), he had no solution for us either, hoping we could read his mind that we could wait longer. Female supervisor came over to address the problem, and says there is another room ready of the same tier and floor, just that it hasn't been signed off and inspected by a manager yet after housekeeping. I said no problem, if there are any issues I will let them know later.

And my god were there many issues. Which was expected, but reason why I'm writing this review is because every issue during our 3 night stay at this hotel requires asking and informing them 2-4 times in order for them to address or solve the issue. And everything was done half-assed.

Conditioner bottle was completely empty, had to ask 2 times on the phone The carpet wasn't vacuumed properly, had many food crumbs and sand. After the 1st time I asked them to vacuum, the floor was still dirty, and had to ask again for the corners to be vacuumed. The bathroom stall had construction metal shavings all over the bottom of the door. I asked for it to be cleaned. Again, there was an attempt, but still not cleaned properly. Bathroom shower water wasn't warm enough, max was 25-28C. I asked the first day to send a repairman upstairs to fix it, or have a room change. No follow-up, returned to room at night, water still not warm. I asked again the next day, they said they will send someone up again-- and then hours later, no results. Finally, I asked for the 3rd time to either fix it or change rooms, they finally found a repairman that can fix it, and the water was at normal shower temperature and can reach 45C+. However, on the 3rd day, the water wasn't warm enough again. Had to ask for additional box of tissues 3 times to get extra tissues.

On top of these issues, this Westin hotel does not have a concierge counter/service! There's the universal concierge symbol on the desk on ground floor, but they're just bagmen's. We asked 3 different staffs behind the concierge desk, our touristy Qingdao questions were often met with "search on Baidu yourself on phone", or "not sure", or "I think so". We didn't even ask them to book tours or reservations for us, we just asked for basic info like how to get to certain tourist sites. [And if you ask the reception desks on 5th floor, they will refer you back down to G floor concierge desk].

Room service food was atrocious, but can't complain too much due to the below average hotel room service pricing. Ordered the beef noodle soup to be safe, but the broth turns out to be completely watered down, noodles super overcooked, minimal amount of dried out beef pieces, and more noodles than soup. Cup noodle would've been a better option.

Finally, almost all the employees just seem miserable working here. On the day of our check out, we handed our keys back and told the staff our room number. The total bill was printed out and loosely shoved in an envelope without any explanation. No eye contact, no "did you enjoy your stay with us", or "hope you had a great stay", and not...

There are too many issues with this hotel to address, so I will do my best to keep it short. Definitely the worst Westin property I have ever stayed in, out of 5+ ones in the past. I stayed at room 1907, Jr. suite over the past 3 nights.||We arrived to the hotel at 3:20pm to check-in, and the guy behind the reception desk (Abel Hou) told us the room wasn't ready yet. Aside from the lack of any mannerism (not even a "hello" or "你好"), he had no solution for us either, hoping we could read his mind that we could wait longer. Female supervisor came over to address the problem, and says there is another room ready of the same tier and floor, just that it hasn't been signed off and inspected by a manager yet after housekeeping. I said no problem, if there are any issues I will let them know later.||And my god were there many issues. Which was expected, but reason why I'm writing this review is because every issue during our 3 night stay at this hotel requires asking and informing them 2-4 times in order for them to address or solve the issue. And everything was done half-assed.||- Conditioner bottle was completely empty, had to ask 2 times on the phone|- The carpet wasn't vacuumed properly, had many food crumbs and sand. After the 1st time I asked them to vacuum, the floor was still dirty, and had to ask again for the corners to be vacuumed.||- The bathroom stall had construction metal shavings all over the bottom of the door. I asked for it to be cleaned. Again, there was an attempt, but still not cleaned properly.||- Bathroom shower water wasn't warm enough, max was 25-28C. I asked the first day to send a repairman upstairs to fix it, or have a room change. No follow-up, returned to room at night, water still not warm. I asked again the next day, they said they will send someone up again-- and then hours later, no results. Finally, I asked for the 3rd time to either fix it or change rooms, they finally found a repairman that can fix it, and the water was at normal shower temperature and can reach 45C+. However, on the 3rd day, the water wasn't warm enough again.||- Had to ask for additional box of tissues 3 times to get extra tissues.|||On top of these issues, this Westin hotel does not have a concierge counter/service! There's the universal concierge symbol on the desk on ground floor, but they're just bagmen's. We asked 3 different staffs behind the concierge desk, our touristy Qingdao questions were often met with "search on Baidu yourself on phone", or "not sure", or "I think so". We didn't even ask them to book tours or reservations for us, we just asked for basic info like how to get to certain tourist sites. [And if you ask the reception desks on 5th floor, they will refer you back down to G floor concierge desk].|Room service food was atrocious, but can't complain too much due to the below average hotel room service pricing. Ordered the beef noodle soup to be safe, but the broth turns out to be completely watered down, noodles super overcooked, minimal amount of dried out beef pieces, and more noodles than soup. Cup noodle would've been a better option.||Finally, almost all the employees just seem miserable working here. On the day of our check out, we handed our keys back and told the staff our room number. The total bill was printed out and loosely shoved in an envelope without any explanation.|No eye contact, no "did you enjoy your stay with us", or "hope you had a great stay", and not...