苏州同里湖大饭店 — Hotel in Suzhou City

We just stayed for 3 nights in July 2020. Overall, our impression of the place was outstanding. We stayed in a room with 2 double beds for our family of 4 (children are 4 and 2 years old). There were a few toys to play with inside. There were free drinks in the fridge. The internet was well-connect, although you would need to use a VPN to access most foreign websites smoothly. ||||We chose this hotel because of the options for kids to do. There were bunnies you could feed. There were strolls along the lake, with fountains and small bridges to go over. We did bubbles and ball games outside. The indoor play area is large enough and has neat DIY section. The outdoor play area is mostly covered and includes a sand pit. There are 3 types of pools: 1 Olympic sized to practise your laps, one jacuzzi pool (which was used more or less as a kiddie pool) and a kiddie pool that includes a water slide. I also went to the fitness centre that includes treadmills, weights and enough machines to get a good workout in. The changing room includes a spa room with different spa pools, a sauna and stream room. ||||For food, there aren't many places around unless you drive to the nearest mall or try food in the old town. There are 4 restaurants on the resort. Most of our meals were at the Ziga Zaga, which is were the breakfast was also there. The breakfast was pretty good but mostly Chinese morning selections. The noodles bar there was a hit. The pancakes were a hit with the kids (but no maple syrup). The Saturday buffet was also very good. Better than other Chinese western buffets I have been to but not comparable to the international 5-star hotels like Shangri-la or Intercontinental. Ruby's Chinese Restaurant was actually the best in my opinion. A bit pricy but everything was made with care. We didn't try the Japanese restaurant. We had afternoon tea at Kafka - it was okay cake but could of been better. ||||Lastly, the service was incredible. The staff were all so friendly, always smiling and being polite to us. They would play and talk with my children. They would do small things, like place the baby chair near the spot away from the food. They would give complimentary small toys and gifts to the kids. ||||Even though it was busy on the weekend, it never felt jammed, which is great. I would definitely recommend and we might return...

Given the location of this resort style hotel beside a quiet lake, you might be surprised that I am recommending it to independent travellers.||||My husband and I stayed two nights at this hotel: we had planned one full day to see both Tongli Old Town and some of the famous sights of Suzhou. A little tight, but that's all the time we had. In addition, we wanted a convenient hotel from which to reach our next destination, Hangzhou, by public transport. The Lakeview Hotel met these criteria.||||It is possible to take Line 4 of the new subway all the way from Suzhou North Railway Station (the fast train station) to the terminus at Tongli. This line also runs to central Suzhou (Suxhou Railway Station), with access to the old town, the World Heritage gardens, etc. We found taxis waiting when we arrived at the Tongli train terminus - the 6 km drive to the hotel cost 18 Yuan, very affordable. ||||On our full day, we set off for Tongli Old Town immediately after breakfast, hoping to beat the crowds (which we did). We took the free hotel shuttle to the hotel exit and walked a short distance along the main road to the old town's entrance. After an hour or so, we walked back to the main road and hailed a taxi for a short ride to the subway station. We arrived in Suzhou in plenty of time to visit the Humble Administrator's Garden, the Lingering Garden and the Master of Nets Garden as well as see a little of the old town. We then headed back to Tongli via the subway in time to enjoy dinner at the hotel. ||||I was pleasantly surprised by the pizza I had for dinner - it was the best of the whole holiday and comprised a great yeast base with sauteed onions, tomato, cheese, etc. My husband also enjoyed his meal and we were surprised how inexpensive it was.||||It's a good 4* hotel, very new looking with gleaming wide corridors of cream marble. It is set in spacious grounds beside a lake. Our standard guest room, with a lakeside view, was very comfortable and even had a small screen window to open for fresh air. Breakfast was truly excellent, with a wide range of dishes and a chef cooking eggs in various styles.||||On our last morning, we left the hotel by taxi and reached the intercity bus station a short distance away in time to take the bus south...

The hotel itself is just gorgeous. The grounds are lovely and the decor is very tasteful; I'd call it understated elegance. The facilities are top notch, from the spa to the rooms. There is a nice looking place inside for kids to play as well. Bed was very comfortable, room and bathroom were very clean. We really enjoyed the fact that they provide plenty of bottled water and juice in the fridge. Robes, slippers, and other amenities were great. The breakfast spread is outstanding.||||The people working in the hotel from the check-in to the housekeeping were all super helpful and friendly.||||Two things about this hotel would probably prevent us from returning. One is the smoking in the hotel. The hallway reeked of cigarette smoke every time we walked out of our room. Thankfully our room did not smell of smoke.||||The other thing that was disappointing were the restaurants. We tried sushi, soup, and tempura chicken in the Japanese restaurant and most of it was just not good. The tempura chicken was extremely greasy and every piece we tried was full of either bone, cartilage or gristle and it tasted like it was fried in old oil. Miso soup was in a dense broth, not at all how miso soup should be, asparagus sushi was literally a cone of seaweed stuffed with lettuce, mayo, and a tiny shred of asparagus. ||||The Italian restaurant really lacked in flavor and service. I had bolognese and husband had eggplant pasta. Both were mediocre at best. Also, what kind of Italian restaurant doesn't serve bread with the food? We were also disappointed in the coffee throughout the hotel. In a 5 star hotel I would expect fresh milk -they use UHT which has a weird flavor. We had coffee and cake in the Italian restaurant and rather than use the lovely espresso machine behind the bar, they made the coffee from the automatic machine. ||||Since there is absolutely no other choice for food nearby, aside from trekking into the Water Town, we probably won't stay here again. Nonetheless, I do recommend it just to see the last two days of Lunar New Year celebrations nearby. This is the place to see lion and...