Bingzhou Hotel — Hotel in Taiyuan

My wife and I stayed here for 3 nights after having booked a room online via elong.com. We chose the hotel sight unseen solely for its central location and price (half of what other, more recently built hotels in this area cost). The fact that it was an early PRC hotel, built in 1957, added to the appeal for us. Our mid-day check-in was effortless--the hotel had our reservation--and we were able to arrange impromptu a room for a couple we had met on the bus from Wutaishan. Having said all that, let's be clear that the hotel is now at the low end of the area's accommodation options: the hotel's amenities are basic and intended to serve the needs of the Chinese tour groups that now use the hotel. The room was basic; lighting was dim and the room and bathroom were gloomy and shabby. Inside rooms are quieter than the street-side ones--we requested a change and it was done quickly. Basic bathroom supplies were furnished. Toilet paper was rationed. The shower and water temperature were fine but the tub drain worked poorly. There is a restaurant in the hotel but it too is basic and dirty. We ate here both for the included b.fast and one a la carte evening meal (there is however a much, much better restaurant in the back of the hotel compound and I would urge everyone to eat there--but you will have to ask for its location). Room carpets were fairly clean; rooms have free internet connections (not wifi). The staff is nice and very friendly and helpful (however, they speak no English). When I needed clothes washed, they readily complied with my request for a one-day turnaround. Location did turn out to be excellent: Confucian temple and Chongshansi are easily walkable as is the main Yingze Park, where we spent two delightful evenings. CITS is about 20 minutes walk, as is the train station; CITS tours (eg, Pingyao) leave from a point perhaps halfway to the train station. Serviceable restaurants are nearby (but keep your expectations within reason: this is Shanxi, not Shanghai--we did have to resort to McDonald's for lunch twice, something we've never done in 20 years of travel in China). We were able to get the city bus to Jinci Park right across from the hotel. All in all, not a bad place for the price and decent enough for the experienced China traveler, but remember: inland places like Shanxi and its capital Taiyuan are about 10 to 15 years behind the coast in most ways, including sanitation and cultural amenities. But when one door closes another opens and we did find things we really liked about Taiyuan, including the Twin Pagodas and Jinci (one of the three best things we saw in 9 days in Shanxi). The hotel was just a way station on the road to these places, not a...

My wife and I stayed at this hotel for four days in early November (2017), it had been booked by our hosts, we were very pleased with their choice. Although none of the staff we encountered spoke English, our hosts were able to get our couple requests looked after. ||||The hotel appears to be recently updated, even though it has a very traditional facade. We had a ground floor room but because the hotel is set back from a fairly busy street we were not bothered by street noise.||||I believe the hotel is owned by the government and during our stay hosted a couple of trade show/conventions, so there was a lot of activity in the large lobby area.||||The breakfast included a large variety of foods for every taste, featuring eastern and western items. The only problem we encountered was the self-serve coffee machine broke down two days and it took quite a while to get coffee from the kitchen.||||The night before we left the hotel raised its security level with airport style metal detectors and baggage x-ray machines at the entrance and many security staff in the wings. I suspect that the next conference was going to be fairly important. ||||I would highly...

We stayed in this hotel several nights. It is only 20 minutes to the airport, 15 minutes to the high-speed-train station, and 5 minutes to the old train station. ||||The room is spacious and has a safe big enough to store a laptop. Part of the wall to the bathroom and the doors to the toilet and to the shower are transparent glass, which does not seem a good idea. ||||The hotel has a fitness center, swimming pool and sauna, but my conference rate does not include them.||||The breakfast and dinner buffets are excellent, offering a variety of Chinese dishes, including the local specialties, like noodles.||||There is a travel agency in the hotel, which makes it convenient to book tours.||||The hotel is next to public squares, where many people...