Gulangwan Hotel — Hotel in Xiamen

First the short and you can hang on if you like for the story:||||The Pros:||||A great value for the money.||Very spacious, comfortable rooms.||Comfortable Beds.||A gracious service staff that will go above/beyond if you're nice to them.||Good breakfast.||||The Cons:||||Typical slow Chinese internet.||Rooms slightly on the damp side||Can be a bit thin-walled||Not quite full featured as some 5-stars but close.||||||This was my home away from home for four days working with a few local factories in the area. Prior to my stay here I was a little spoiled staying at the Guangzhou Shangri-La and another very nice hotel in Kowloon before that.||||Westerners can admittedly very quickly become full-blown hotel snobs because of the dollar/euro/pound value one will get in China so if this is your first jaunt into a Chinese hotel, rest assured you will be more than pleased in your decision to stay here.||||For those a little more jaded, especially the business travelers amongst us, I still do rate this hotel high. Here are the reasons: ||||In spite of the fact that the staff had to deal with my language handicap (I don't speak Mandarin, Taiwanese or Cantonese), they were exceedingly gracious, helpful and hard working. I noticed the house keeping staff learned my schedule after the first day and my room was always left clean. When I had laundry done, the staff professionally mended a small hole in one of my garments, no extra charge (can you imagine that?). One time, when calling the front desk for a wake-up call, I went through four people trying to understand English before I was able to very crudely get 5:30am across. I thought it was a long shot they'd get it right but sure enough, it went through!||||The hotel itself is pleasant. I was too busy to try out the pool or some of the resort-like amenities but they did look nice. The hotel is a bit more Chinese geared which I like. I had to laugh at the bathtub on the balcony. Breakfast was very respectful with a good espresso machine and a noodle bar. Plenty of options for all types of appetites. ||||Best of all was the value. Four nights here cost me nearly as much as one at the Shangri-La in Guangzhou. So while it wasn't "world class" it beat the pants off most the swill I deal with stateside at half the cost and five times the value.||||What complaints I had were minor. The rooms were always a bit musty even with the A/C on overdrive to take out the moisture. The pipes seemed to be connected to the other rooms so if someone was having a shower I could hear the drains gurgling. One night someone was enjoying their cigarettes a little too much and I was getting a bit of it through the wall. All typical China stuff. I also wish they had a more extensive health club (with a steam room/sauna) -- something I always enjoy after long days.|| ||That's the hotel snob talking. If you made it this far, I'd say you have the patience to deal with all those things....

First the short and you can hang on if you like for the story:||||The Pros:||||A great value for the money.||Very spacious, comfortable rooms.||Comfortable Beds.||A gracious service staff that will go above/beyond if you're nice to them.||Good breakfast.||||The Cons:||||Typical slow Chinese internet.||Rooms slightly on the damp side||Can be a bit thin-walled||Not quite full featured as some 5-stars but close.||||||This was my home away from home for four days working with a few local factories in the area. Prior to my stay here I was a little spoiled staying at the Guangzhou Shangri-La and another very nice hotel in Kowloon before that.||||Westerners can admittedly very quickly become full-blown hotel snobs because of the dollar/euro/pound value one will get in China so if this is your first jaunt into a Chinese hotel, rest assured you will be more than pleased in your decision to stay here.||||For those a little more jaded, especially the business travelers amongst us, I still do rate this hotel high. Here are the reasons: ||||In spite of the fact that the staff had to deal with my language handicap (I don't speak Mandarin, Taiwanese or Cantonese), they were exceedingly gracious, helpful and hard working. I noticed the house keeping staff learned my schedule after the first day and my room was always left clean. When I had laundry done, the staff professionally mended a small hole in one of my garments, no extra charge (can you imagine that?). One time, when calling the front desk for a wake-up call, I went through four people trying to understand English before I was able to very crudely get 5:30am across. I thought it was a long shot they'd get it right but sure enough, it went through!||||The hotel itself is pleasant. I was too busy to try out the pool or some of the resort-like amenities but they did look nice. The hotel is a bit more Chinese geared which I like. I had to laugh at the bathtub on the balcony. Breakfast was very respectful with a good espresso machine and a noodle bar. Plenty of options for all types of appetites. ||||Best of all was the value. Four nights here cost me nearly as much as one at the Shangri-La in Guangzhou. So while it wasn't "world class" it beat the pants off most the swill I deal with stateside at half the cost and five times the value.||||What complaints I had were minor. The rooms were always a bit musty even with the A/C on overdrive to take out the moisture. The pipes seemed to be connected to the other rooms so if someone was having a shower I could hear the drains gurgling. One night someone was enjoying their cigarettes a little too much and I was getting a bit of it through the wall. All typical China stuff. I also wish they had a more extensive health club (with a steam room/sauna) -- something I always enjoy after long days.|| ||That's the hotel snob talking. If you made it this far, I'd say you have the patience to deal with all those things....

My wife, daughter and I stayed at this hotel as we were attending our son’s wedding in Xiamen. Our new in laws kindly arranged our stay at this hotel. Ideally situated for us as our in laws live in the apartments directly opposite the hotel. Upon entry the hotel gives a grand display of 5* opulence with a very fine looking water display in the foyer and a grand piano. The desk staff were very friendly and although their English was virtually zero, we all had fun conversing via translator apps on our phones. The door staff were particularly efficient and friendly. They got used to us ordering many things during our stay and having them delivered by uber. It appears that Chinese people get their items delivered to the door more often than Westerners. They would call us when things arrived. This was service over and beyond what was expected. There were restaurants visable from the foyer and both were excellent. We experienced both. The service and food were excellent. We spent most of our dining room experience in the ground floor restaurant where we had a very comprehensive selection of world breakfasts. The waiting staff were especially kind and friendly.|Access to our rooms were via very clean modern lifts and the hallways leading to the rooms were attractive with many pictures and sculptures etc on display. Our rooms were spotlessly clean and we were given rooms overlooking the lake. The room staff were friendly and extremely efficient. I particularly liked the bath on the balcony. The only fault was that the pressure and the heat of the water was poor. However, the shower and bathroom were excellent. Modern and spotlessly clean.|My wife and daughter went for a swim in both the indoor and outdoor pools. Both were extremely clean and very attractive to look at. The same for the changing rooms. The attendant at the desk was able to supply my daughter with goggles as she had left them back in England. Again, all the staff were excellent.|We will certainly come back to this hotel when we visit our in laws and the wonderful...