“12 days in Qingdao”

For 12-days in October/November 2018, I stayed in the Huanghai Hotel, which overlooks parks and the coastline, notably Bathing Beach No 1, i.e. the best beach in Qingdao. The location is great for attractions, such as Underwater World which is a 10 minute walk from the hotel [not including the tim… more

For 12-days in October/November 2018, I stayed in the Huanghai Hotel, which overlooks parks and the coastline, notably Bathing Beach No 1, i.e. the best beach in Qingdao. The location is great for attractions, such as Underwater World which is a 10 minute walk from the hotel [not including the time to cross the roads]. I stayed in a room on the 18th floor with views over the coast. The room was nicely equipped, and included a kettle and sachets of coffee [these contained powdered milk and sugar]. The television screened almost exclusively Chinese channels, although one had the news in English. Overall, the room was clean and well maintained; the bathroom contained dispensers presumed to be of shampoo, conditioner and shower gel. Two bottles of drinking water were provided each day. There were restaurants on the first, 2nd, 4th and 21st floor; buffets were offered for breakfast, lunch and dinner. In addition, guests could order a la carte. The hotel as busy with numerous conferences and wedding; the latter of which usually took place on Sundays. There was a small Qingdao Brewery outlet beside the main entrance. This sold a range of products, and was a convenient place to drink one of more of their famous beers. Overall, a pleasant hotel, and I will gladly stay there in the future.

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“Good food at dining room”

The food here was quite good with some interesting special dishes. The service was very lackadaisical . There was plenty of drinks on offer including draft TsingToa beer. Special dish was a whole chicken that was tasty.

“Taproom and buffet”

This hotel is a little out of the way, although it's a nice walk to beach, the zoo and botanical garden. The highlights would be the Tsingtao Taproom and the buffet selection. The rooms are nice enough and quiet. Building systems are a bit outdated. There's an adjacent conference center.

“As expected but no free beer”

Many people would be disappointed to see a notice in the elevator that the buffet includes free Qingdao beer, but then not actually have it. But that was about the only disappointment. I had an upgraded high floor room, although facing the hill not the sea. The sea view rooms I am told have a very … more

Many people would be disappointed to see a notice in the elevator that the buffet includes free Qingdao beer, but then not actually have it. But that was about the only disappointment. I had an upgraded high floor room, although facing the hill not the sea. The sea view rooms I am told have a very nice view. There is a nearby very large park and the old Olympic facilities. In May the beach was swimmable, although I only waded. It is suggested to go left from the hotel and up the hill to a local shopping district. At supper time, scorpions were being offered as a snack! Lots of banks but despite what they say on the outside they really cannot (easily) change money and one essentially has to go to Bank of China downtown for that (but there is an ATM in the lobby). To come back to the buffet, it serves local food which is heavy on vegetables. Those used to Westernized Chinese food may be disappointed. The menu changes but not much, each day. Only on the last night did I find that there is a chef on the side ready to hand make noodles for you. Not only was that delicious, but he came over to my table later to make sure I had enjoyed it! I enjoyed the locale and found the hotel generally a good place to stay.

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