*This post is mostly for the waiting families coming behind us, especially those with Great Wall who will stay at the same places.
The Poly Plaza – Beijing
This hotel seemed to be mostly for business travelers, but we did see a group of families from Canada that were finishing up all their paperwork since their consulate is in Beijing, not GZ. There is a theatre on the bottom floor of the hotel and while we were there they had a show playing for children that had the Wizard of Oz and other kiddie things. Mamma Mia opens there in August and this is apparently a big deal for China and the hotel. ABBA in Chinese? I am not too sure about that 🙂 The last day we were there Mike was taking some photos in the lobby and he got too close to this secure escalator and the security guy came over and was trying to tell him not to even take photos of the empty escalator. I guess all the “big wigs” go that way, so Mike just moved away.
We upgraded to the suite and that gave us a moderate sized bedroom, a moderate sized sitting area and a pretty large bath. There was a large bathtub and a standalone shower with a rain showerhead. There aren’t enough great words to describe those showerheads, especially when you have no luggage. I was taking 2 showers a day in that thing. There was a medium sized hot pot in the bathroom for boiling water and a grocery store close by that you could get bottled water at. The bed was the worst, it was a SLAB, I am talking the kind of thing they use in the morgue. We tried to layer blankets, but my hips and arms still went numb at night because I sleep on my side. That was the very worst thing about the hotel. Although some members of our group liked it, I prefer a softer bed 😉
The staff was friendly and I taught the hostess at the breakfast buffet a new English word – ICE. It cracked us up the second day when we went down and she seated us and said to me, “Ice?” The day before she didn’t know what in the world I was talking about, but apparently when I started crying at the table the morning before I made an impression on her so she remembered me the next day. The buffet wasn’t very large, but it had a good selection. They had an omelet station with many fixings, but the toaster seemed a little tricky. They had several kinds of cereal, but the milk in China is weird, so I just avoided it altogether. The hotel had all the little expensive shops inside and a tea house/restaurant open 24 hours. They also had a little coffee/snack bar near the entrance.
It was fun to look out the window at the street below and just watch the insane traffic dance that occurs in Beijing. I always knew it was getting close to sunrise when the horn honking started to go mad in the morning. Overall this was a nice hotel, but we just wanted to get to the baby and I can’t really say that I paid complete attention to anything there.
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The Jin Feng – Nanchang, Jiangxi Province
This hotel was very nice and we also had a suite here. This was GREAT once we had the baby because we had a large master bath and bedroom with a couple of chairs and a desk plus a TV (that we never turned on). We also had a sitting area with a love seat, chair, TV and a wet bar area with glasses, cups, saucers and a 3 liter hot pot that was very handy. We had an extra half bath that became the bottle making station and dirty diaper disposal spot until the maids came every morning. Having this extra space with the baby was good and once she was asleep we could chat in the sitting area and not wake her. The coffee table in the sitting area was also good for eating room service on.
Speaking of room service at the Jin Feng – it’s GREAT!!! Mike highly recommends the club sandwich with fries (he got it 3 times) and I LOVED the fried rice with eggs. It doesn’t taste like that in America. I would love to know how to make that rice here. YUM! And it was cheap, cheap, cheap. A giant plate of fried rice was 15 yuan. That’s like $1.70!!! The breakfast buffet had a large selection and I really liked the mixed fried rice they had down there which you could also get from room service. They had all kinds of yummy bread and rolls, but some have “surprises” in them. Not quite like a pig in a blanket, but I think that was their idea. They also had an omelet station I think, but I didn’t order any from them as they had a lot of other hot choices on the buffet to fill me up. You can also get seedless watermelon on every buffet and it’s so good! I didn’t eat any other fruits and veggies while in China.
I thought the staff was friendly and helpful. The front desk takes a while to exchange your money and you have to give them a copy of your passport to keep when they do the exchange. Plus you have forms to fill out when they give it to you. I rented time on the internet from the business center when our laptop died and they speak good English in there which was nice. When you check out, they go into your room to confirm that nothing is damaged and to check the mini bar. Then they call down and tell the front desk so that you can pay what you owe them on the spot.
Overall I enjoyed this hotel, but everything was overshadowed by the joy of getting Nadia and her becoming part of our family. The extra space was money well spent for us. We didn’t have hot water in the shower for the first 2 days, but it wasn’t so cold that it was worth packing all our junk up and moving rooms. Several families in our group had to move rooms right away though because of the room either being too hot or too cold. You have to leave your room key or a coaster or something in the slot by the door for your A/C to stay on while you are gone. The suites have 2 A/C units, one for the bedroom and one for the sitting area.
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The White Swan – GZ, Guangdong Province, China
We upgraded to the Executive Level Suite and it was worth EVERY penny in my mind. We were so worn out and tired by the time we got to GZ that to have all that space was great. We were tired when we arrived and it was nice to get separate check in. The suite had a very large bathroom all done up in black and white marble. There was a standalone shower and very large Jacuzzi tub. There was a lot of counter space for our toiletries and various baby medicines. Nadia had a cold by the time we got to GZ and we needed several of the items that we had brought.
There was a very large living room with a desk for your computer (free internet access also on Executive level), a couch, chair, TV and a hutch with a fridge. On top of that there were glasses, cups, spoons, various kinds of tea, sugar and a hot pot. We also had an extra half bath which was once again set up as the baby bottle station. The view from the window was wonderful. I think if we had been on the other side we would have had a much clearer view of the Pearl River, but we could see the neon decorated boats at night. You could go on dinner cruises, but we didn’t do that.
Now on to the food: We were so tired when we got the hotel after the flight with the babies that we ordered room service. It was about $18 EACH for the cheeseburger Mike got and the tuna baguette that I ordered. They both came with fries and we also got a slice of cheesecake that came with some incredible ice cream. It was the most expensive meal we had in China, but at least it was good. We ordered from Danny’s Bagel every day and it was wonderful. The BBQ chicken pizza was really wonderful and we just loved the crust. The convenience combined with the price was as great as you have heard. It was about $17 a meal including the deliver fee and tip. We got take out from Lucy’s one night and it was also very good. We ate at the Cow and Bridge Thai place with several other families one night. Mike got a great beef meal with a sweet Thai sauce. I ordered fried baby corn and mushrooms since it had been so long since I had enjoyed some veggies. I tried one of the Spring Rolls that Mya ordered and I liked those too. There is a 7-11 across the street from the White Swan where you can get bottled water, diet coke, snickers and more goodies.
The shopping in GZ was great because it’s built around the adoptive families who come to town. At Susan’s Place we got our laundry done and ordered multiple chops for many kids back home. The best place I found for squeaky shoes was Sherry’s Place #2. http://www.sherrymama.com/ This is her second location and it’s in the building just past the charity shop “A Gift from China”. It’s in a building with a bright red sign that says ART 64. They had all kinds of really great styles of squeaky shoes at great prices. I came home with 13 pairs for Nadia and some for various friends babies. At Jennifer’s Place we got more dresses and some squeaky shoes in different styles not at Sherry’s Place. From one of the vendors in front of 7-11 I got some bracelets and awesome paintings for gifts.
The service at the White Swan was top notch. We have been to some great places and the closest comparison is the Grand Floridian at Disney World. At the WS on the Exec. level they came in and serviced our room twice a day. At night for the turn down service we got chocolates and they laid out silk robes with tigers on them and slippers. There was a little evening greeting card also with the next days weather listed on it. We never saw the WS breakfast buffet because they had a continental breakfast on the 22nd floor for people in the Exec. suites. You could just run up there and take it back to your room.
That’s all I can think of for now and I hope it helps. — Louanne