Crowne Plaza Hotel Chengdu

Holiday Inn Crowne Plaza

The Crowne Plaza is not, perhaps, not quite what one would expect of a 5 star international hotel, suffering from the conceit of its 5 star rating while not exactly overflowing with 5 star services.

The rooms were definitely on the small side (a room with two singles is more cramped than any I have ever been in) and the bathrooms were definitely ordinary. In one of the two rooms we had, we woke each morning feeling very groggy - as if there was very bad air in the room during the night. yet in the next (interconnecting) room it all felt fine and the children slept well! This is not something we have experienced before.

The public areas are plush - as one might expect at any Chinese hotel, but the hotel lacked accessible services: there is no gift shop for papers, film, toothpaste and the like. A receptionist would have had us disappearing off down the busy street outside in search of film. We discovered that the 4 star Sichuan Binguan - which is part of the same building and accessible through a corridor next to Reception - has a small counter selling all these items.
There is a CITS desk hidden away up on the 3rd Floor but staffed by a disinterested woman who consequently got no custome from us at all. Similarly, the business centre seemed to exist only because the hotel has to have one to get its stars these days.

It is sad that in China many 4 and 5 star hotels become contemptuous of their clientele and believe that an overall attitude of arrogant disdain is acceptable for anyone not wanting to spend four times as much for everything.

In the end, I can say that we were "satisfied" but only just, by a whisker. When will top end hotels in China realise that - in the perception of guests - the star rating is a reflection of the service not the list of supposed services offered.

Unique Quality: The hotel is right in the very centre of town, making access to everywhere very easy, but the street layout provides vehicle access only from one direction on Zhongfu Lu, so in the rush-hour (5pm to 8pm) it can take a lot of extra time to drive to the hotel.