Crowne Plaza Qingdao

Although a bit dated, hotel was in a good central location. Room was of considerable size except for the toilet which was kinda cramp. Closed to places of interest. Service staff were efficient and polite. Perhaps it's time to do a little touch up.

Arrival: Upon arrival the receptionist was so busy picking up phone all the time during check-in that she hardly spoke a single word. No mentioning of how WiFi works or where to have breakfast. She finally only gestured towards the elevator. Room: The room might have been luxurious 50 years ago. Now it was not only old-fashioned, but also far from being well maintained. There was an unpleasant smell from the toilets, the shower head was old and static/non-flexible, the windows extremely dirty and the arrangement of the light switches was beyond logic. Most of all the sea-view was limited to a little corner in a side window, despite 100 RMB extra for a “sea-view suite”. Receptionist: Telling the receptionist about the problems didn’t help at all. She first found excuses saying that Ctrip had posted the wrong photo on the app. Then stating that because of the Qingming festival every other room had already been booked out. Finally, claiming I needed to pay for an upgrade (although I had already booked the most expensive room/suite). I couldn’t believe when she ended with the remark that I should be happy to be at the Crown Plaza, because it was a lot cheaper than other 5star hotels, but I could cancel and book something else. Breakfast: The breakfast experience the next morning completed the negative impression: broken cups, a coffee machine that didn’t offer latte or cappuccino, waste being openly exposed to guests and obviously unskilled or badly trained personnel. All in all, I cannot recommend this hotel at all!