Leida Hotel

My 2nd time in Dongtai, 1st time in Leida hotel. It looked good on the website. 1st impressions were good. Even though the staff spoke very limited English they checked me in efficiently (I do speak some Chinese but if you don't it's okay). The rooms are a good size and the big picture windows give great views over the public lake/park. the only downside was the faint aroma of stale cigarette smoke in the room but this is China and unfortunately to be expected. The downside was the breakfast was very Chinese and though I love the cuisine here I'm not a lover of Chinese breakfast. It would have been better if the cook knew how to make fried eggs in different styles than just solid yokes and they invested in a good coffee machine. The coffee was in a flask....and was white....I didn't even try the bit I poured into a cup. The positive is Wuyue Plaza is a 10 minute stroll and has a Starbucks and MacDonalds! I had a look at the gym and pool. Gym was 10 yuan, pool was 40. Both looked okay. The hotel grounds needed a bit of a tidy up but were okay. I couldn't find direct access into the lake/park area but then I was only there 2 nights. The big convenience was Wuyue Plaza. The top floor was restaurants. A decent selection. Towards the back on the outside walking street was a decent little bar (Black Vine). Nice manager, 8 craft beer taps, lots of bottled beer. Yes, I'd stay here again as it suited my purpose.

The hotel is located inside a park, next to a man-made lake, high ceiling. There are plenty of parking if you drive there. The service is not what you expected from a 5 star hotel, almost none. You have to ask them to change bed sheets if you stay there for more than one day. The water temperature in the shower was unpredictable, you can be burned if not extremely careful. Food was ok.