What’s In a Hotel Room in China?
If you’re even remotely thinking about traveling to China and staying in a hotel, then you’re probably wondering what will be in your hotel room besides a bed. As I pointed out in Part 1 of this series, you will find a wide range in the quality of hotels in China. No doubt, there will also be differences in what you’ll find in the rooms based on the quality of the hotel.
Generally, a modern hotel room in China will have many of the same amenities that a modern American hotel will have:
flat-screen TV
cable television (probably serving one or two English speaking channels)
radio
fully-stocked honor bar
mini-refrigerator
desk
Internet access
small table with a chair or two
One thing that every hotel room I have had in China has: an electric pitcher for boiling water for tea. These work quickly and can be used for hot chocolate or instant oatmeal, if you bring everything with you that is required. If you can’t find bottled water, you can always boil water and use it for brushing your teeth or drinking, once it cools down.
There will be a bathroom with a toilet, a sink, and a shower. Some rooms may also have a tub and nice plush towels. The toilet will most likely be western-style, instead of a squatty potty; but what’s interesting about them is the two-button (dual-flush) mechanism on top of the toilet. The two-button option allows for water conservation during flushing. Depress the smaller button for liquid waste and the larger button to flush more down the toilet or solid waste.
Oh, and sometimes the toilet paper can be a little abrasive and stretchy. To remedy this, some people prefer to keep a travel pack of toilet paper with them.
Now, you may never see this next thing in a hotel, but just in case you do: Sometimes the waste basket in the corner is for you to put your toilet paper in, instead of flushing it. This is due to old plumbing not being able to move everything easily through the small pipes. I believe all new and contemporary hotels can safely handle flushing your toilet tissue.
In some of the lesser expensive hostel-style hotels that I have stayed in, there is a bathroom for the room, but it may be a little lacking in the lighting and cleanliness. These bathrooms have your standard toilet, sink, and shower. You will probably find that the TV, in a room like this, is a large box TV. Oh, and for those of you who like to exercise in the room, I suggest putting down a towel to do your push-ups and sit-ups!
Beau!
Learn more in my book Lessons from China: A Westerner’s Cultural Education
Fairmont Peace Hotel in Shanghai image: www.tripadvisor.com