Originally Posted by
Taiwaned
When we booked hotels in Beijing with Ctrip, the Chinese and English sites did have different selection and price however there was some really good reasons.
We went with the Chinese site because it was cheaper but the room we got was BELOW ground and had NO windows. Not a single one. It was section of rooms that separated the laundry facility and the kitchen. All the rooms were for Chinese only.
We asked why and the desk said "Foreigners complain too much with the rooms downstairs!"
Really dark and did not have to worry about the sunlight filtering in the morning. Wouldn't ask for the room again though. It felt a tad claustrophobic.
The no windows to the outside-room is contagious in the mainland. Home Inns have them, and random, non-chain Chinese hotels do too. One place I stayed at in Ürümqi had one translucent window looking over another room, and another window was just a sliver of space with an orange light.
The price could be slightly less, but I'm still holding out for non-smoking rooms that
don't come with ashtrays.