Originally Posted by
AwardBee
I'm in Changsha right now, staying at the Crowne Plaza. Got an upgraded room as IHG Platinum, and it's a very nice 4 star hotel room IMO. There's a food court/eatery that's open till 10pm on the bottom floor that looks fairly clean and modern, and even if you don't speak Chinese most of the places sell one style of food so it's easy to point and order.
I also figured out that if you're not getting the limo drive into the city (I used the HU flights to position for side trips from CSX so don't have a limo drive when I return to the city on another carrier), the cheapest way to downtown is to take the public airport bus (RMB 15.50) that takes you to the Civil Aviation Hotel/Changsha railway station. The last stop on the bus is about 1/4 mile from the main Changsha railway station subway entrance. From there, it was ~2 RMB to get to the Crowne Plaza, which is right outside exit 7/8 of Wuyi station. In total, RM 17.50 to get downtown in about ~1 hr on public transit, vs ~RMB 100+ to take a taxi, although that would have been somewhat faster.
I imagine most people are taking advantage of the limo service and so don't have to worry about logistics of getting to and from airport.
Thanks for the review of the property. Last time I stayed at the Ramada, which is about 3 miles away from that area of all those hotels. I would imagine this is why I had such a hard time with the language issue. I was not able to eat anything unfortunately cause I don't speak Chinese and none of the staff spoke English so I really couldn't order anything I wanted. Thank god the Ramada had an all you can eat breakfast buffet which I just stuffed up on for the whole day and was only in Changsha for a day.
But this time I'm gonna be in Changsha for two days, and there is no breakfast buffet, so I really have to be ready to be able to communicate someway somehow in Chinese to get food. Do staff at the Crowne Plaza speak a little English? Do they accept credit card at the eateries in the food court? There was literally zero English at the Ramada.
As far as getting to/from the airport, I just utilized the limo service HU offers. Drivers were very professional with a big sign and my name on it. The drivers showed up on time and had zero problems. None of them spoke English, and I asked when I made the reservation if they could send an English speaking driver, but they told me they don't have any.
Too bad this fare is gone. I would have liked to get another run in. But the cabins seem to be reflecting the rise in cost. The seat maps are much more open, with almost everyone having an empty seat next to them.