Yes - let's all learn a tonal language from a phrasebook and then see how we get on. Say "ma". Simple isn't it? Except you just said "mother", "numb", "hemp", "horse" or "scold" depending on tone and/or context.

I've tried with absolute failure to pick up a bit of Chinese and have pretty much given up. I spent 10 years being educated after leaving school and I'm much better served applying the skills I've learned then spending time on something I'm useless at.

The fact is that any reputable hotel in a big city should have people who speak some English. It amazes me the desire that the mainland Chinese have to learn English and the chance that none of the staff spoke any in such a hotel is zero. They were obviously messing with you and your advice to avoid the place is correct. Geez - I remember going to Dalian (which I'd never heard of before) and when speaking to the Zimbabwean manager of the hotel I was in I found out that some of the staff had learnt English (on the hotel's course) so well they were able to be rewarded with transfers out of China for experience.

English is the global language - "Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, then Malaysia's foreign minister and now its prime minister, advised Communist leaders that full participation in Asean had two requirements: speaking English and playing golf." Financial Times, 1 August, 2005.

By all means, try to learn a few phrases but you'd be best sticking to please, thank you, sorry, yes and no and spend the rest of your time understanding the culture and customs so as not to cause offense randomly.

Just my humble opinion.