Bowgie

I agree with you. I have a $2 per night reservation in Hangzhou beginning February 22, and I will be arriving there regardless. I am not going to pay even $30 per night for this somewhat dumpy place when Hangzhou has two REALLY nice hotels (the Shangri-La is one) right on the west lake. What would REALLY bother me is having to take the walk-up rate at the Shangri-La if and when the Super 8 rejects the $2 rate on arrival.

I booked this prepaid thru Travelocity; maybe I should ask them.

Bowgie

iahphx

Given Travelocity's past history -- and the fact that no money actually needs to change hands at the hotel on a prepaid reservation -- my guess is that you're much better off than folks like me, who just have reservations at these low-ball prices. Obviously, though, what happens to you will be instructive. What I'm really waiting for is somebody with a non-prepaid reservation to show up.

iahphx

FWIW, when you go to the Super8 website to check Beijing room prices, you now get "Dates for this property are not available on our system at this time."

So somebody's figured out they had a problem. Whether they will try to solve the problem of existing reservations is another matter.

kaiotes

i'm going to have someone show up w/ a nonprepaid in late jan for beijing one.
although it was booked under my name, i'll get super 8 to change it beforehand and see what happens.
i was gonna be in bj then but couldn't, won't get there til feb.

iahphx

Thanks. Let me know how it goes!

mellowg

A bump, a reminder to the mods to re-locate this thread, and a request for any updates on check-in experiences with the $2/night rate...

cur

You can find some really nice Inns around China for $10 a night, and they're quite nice.

sertav

I'm going to be in China later in the year... some suggestions would be appreciated. Locations:

- Beijing
- Shanghai
- Kunming
- Hong Kong
- Macao
- Shenzen

Cheers

iahphx

Anyone try to use this rate yet?

Bowgie

duplicate

Bowgie

I will be in Hangzhou on February 22 to check in at the Super 8 Hotel.

On another website, I saw a review from a guy who stayed at the place in January and liked it. (He did not specify the price he paid.)

Bowgie

iahphx

Thanks. My rez is for Beijing, which is obviously where I'm most interested in. But I'm surprised we haven't heard any reports from any of the properties yet.

As far as reviews go, everything I've read about Super8 in China so far has been good. They apparently offer decent value even at the regular rates. The thing is that Chinese hotels are generally not too expensive, so the appeal to American travellers is probably limited (ie, they can afford to stay at a posher place).

eekelly

I have a 2 night reservation, not prepaid, made by phone directly with Super 8 for March 8 and I have an email confirmation showing a rate of 176 yuan for the 2 rooms. However, I called Super 8 a week or so ago and was told that my reservation shows $44 US per night. Does not sound promising, but we are going to stay there no matter what. Location sounds good for shopping on Wangfujing, and we are having some onward tickets delivered to the hotel.

iahphx, when is your stay in Beijing? I was hoping that by now someone would report on their success with the low rate.

iahphx

My Super8 Beijing reservation is not until summer, so I won't be the guinea pig. It was not prepaid, and like you I made it through the Super8 1-800 number in the US. It's on something like a 4 pm hold -- the hotel wouldn't take a credit card guarantee.

I've never been terribly optimistic about this one -- I kind of expected either: 1) the reservation would eventually show at the "regular price" in the system (seemingly what has already happened to you -- I haven't checked yet); or 2) the front desk staff would "laugh" at the rate, and say I'd have to pay the regular price.

My "problem" with this reservation is that it's not really worth my while to stay at the Super8 for 44 bucks. The Super8 seems to be more than fine, but it does not seem hard to get a 5-star hotel for under $100 in Beijing. For example, the Sheraton Great Wall (not the best hotel in Beijing these days, but certainly decent) is offering "deluxe" rooms to Starwood Preferred Guests for $45 plus 2800 SPG points. For 2800 points, I'd probably just as soon stay at the Sheraton. And I haven't even yet begun shopping other alternatives.

BTW, what "onward tickets" have you already booked? I made an inquiry on the Flyertalk "Asia" "travel & dining" board about booking domestic Chinese plane tickets. So far everybody has told me that, to get a good price, I have to wait until I arrive in China to book them. The guidebooks say the same thing. It's not really what I want to do -- I'd rather plan my itinerary before I arrive and not deal with the hassle and uncertainty of booking tickets in China "at the last minute." But every country seems to have their unique travel quirks. In China, it seems to be that advance reservations are unusual.

eekelly

We've ordered train tickets for the next leg of our trip, Beijing to Suzhou on an overnight express Z train. My previous experience in obtaining train tickets in China are that soft sleeper (4 per compartment) tickets sell out early and so we did not want to take a chance that we could not get them for the date we wanted. The Z trains are a new type of express, nonstop I think, from Beijing to Suzhou. There is only one per day and since we want to go on a certain day, we spent a premium to order the tickets ahead from http://www.chinatripadvisor.com. Ticket is $58 and from ChinaTrip, $75.

I have purchased plane tickets on the spot in China with no problem, either from a hotel agency or one on the street, and we will do the same this time. Even been able to change dates with no penalty. Consult a Frommers China for info. Be sure to ask for a discount as they are freely given; maybe even compare prices.

We are staying at the Great Wall Sheraton with Cash & Points on our return to Beijing. We also stayed there in 2004. While it's a nice, western style hotel, it is not near the usual tourist sights, or at least the ones I'm interested in. We've stayed in the same area as the Super 8 at a Chinese hotel, also about $45-$50 per night, and were able to walk to the Forbidden City, Tian'amen Square, the night market, and lots of good shopping and eating.

I'll let you know how our rate experience turns out. Sounds like you are in Houston also...

Edna
West University