iahphx

Yeah, unless the guidebooks are wrong, it's virtually impossible for a foreigner to rent a car in China.

Life_Platinum

In our quest to go from one Starwood property to another in China by car, I called Hertz today and found they only rent cars with drivers. The car with a driver is about $441/ week which also covers the driver's meals, but the renter is also responsible for the lodging of the driver. Looks like iahphx was right.

Now to see how difficult it is to follow the route of "HOUSE" and to travel by rail or taxi to these 4 Starwood properties.

I tried to book an airticket between PVG and Nanjing, and all flights require a change of planes in Beijing.

(My wife blames our new fasination of staying only at Starwoods on William Sanders, as she says he has created a monster)!

ktjan

Taxi is so much more convenient and inexpensive in China, especially in those big cities like Shanghai and Nanjing. Just ask the hotel concierge to write down your destination in Chinese and give it to the cab driver. For intercity travel, I always prefer to take the train (first class "soft seat") to see the scenic countryside. I've been to Shanghai twice but if I were you, I would definitely pay a visit to the nearby Hangzhou to see one of the most breathtaking lakes in China, WestLake. All major hotels in Shanghai (or at least Westin Shanghai) has tours to Hangzhou. It's a shame that although I was born in Beijing, I grew up in HK&Chicago and I did not really get a chance to see my mothercountry until two years ago.

mosburger

How are the "Western" bars and restaurants at the Sheraton? Would like to take some Chinese colleagues out for an evening to experience something "different". Do they have outdoor dining and/or drinking available?

ls

[QUOTE=Life_Platinum]In our quest to go from one Starwood property to another in China by car, I called Hertz today and found they only rent cars with drivers. The car with a driver is about $441/ week which also covers the driver's meals, but the renter is also responsible for the lodging of the driver. Looks like iahphx was right.

Now to see how difficult it is to follow the route of "HOUSE" and to travel by rail or taxi to these 4 Starwood properties.

I tried to book an airticket between PVG and Nanjing, and all flights require a change of planes in Beijing.

there are quite a few non-stop flights between shanghai and nanjing. I know China East use EMB145. But the airport in shanghai maybe HongQiao instead of PVG. Hongqiao airport is mainly for domestic flights AIK.

moondog

[QUOTE=ls]i don't believe there are any right now, actually. at least, i haven't been able to find any online (not absolute proof, but i try to be as thorough as practical in my searches).

elihu1991

I just came back from China and my Starwood experiences were great at both the Sheraton Suzhou as well as the Westin Shanghai. I got upgraded at both and the service was great. The Westin is a better hotel with better service, but the Sheraton was just great too and the space at the Sheraton was ridiculous- huge 1 BR suite, free internet, cocktails and breakfast. I Can't say enough about both places and highly recommend them. Good locations too!

bobo809

Actually it is better to use rail to travel between Shanghai and Nanjing. It's about three hours if I remember correctly, and it's inexpensive, reliable and comfortable. Flights in China are notorious for delays.

Nanjing is a very nice city to visit. It's an ancient city and is very cultural. You can eailsy spend two days there visiting monuments and cultural sites.

From NYC

I went to the spg website to book a night at this hotel, but nothing came up when I input Suzhou, China. Was advised to look up hotels in the region, and did so, clicking on China and getting the listing of hotels. The Sheraton Suzhou wasn't listed. Then did a search for the hotel in this forum, and there was nothing about the hotel being dropped or moving out. But I couldn't get to it from the spg.com site.

So, I did a Google search for the hotel, and the website for it came up and I booked a room. There was nothing on the hotel's site that gave the impression it was no longer part of *wood.

If that's the case, why couldn't I get to it, or see it listed in their China hotel list from within the spg.com site?

Lurkers, any idea what gives? (BTW, hope you both had a good July 4 holiday.)

UPDATE: Just wanted to add that my reservation shows up in my spg.com "Upcoming Stays". Just checked it and it's only been about 15 minutes since I made the reservation. Still, when I input "suzhou" into the city listing for reservations, the "doesn't exist" page still comes up.

azepine00

Stayed at the property last night (booked earlier that morning) - thankfully it's still there ^
A wonderful property, suite upgrade as a plat, free breakfast buffet free access to the gardens next to it (just need to show a room key) etc etc
There is a brand new lounge but I arrived too late to spend time there.

Search for Wuxi rather than Suzhou - it comes up.

From NYC

I think most people would be like me - going to Suzhou, so looking under that city's name. Also, the hotel name includes "Suzhou" in it, so why would I think to look under Wuxi? (Admittedly, not a China expert.) If that's what one has to do, why isn't that built into the website automatically?

pcgoel

Check under:
Jiangsu


Sheraton Suzhou Sheraton Suzhou Hotel & Towers Book Now >

Starwood Lurker II

Hi From NYC,

It might due to an error with our branded websites.

The property is still part of Starwood and you have my word for it.

[email protected]

Thyetus Lee | Online Forum Coordinator(AP)
Starwood Customer Contact Centre (AP) Pte Ltd

From NYC

Thanks, Thyetus, for the reassurance. Once I saw it in my "Upcoming Stays", I knew it was still a part. Also, after Googling the hotel under "Sheraton Suzhou", the Sheraton page came up.

However, I don't understand why it just doesn't come up, on spg.com or on sheraton.com, if I put in Suzhou in the city name. People above mention all these other place names for it coming up, but why would I think of inputting those names if I've heard of Suzhou and want to visit it? In the listing of hotels in China that came up when I was directed to look at the spg property list, I certainly wasn't about to try every hotel with a location I'd never heard of on the off chance that one of them was for the Suzhou hotel.

Life_Platinum

From NYC: This is a wonderful hotel in a magical city that is filled with Chinese gardens. Make sure you see the I.M. Pei Museum located at the entrance to The Humble Adminsitrator's garden. The silk factories are also worthwhile, as it isn't very often that you can see silk worms working. Feel free to PM me if you need any help.

The Sheraton hotel at Wuxi left Starwood a year ago.