I booked the hotel through hotels.com. When I arrived, the hotel had no record of my booking. Since it was late at night, I decided to book directly with the hotel and figured I would contact hotels.com to resolve the reservation issue. Hotels.com said they were unable to resolve the issue due to the hotel cancellation policy (which they told me, they did not have from hotels.com). So this hotel got paid twice for my single stay. I will continue to fight this and possibly use another service.
This is a great budget-friendly very comfortable property in a great location. A special note, however - if you do not speak Chinese or can translate quickly, then this may be not for you. This is definitely a Chinese language-oriented hotel.
It's true what others have said about the service. The front desk staff is not exactly overflowing with hospitality. Front desk employees, it wouldn't break your face to smile when people come in the door. However, they did help whenever I had a problem or question.
I was extremely disappointed with the cleanliness of the hotel. I spilled some water on the floor of the room and wiped up the spill with a towel. The towel was black when I finished. Other guests, use the slippers they give you, 'kay? The room also had a bad smell, a kind of smoke mixed with mustiness, that never went away during the week I stayed there. Every corner of every carpet looks like it needs an angled head on the vacuum cleaner taken to it.
As for the condition, it is a master class in poor workmanship. The shower wand fell off its stand the first time I used it, and it was never fixed during the week I was there. The staff just propped it up against the faucet handle. The same thing with the soap dispenser. The carpets look worn and dingy. The TV didn't work properly, so if I wanted to change channels, I had to do it the old-fashioned way - stand up and do it. The WiFi is terrible.
The hotel is comfortable. The bed is nice and cushy. The A/C is a welcome break from the humid Xiamen temperatures. The elevator works well.
The local area is hard to beat. The area around the train station is packed with shops and restaurants, and almost anywhere else you want to go in the city can be reached easily.