Aster Hotel

The top-floor restaurant rotates, with city views, and I came for its inexpensive Cantonese lunch buffet. There was a good range of meat, fish, vegetables, and desserts, plus a decent choice of drinks, including Long jing, tie quan yin, chrysanthemum tea, and juices. The food was okay for the price, though not the best. The dim sum selection was small, the roast duck was mediocre, and I didn't like the chicken. Desserts included fresh fruit, pastries, and ice cream. Service was fine, nothing special. The hotel is by the subway and near a large shopping centre. The place feels dated and needs refurbishing. The decor is old fashioned, and the glass elevators are stained and need a good clean.

The rotating restaurant on the top floor is a standout, with a 360 degree city view and a good choice of meat and fish. The food there is good. From my room, the city looked quite nice at sunset. The room was spacious and clean apart from the carpet, which seemed to collect dirt. It had a desk, two chairs, and a minibar, but space for only one suitcase. The bed was comfortable and roomy. Lighting was sufficient. The bathroom was clean and more recently renovated than the room, though the bathtub had a curtain. The lobby and decor felt rather anonymous. The TV channels were almost all in Chinese, as in nearly all hotels in China. The hotel Wi-Fi was almost unusable without a VPN, though that seems common to hotels in China. My ratings: rooms 6.5, bathroom 6.5, cleanliness 6, location 6, overall 6.

The bar was closed in the evening, the internet didn't work, and the hotel was dirty. It's a boring place with old-fashioned style.

Right by a subway station, so getting around Suzhou is convenient.