Home Inn Tianjin Riverbank Road

The location is excellent and the rooms are clean and tidy, but I ran into three serious problems. I checked in on November 9th, when Tianjin was already cold. The room air conditioning wouldn't turn on. The hotel said that because the weather was getting cold, they had stopped providing air conditioning throughout the property. If I wanted the room at 20 degrees Celsius or below, they said I should open the window. But the hotel is by a commercial street and tourist attractions, and through the open window I could hear traffic, people talking, and music from mall events. It was too loud to sleep. I have high blood pressure and was feeling feverish, and need a room temperature of 18 to 20 degrees Celsius. That just wasn't possible here. I can't believe an international brand hotel would have no working air conditioning in any of its rooms, regardless of room category. If it isn't available in autumn and winter, that should be stated on the booking site so people can choose somewhere else. I ended up stuck in a cramped room, feeling that my health was at risk. The other issue was housekeeping. Staff topped up the supplies, but that seemed to be all they did. The water glasses weren't washed or replaced, and the toothbrush holders were left open. I've never seen a hotel handle daily cleaning and room upkeep this way, whether an international or domestic brand. The facilities are really good, the location is excellent, and the rooms are nice, but management badly needs to improve. I rarely write reviews because I don't want to affect frontline staff, but this experience was outrageous and the management left me feeling compelled to post.

For my birthday in Tianjin, I chose the newly opened Four Points by Sheraton Tianjin Jiefang Bridge Hotel, set in the former Xinhua Trust and Savings Bank, a key protected site and Tianjin municipal cultural relic. The building is on Jiefang North Road, once called Zhongjie Street. Part of it became Rue de France in the French Concession in 1861, though people call it Financial Street for its role. The 2300-meter street and many of its buildings still look much as they did a century ago. It's a little over 700 meters from Tianjin Railway Station, just across Jiefang Bridge. The room had almost no renovation smell, the least I've noticed at any newly opened hotel. Breakfast included authentic Tianjin bean curd pancakes and old-fashioned tofu. Service was exceptionally good for Tianjin, a city known for poor service. But it's been over a week since I checked out and my nights and points still haven't been credited. The decor follows the usual Four Points by Marriott style, as it does around the Ganges River area. Both are budget-friendly Marriott hotels downtown in century-old buildings. I think the Jiefang Bridge hotel would have more character if it were as understated and retro as Inhabit Queen’s Gardens in London. The hotel's official description says it's at No. 10 Jiefang North Road, Heping District, Tianjin, beside the Haihe River, and separated from Tianjin Railway Station by only the river. It also mentions views of the Haihe River and nearby landmarks like Jiefang Bridge and the Century Clock, and describes the hotel as converted from the historic former Postal Savings Bank of China, a place where guests can explore the city's stories and legends.

It's in a great location.