Tianjinshi Ziben Hotel

I went to Tianjin on business, and our hosts highly recommended Crowne Plaza. I can see why: the rooms, service, location and views were all great. I booked through Expedia and ran into some problems because of it. Crowne Plaza didn't have the room type specified, but they did accommodate my request for a non-smoking room. My only other criticism is about the signs asking guests to conserve water and avoid doing laundry every day. As with most modern hotels, I can't tell whether they actually follow those guidelines. So every other day I leave the "do not disturb" sign out all day, to make sure they don't take all the towels and sheets. Otherwise, I highly recommend the hotel. Top notch, in this traveler's opinion.

Not bad, but not great either. The wallpaper is old and peeling, and the hot water doesn’t get hot. There’s no airport shuttle. Also, there was NO CHRISTMAS DISPLAY in the lobby!!!! They used to have a beautiful one.

The lake across the road is nice for a long walk, and there are some supermarkets nearby. The rooms are roomy, clean, and comfortable. There's an Irish pub behind the hotel: turn right at the main entrance and follow the road around. It’s about 25 minutes from the airport.

There’s not much to see around here beyond the big lake in front, and it’s a long way from downtown. The area feels pretty dead. I did love the range of beers at the hotel, though, and the service and staff were great.