Chenming International Hotel

The Wi-Fi worked, and the property is nice, but the place is aging. My room had a broken shower hose attachment and a refrigerator that stopped working. The main A/C vent sits right over the thermostat/controller, so the system shuts off after about 30 seconds and keeps cycling without bringing the rest of the room to the right temperature. I was also charged for a bottle of mineral water. The rooms could use an update. The western-style breakfast buffet was a letdown too. The food warmers were off, leaving everything at room temperature, and the coffee hot plate was off as well, so the coffee wasn’t hot. It seemed clear they weren’t paying attention to food safety or serving temperatures. Sadly, I’ve seen that attitude across Shandong, even at 4 and 5 star hotels. Maybe that’s why I was sick for much of this trip. We had a private dinner at the hotel restaurant. The food was good, but the service disappointed again. When I asked for bottled water, the waitress seemed offended. I had to ask several times, and she took 15 minutes to bring it, at room temperature. I understand that serving a glass of boiled water is the custom in this part of China, but a hotel like this should have bottled water available for western travelers. They stock the rooms with it for 6RMB/bottle, after all. The worst problem was the room key cards. Because of a billing dispute with my supplier, management shut them off while our belongings were still in the rooms. That was TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE. In all my years travelling, I’ve never been deliberately locked out of my room. My supplier eventually resolved the dispute, but this was the wrong way to handle it. Hotels ask for a credit card so they can charge you if you stay an extra day or use the mini bar. The service overall was very disappointing. They have work to do.