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Modern Hotel, Haerbin, Heilongjiang, China
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Address: No.89 Zhongyang Dajie
Address: No.89 Zhongyang Dajie4 star hotel in Haerbin
(4 votes)
Ranked #9 out of 23 in Haerbin
Address: No.89 Zhongyang Dajie
Reviews
I have just read the previous review and it just shows you what different expectations we all have.
This is a truly abominable awful place in absolutely every way. I am so keen to dissuade everyone from considering it as an option that I must try to calm down. I have just sent off a very long email to the agent we booked it through, attempting a full refund. We tried to complain at checkout and before that on two occasions but as no one in the whole hotel speaks little more than a single word of English the frustration of not being able to complain remains with us here back in UK.
Let me first show my credentials just so you don't think I am against quaint old heritage hotels. We have travelled throughout SE Asia and also India where we vary between locally owned and internationally owned hotels. Often staying at smaller cheaper places but equally often in big international ones. When we looked at the prices for Harbin we finished up with a choice between Shangri La and the Modern which were not dissimilar in cost. The Rough Guide and Lonely Planet gave this hotel an excellent write up.
We decided to go for locally owned as we fancied something closer to the action. All over India we have stayed in very old ones but they really are palaces compared with this tired dump.
We "indulged" in Suite 213 for 2 nights which was about £120 a night including an extensive breakfast. At check in they asked for a deposit of £260.
The room was spacious and would have been grand in its time but everything now was tired and stained and cracked and the furniture needed replacing. Hell, we could cope with that ,even at these inflated pretentious prices.
The television didn't work. The roomsafe was kaput. The minibar consisted of a single bottle of beer and a bottle of pop. Nothing else other than a pot noodle which sat in a cupboard.
Their was almost half a small roll of toilet paper. One tiny bottle of mineral water not the standard two. By the second day we had used up the toilet paper and it was never replaced. Towels were really old and worn. The bedroom was curtained off and the bed was ok reasonably clean but very tired linen. The main curtains were behind the furniture and impossible to close so as to cut out the light for the morning. You would have thought that for that money we might have expected a turn down service.
Maybe we expect a lot but we were paying a lot!
I am not finished. In a way the worst is to come.
The bar!
We try to avoid hotel bars usually but often after a meal, we finish up having a night cap before bed. We arrived on the first evening as the violinist was leaving. It was 9pm and as we sat down the lights went off. Their were a few others sitting elsewhere drinking beers. When we asked for a drink it became clear that this was all on offer though the uninterested waitress/barmaid who spoke not a single word of English and didnt even seem to understand "no" and "yes" looked puzzled by "gin tonic?" which was clearly not on offer. We could see a couple of mainly empty bottles of brandy and of whiskybut little else.
The bar was very very tired looking and some effort had been made about fifty years previously to put up some New Year decoarations which now trailed dirty old sellotape barely holding them together.
I am going on a bit but the worst of all was the breakfast which has been alluded to by others.
Well if the breakfast was so good why were so many Chinese screaming at the management? Everyone was compalining. Why was their no clean food at 8.35 in the morning with staff hanging around not knowing what to do. The food from the previous sitting had obviously not been replaced their wre just empty receptacles everywhere and a lot of mess. My wife and I managed two fried eggs between us and one slice of dry white bread. The Chinese dishes which we didnt fancy for breakfast were almost all empty anyway. The Western food the same.
The following morning we didn't bother to claim our free breakfasts.
I know that some may say that we expected too much but believe me we came expecting little. Our tv was eventually replaced with one that had no English speaking channels but that wasnt a problem even if it was disappointing. We had brought our own toilet rolls and all our other hotels in an almost 3 week stay in China were very good.
This is a tired terribly run operation with pretentions to being a good hotel. It has no concierge. The Assistant Manager who hid from us speaks not a word of any European language and the check in desk has no one who can speak a word of English.
Any good points? The Business Centre had a girl who was very helpful and spoke an odd word of English. The internet there worked quite well.
By the way we loved the Harbin experience - the Snow Festival is very good and the Ice Festival is truly sensational. We enjoyed most of all, our walk across the frozen river to the Snow Festival. How do they do it on high heels?
In the December cold of Harbin (-20 or so), the Modern Hotel was a charming and atmospheric refuge! Our room was old-fashioned but certainly convenient and up to date. The staff had a little trouble with English, but they tried hard. The breakfast was great! And the location in the midst of the Russian area of Harbin was very convenient. The whole experience gave us an unworldly feeling of having gone back to the early days of Harbin. That feeling was aided by the photos that lined the halls. We'll never forget this hotel!
You may not have heard of Harbin -it is under Russia in the north of China . Its claim to fame is its winter ice sculpture festival in Jan/Feb. We were there in March so more slush than ice but we had a great time anyway.
The Modern hotel is great - you can get a room for around 500 RMB. The place is clean. comforable and the hotel's location cannot be beaten. It overlooks the main (car free) street with cobble stones and ambience.
Around the corner from the hotel is the Modern Hotel leisure centre (I think that is what it is called) It is a fantastic place for a swim (heated pool) massage etc.
The Modern Hotel is interesting little hotel located right in the middle of one of Harbin's popular shopping districts and an easy walk to the river and most other attractions one may wish to see in this industrial City. The building itself is nicely situated on a walking promenade that resembles an older 'European' venue. The hotel seems to cater to Chinese business professionals, but is capable of handling the occasional foreigner. Of note, during the Winter, the Ice Festival is located across the river and will require a taxi for transport (as is required for all other area hotels).
The hotel itself boasts an official 4 star rating, but I suspect this is a bit inflated. The interior lobby has been nicely renovated to more contemporary specs, though the hotel itself is about 80 years old. The rooms feel a bit "old world" (to be expected), which was an attraction for me. Nothing too fancy, but interesting. The Hotel is comfortable and competent. There is a very modest "bar" downstairs that remains quiet in the evenings, with nightly piano and violin playing (which was outstanding while I was there). A breakfast foyer is located on a second level above the bar floor, and meal tickets are typically issued with the room rate.
There is no business center at the hotel (thus no discernable internet), no sundry shop for tolietries nor any English-language reading material. Some of these things can be found within the shopping district located just outside the hotel. Bring reading material with you. Complimentary toothbrushes (and the like) are provided within the room. A large swimming pool does indeed exist in a nearby hotel annex, but no sauna.
The hotel staff is typically Chinese--smartly dressed, but somewhat aloof and abrupt, which, of course, has its own unique charm. When you stand in front of them, they do seem to try hard and are otherwise fairly "pleasant". English is not spoken easily, but is generally workable. Overall, the staff is helpful.
This hotel is not for everyone. If you really want a geniune "five star"-type experience, don't come here. However, if you want something a bit more refined but not too expensive, with a bit of history at a great location, this is the spot. You're in China, so don't expect mints on the pillows or dolphin-shaped soaps. Most guests appear to be Chinese, with a sprinkling of Russians. I was the only American there that I could discern.
I personally enjoyed my stay and found the location to be superior. I would easily stay here again. Others, I suspect, may find the place less enjoyable since an effort must be made to communicate and a copy of a newspaper won't be hanging on your door in the morning. If you can live with the joys and idiosyncrasies of an older building along with a well-meaning yet sometimes distracted staff, then this is a good candidate for you.
There was nothing overtly negative about my stay here. I found most of its character to be plus. I would definitely recommend it to friends and family.