I have stayed here several times over the past year and each time I have to manage my expectations in a significant way. The hotel "looks' very nice and indeed the accomodations are certainly well above adequate by normal China hotel standards. The Asia Hotel bills itself as a 4-5 star property, however, like many things in China these days, appearance tends to trump substance and this hotel is a case in point. Rooms, while clean and reasonably well appointed are small - bathrooms are "tight" - again, not what you'd expect from a 4-5 star property in Asia.

A few specifics for those considering staying here:

1) if you are a non-smoker, this is not a good hotel for you. Out of 12 floors, only 2 - the 7th and the 11th - are designated non-smoking. In and of itself, this is not a problem, however, due to this being primarily a local market property, smokers predominate and the smell of smoke permeates absolutely everything - including non-smoking rooms. Reserving a non-smoking room in advance is also problematic as I've only received a pre-requested non-smoking room upon check in 1 in 3 times (I was able to get moved the other two so they can be quite helpful).

2) staff training is marginal and I have yet to see the same people working here on any two successive visits. There are an abundance of "trainees" however and they really do try hard, but somehow the hotel doesn't seem to set them up for success. Due to the wide variances in skill sets among employees, service levels are equally varied - one minute you're put out, the next you're awed... there tend to be more "put outs" than "awes" on any given day, unfortunately.

3) english (or German or French as far as I can discern) is not well understood except in formulaic memorized bursts - not sure what the language learning process is supposed to be, but this hotel bills itself as a Chinese 4-5 star property ... and this is undoubtedly how it's perceived in the local market. It would be a 2.5-3 star max in comparison to other "international" properties in terms of service levels.

4) services are subject to inconsistent hours (I have yet to discover the exact hours the cashier is available to change money - I use an ATM in the area instead).

5) On the plus side - the restaurant does serve a very solid buffet (again, not 4-5 star) but good variety, good quality and plentiful.

Again, let me stress - this is not a "bad" hotel. It just isn't a 4-5 star and if you're expecting 4-5 star you're going to be disappointed, particuarly in terms of software. This is not great value for the price.