Have stayed here many times in the past, always pleasant, stayed for a romantic getaway with my girlfriend for the New Year. Called down for a wine opener and was told the hotel only had one. After some arguing got the wine opener which they left for us to use and then subsequently came after 30 minutes later, ignoring the Do Not Disturb on the door, knocking and calling on the phone. (we ignored them) After thoroughly wrecking our arrival and the wine we had planned on enjoying after it we called down for room service and were again grilled about the wine opener. I told them they could certainly have it back, for a hotel with four restaurants, a bar and only one wine opener it must be inconvenient for the other, wine-less guests and I would call down for it again in a couple hours when I planned on opening a second bottle of wine. Oddly, they neglected to take it when the room service was delivered. The food arrived quickly and was, as always, delicious. (from the Chinese menu)

First bright point, the food at the Celestial, if you are looking for authentic Sichuan cuisine they have it. The food is deliciously spicy without being heavy and our subsequent trip to the restaurant proper was wonderful with attentive service, a serviceable wine selection (Mondavi Sauvignon Blanc is a great balance to the spicy Sichuan) and their own, private wine opener. The buffet breakfast is also well done with a wide selection of Western, Chinese and Japanese food. Despite the light crowd there was nothing left too long under heat lamps or missing from the line-up, really well done.

As for the other amenities, the fitness center is well maintained and clean with a good range of equipment and a spa, which we did not get to on this trip, the concierge gave us an excellent suggestion for a local restaurant for lunch. (hard to find open places over the New Year!) The internet was a disappointment, 80RMB per day is acceptable but the new policy of 80RMB per day per device meant that if I wanted internet in my room for my computer, phone and my girlfriend's phone and computer it would be 320RMB per day. This perverse incentive meant we got our internet fix a couple times a day for free in the lobby.

Unfortunately the final straw for my girlfriend was attempting to get her shoes polished using the complimentary service which stated clearly "Call guest services for a complimentary shoe shine, we will pick them up and drop them back off to you". She called guest services and explained herself four times in mandarin (she's fluent after living in China over a decade) after being told to use the "shoe mitt" included in the room. She was rewarded with guest services taking the basket with her shoes and returning it an hour later untouched with a fresh shoe mitt.

At check out I had a question about the bill and deposit, the manager walked over, literally tore up my receipt for the deposit in front of me, said "It's no problem, don't worry about it!" turned around and walked off without answering my question. As the question was about something I thought I should have been charged for but wasn't I let it go figuring I had made the effort and it wasn't worth her time.

We did not feel like wanted guests during this trip at all, it seemed that every request was met with resistance and we were an enormous inconvenience to the staff. Even buying chocolates was a 20 minute ordeal involving one person running off to get the key to the display case then running off again to get change. This hotel is not set up with guest comfort and convenience in mind. After two days my girlfriend treated me to two days at a competing hotel, apparently not a new occurrence as she heard the cabbie say to the doorman as we left for our new lodging, "Lost another one to the ******* huh?" and they both laughed, unaware of her fluency.

This is not normal for the Sheraton or Starwood, my stays at other properties in places such as Chicago and Poland have been stellar. I hope that someone can address these problems and return some of the lustre to this property, it has a lot of potential. If you are staying for business or can avoid the bustle by staying on the Club level (I have stayed many times as a guest with my local business partners) you may get a better experience.