What People are saying

Nice, Budget place

HK人on 25/05/2017 01:28

I stay in a King-sized bedroom at a rate of CNY356 (~US46) net. The hotel is located next to Time Square and metro. Sofitel just around the corner. Room space was sufficient for a single traveller for business. Shower soap used Lux. WiFi was strong at all places.
BreakFast paid CNY40 extra, with various choices. Restaurant is at 11F, clean & neat. Recommended to stay for a night or two.

Cheap, Dyslexic Attempt to Copycat an ibis Hotel

gdbillon 25/07/2015 08:46

JI Hotel is just a cheap, unsuccessful Chinese imitation of an ibis Hotel.

When in Guangzhou's Zhu Jiang New City, I'd usually stay at the Ramada. This time the Ramada was fully booked and a local colleague took the liberty of booking what is now known is JI Hotel since it is right across the street from the Ramada.

This hotel sucks sewer water. While you can get walk-up rates of $25, right from the beginning you can notice what a crappy hotel this is. Unlike most hotels, you cannot drive up to the front entrance since it is blocked. In addition, there is no hotel parking. Your car needs to drop you and your luggage at the street curb, you negotiate the barriers blocking off what should be a drive-up entrance, up the steps and into the front entrance. Not especially convenient for guests.

Check-in is smooth and the lobby area seems clean although crowded. Once you get into the elevators the stench begins. The smell of tobacco is prevalent in the elevators, hallways and, especially, the rooms. Supposedly this is a no-smoking hotel, but in China people routinely ignore that -- and such is obviously the case in this hotel. I ended up changing rooms three times until I found one that didn't stink.

The rooms are modern and functional much like an ibis Hotel. There is in-room WiFi which worked adequately, though the signal waivers a lot. The room was clean and the bed large and comfortable. Problems started when it was time to sleep. At the foot of the bed there is a flatscreen TV mounted on the wall. This TV can never be completely turned off and can only stay placed in stand-by mode. It can also never be unplugged. So, the blue stand-by light stays on forever and at night shines brightly. Because the room is small, and due to the brightness of the light and that it's only two meters from your face, it's very annoying when trying to sleep. Nothing can be done about this.

The bathroom sucks. There is hot water when you use the sink, but later when you shower you find the shower has no hot water. While you can wash your hands with hot water in the sink, in the shower it's only ice-cold water. Every day I complained about this to the reception staff and every day they'd say they would fix it. The morons would go up to the room, see hot water worked for the sink and stupidly assume it worked also in the shower.

I'd avoid JI Hotel like the plague. Go across the street to the Ramada. If you need a cheap hotel, there are many more alternatives. The ONLY alternative worse than JI Hotel is sleeping under a bridge -- and even that might not be so bad.

Conveniently Located Budget Motel

MingYangEnglishon 11/04/2015 14:08

Now known as the JI Hotel North Tianhe Guangzhou, the bed was comfortable by Chinese standards and linens and towels were clean. The shower has been modernized and upgraded and water pressure was strong with ample hot water. Two complimentary packets of instant coffee were provided with two bottles of water and an electric kettle. The location is excellent - less than a fifteen minute walk from the nearest Metro station. Wifi is included with the room rental and the signal is excellent. This is a real plus for any hotel in Guangzhou.

Negatives, however, diminish my overall impression of the property. Front desk staff speak very limited English. My reservation was prepaid in the amount of 680 RMB for a two night stay, which is reasonable for the neighbourhood. The problem was that upon check-in, I was asked to pay again. I had a great deal of difficulty in explaining that my reservation had been paid in advance. Breakfast was not included in the room rate I paid but this was not a problem as several small restaurants and convenience shops are located within a short walk.

Once I reached my room, I was overwhelmed by the smell of tobacco smoke. I opened the windows to air out the room and left the windows open throughout my stay but this made absolutely no difference.

Also, I was almost killed by the malfunctioning sliding glass doors at the front entrance. The doors came crashing together and hit me so hard on the side of the head that I was lucky only to be bruised.

The motel itself is very difficult to find as there is no marquis. It is in the last building before the end of the block and the JI can be distinguished with green letters on a white sign.

Staff were indifferent. If you aren't looking for anything more than a room, then this motel is certainly a good option -- especially if you smoke.