After a 13 hour plane ride, I had finally arrived in Fuzhou China. I was born and raised in New York City, so I can make it anywhere right. Pretty much, but not exactly. I was faced immediately with a driving style that I have never experienced. Within minutes, I was ready to roll my window down, stick my middle finger up in the air and scream as loud as I could. But after watching the driver for a few minutes; I realized that this was the norm. Cars jumping on sidewalks, a constant bike and scooter "free for all," and nobody even flinched. Except me. Wow, my days of battling and intimidating taxi drivers were over... at least for now.
I ended up staying at the Empark Grand Hotel in Fuzhou to begin. The atmosphere, decor, cleanliness, staff, room service and experience was so great! I would stay here again anytime. I really enjoyed the breakfast buffet. It was an American and Chinese fusion. I liked that they had a table tent that told patrons that if they left more than a certain amount of food on their plate when they are finished, they would be charged double for their meal. Nice!!! That should teach some of the buffet minded "American Glutton Society" to only put on your plate what you are going to eat. We are so spoiled in the USA.
My next stop was Beijing China where I stayed at the Inner Mongolia Hotel. Beautiful place! I arrived in my room and noticed that the door frame was loose and looked "kicked in" a little. I went down right away and made them aware since I did not want the blame and / or the charge for the damage. I was assured that this door would be fixed in the morning, but it never happened over the next few days. Life went on. There was a small bar and restaurant on the first level that was great, but did not catch the name of the establishment. They did not know much about cocktails, but the service made up for my version of the perfect Margarita. On one of the days, I was doing some video taping at the Summer Palace. I did not stop at a restaurant on the way back to the hotel because I was exhausted and had several restaurants on in the hotel, and room service was offered. Sounds like a great relaxing evening. NOT! First I called room service for a menu and they told me that they did not have one and to call each of the restaurants and they would "tell" us what they have. After deciding to make it easy on them, I walked down to the buffet on the main level. It ended up being a foodie feast for only $25, but as a light eater; it would have been too much for me. So I went up the the Imperial Restaurant on the 4th level. They told me "we are too busy for room service" and I said "ok, I will order and just wait for my food." They turned to me and said "No!" So out of 100 restaurants that I have eaten in during my trip; this one gets the 10 thumbs down review, and I did not even get to eat there, thanks to them. A big seminar in courtesy, hospitality and management is needed for this place. And I do not care how many award winning Chefs they have :)
The next stop is one I would not have missed. I ended up in Hanghou China and stayed at the Courtyard Marriott which is connected to the JW Marriott. The manager George was quick to assist and get me settled in. The hotel and room were both wonderful. Thank you! As a late breakfast one morning, we stopped by Momo Cafe. The food and options were great and my stomach was happy and full. I heard coughing near my table 2 times while I was eating, and when I looked up, it was the Chef with the biggest hat walking by my table. While finishing my meal, I noticed the Chef standing over the food bar I was facing so I watched for about 3 minutes. He coughed near the food 5 times and wiped his nose with his hand twice. I asked the waitress who that Chef was, she told me he was the Executive, and then she ran over to him and they both looked my way and laughed for some reason. Tact was not part of their game. On one of the evenings I ate at the Asia Bistro on the ground level of the JW. The buffet was incredible and Martin the manager took the time to introduce himself to me and talk for a few minutes. In a world where I do not understand the language and friends are hard to find; he was a breath of fresh air. I am not a buffet person, but this was different. I ate everything... shrimp, crawfish, crab legs, boiled vegetables, lamb chops, pig skin, beef skewers, chicken and veggies, and much more. I topped it off with a plate of small dessert samples. Yum Yum Yum! For a nightlife choice, I stopped by Velocity in the basement of the JW. I had passed by there the night before for a bottle opener and a lady by the name of Yolanda assisted me and made me feel welcome in a matter of minutes. So I came back! I was greeted this time by a server named "Martin" as well and he was so good. Yoki also helped serve my table, and was a great part of the staff here. During the stay here, I had sent my Adidas jacket to get cleaned. When it was returned to the room, I left it in the closet since the weather was a lot warmer. When we were headed to Shanghai, I grabbed the jacket and noticed a burn on the back of it from an iron or something. I called the Courtyard Marriott in Hangzhou to notify them. At first they told me that they could not do anything because I had already left. After explaining to them that it is not my responsibility to check each piece of my clothing that I entrusted them to clean, they told me to mail the jacket to them and they would take care of it one way or another. I mailed it from Shanghai immediately, they notified me via email that they had received it, and then wrote me back that they cannot do anything to fix the situation. They asked me if I would like the jacket mailed back to my US address, and I said yes. It is now a month later and I have not received the jacket back. So a big loss on my part from the Courtyard Marriott, plus I was freezing during my stay in Shanghai.
My final stop China was Shanghai. We stayed at the Renaissance Yu Garden Hotel and it was fantastic. Pulling into the driveway we were greated by the conceirge staff. They took care of everything for us, and sent us up to the Lobby level to get checked in. Gorgeous! Then to a contemporary and clean room with a view, and a bathtub. We rushed to the store to get some bubble bath for this occasion. After running around town for hours on end, a relaxing bath is exactly what I needed. Lovely ending to our trip to China! Thank you Renaissance.
No comments:
Post a Comment