Hotels in China

Our recent trip to the countryside involved staying in two different hotels which prompted me to share some of the differences between hotels in China and in the States.  

Every hotel I've been to in China requires you to insert your room key in a slot near the door in order for any of the electricity in the room to work.  I think it's an energy-saving method so that you can't leave things running when you leave.

Also standard in Chinese hotels rooms are disposable slippers :)  They are actually quite useful and especially appreciated in carpeted rooms which in my opinion are a bit nastier than tiled rooms.

This is a standard bathroom for an average hotel.  (This one was a 3-star hotel in the countryside, but the only one where foreigners are allowed to stay in that county).  Except in nice hotels, the shower generally isn't divided...it just gets the entire bathroom wet when you use it.

Mostly it is standard now, but it is still always a good idea to make sure the hotel has hot water available 24 hours a day.  This same hotel had a unique feature.  Hot water was available all the time, but you had to leave your room card in the slot for 2 hours before it would work.  (#1)  This sign also informs guests not to wear your disposable slippers in the bathroom because they are slippery when wet.  (#2)  They generally provide two pairs of regular rubber slippers you can use.  You then have the decision of putting your own feet directly on the bathroom floor or in slippers that have been used by all the previous guests :)

What isn't standard is a refrigerator.  At our last stay it just happened to be cold enough to use the area between the two window panes to make our own.

A standard room in a Chinese hotel also means two TWIN beds.  You generally have to pay more for a room with a larger bed.

Standard freebies left for guests in the bathroom include a comb, a toothbrush and toothpaste, and a shower cap.

A tea kettle (not a coffee pot) is standard.  There are generally also packages of ramen noodles available.  Sometimes free and sometimes for purchase.