Where to Stay

Qingdao's binary personality as a major shipping force and a happy resort community lends richness to its hotel options. Regardless of whether one is visiting on business or in search of one of beach side relaxation, most hotels can accommodate the needs of every visitor. Hotels range from lofty five stars to what-time-does-the-electricity-kick-on two stars.

Rates fluctuate wildly, depending on season. Summer is Qingdao's busy time so prices are inordinately higher. From January through March rates are giddily inexpensive. Advanced reservations are imperative, especially for a hotel with a beachfront location, during the busy vacation of months of July and August and during major holidays such as Spring Festival in January, Lantern Festival in February, and also during Qingdao's famous International Beer Festival.

Visitors in search of mollycoddling the senses with riotous, five star opulence will not be disappointed. The Shangri-La Hotel is so unconscionably lavish it would cause even Donald Trump to blush. Thick with amenities, its downtown location also provides close-at-hand access to Beach Number One, the Zhanqiao Pier, and the world famous Qingdao Brewery. The Hai Tian Hotel goes one opulent step further with a waterfront location, affording guests the type of coastal sea views normally only enjoyed by lighthouse keepers and cliff-nesting puffins. Besides the expected amenities, this plush palace also features five top shelf restaurants specializing in Muslim, Japanese, Korean, Western, and local cuisines. The Grand Regency, Shandong Province's first five star, also warrants mention. Its location in Qingdao's gritty industrial and commercial district makes it popular with business people, not so much with beach-seeking vacationers.

Four-star options are many, the tower-like Crowne Plaza Hotel coronets the list. Its beach border location makes it massively popular with vacationers. An amazing nine restaurants, including Murano's, Qingdao's first authentic Italian eatery, mesh with its 388 rooms, creating the illusion of lodging in an extremely elaborate food mall. The Oceanwide Elite Hotel also borders Qingdao's seafront, but in a classically colonial setting. All the seaside rooms furnish views of the Zhanqiao Pier and Little Qingdao Isle, meanwhile Zhongshan Road, Qingdao's main thoroughfare for shopping and dining, looms just around the corner. Both the Dongfang Hotel and the Huiquan Dynasty Hotel offer hare-footed access to Government Hall, the convention center and the beaches. For a welcomed departure from the usual hotel scene reserve a room at the Sea View Garden Hotel. It features European-style cottages set along the coast, creating a relaxing village-like setting. For a true city escape check into the Surf Plaza Resort Hotel. Located 15 minutes from downtown in the center of Old Stone Man National Park, it is one of the only Qingdao hotels to offer a private beach and its own golf course. Views of the Laoshan Mountains are superb, and outdoor recreation options are many.

Three star options abound, too. The Zijinyuan Hotel offers reasonable rates without sacrificing amenities. Only 30 minutes from the airport, it also offers access to Lu Xun Park and the Navy Museum. For contact with Qingdao's European past consider the wonderfully colonial Zhanqiao Hotel. Built in 1911 by German architects and refinished in 1955, it offers wonderfully reasonable rates for a sea-facing hotel. As an added bonus Beach Number 6 lies within quick walking distance. If a downtown location is of no concern, check into the Golden Beach Hotel. Located about 20 minutes outside the city on the only road winding into the Laoshan Mountains, it offers swift access to hiking and beach activity. Despite its relative "isolation," dining options are of no concern for it features four restaurants ranging from authentic Cantonese to Korean. Plus, it ranks as the nearest three star hotel to the airport (25 minutes).