Suzhou May Day: Prepare for the Horde!

[Zachary Hayes]

My god! I must give Suzhou a terrible review! What the hell, Suzhou !

This time, my experience in Suzhou (a renowned Chinese city known for its classical gardens and water towns in eastern China) was truly awful.

• From booking hotels to purchasing tickets, my frustration only grew:
  • Sometimes the bookings failed, or prices would suddenly double overnight! Even Shanghai (one of China's largest cities with relatively higher living costs) couldn't even compare.
  • It felt as though their intention was to "do a one-time deal and run" – meaning they only intended to rip you off once instead of wanting to become your favorite place to return to. One and done!
• Oh, and the hotels? The same old disappointing story: price doubling aside, what more can you expect:
  • I arrived at my hotel around 11 PM, only to find solid evidence of previous guest’s presence on the toilet, yuck!
  • I stewed with anger as I toured the scenic sites during the daytime.
• Moving onto the issue of check-out, it was akin to being fleeced:
  • Returning from one scenic site on May 3rd, I was more than fed-up so I wanted to cancel the room for my expected last day.
  • However, the hotel rules had me stuck because I spoke to them after 2 PM, their check-out deadline; thus, aiming to only reverse my planned final day's cost.
  • When I booked, I paid 288 RMB for each night. However, when I tried to cancel, they told me that the first two nights cost 377 per night and this last day would only cost 171. Oh, really!
  • They then offered some excuse about a cleaning lady who had already finished her shift, so the room couldn't be cleaned; therefore, the hourly rate (which offers a cheaper alternative if staying less than a day) wasn't applicable for me.
  • Had I known they were calculating at such a rate, I wouldn't have possibly booked three days’ stay as I could've found a nearby better-quality hotel with reasonable rates. I would've saved plenty!
  • Not to mention, the actual costs for the rooms I had booked had significantly dropped too low (with no knowledge of the hotel's actual pricing tactics): 95 RMB on May 4th and 160 RMB the previous day, yet still charged a ridiculous 377 for May 3rd!

️ Critical reminder for future visitors to Suzhou:

• Absolutely, please don’t make the same mistake and pay for several days' accommodation in advance!
• The wisest move would be to book hotel accommodations day by day. Otherwise, the hoteliers will surely try to scam you, leading to no recourse to right the grievance!

Conclusion: Suzhou gets a terrible review! And as for myself, the one actually spending the money? Stupid as hell, essentially being fooled into cleaning bathrooms at exorbitant costs! A 377 RMB toilet service per day!

[Dr. Israel McLaughlin]

What the heck, that's so messed up! It was just over 300 including breakfast when I first looked, but after I refreshed, the price jumped to over 500 and didn't even include breakfast anymore.