Travel Arrangement: Hotels, Meals

1. What are the hotels like used for the cycling tours?
The hotels in the big cities or towns we use for the cycling tours are three stars, or can be 4 or 5 star hotels upon your request, while in those small towns along the route, the best hotels available are arranged, some of them are 2 star, some are very basic lodgings.

There are lots of hotels in China, quite a few of them are above three star, hotel star in China is assessed by China National Tourism Bureau with a very strict criteria. Generally speaking, the services and facilities offered by the hotels above three-star include:

1) Central control air-conditioner, a color TV, telephone, refrigerator and a double curtain in the room.
2) A private bathroom with 24-hour hot water, disinfected towels & glasses, tooth brushes &paste, soap, bath lotion & shampoo and toilet paper.
3) One or two beds, a wardrobe, and a dressing table, with ceiling lamps, bedside lamps.
4) An electrical water boiler, with which you can boil the water to drink.
5) Round-the -clock room service.
6) Concierge service & Bank service of exchanging money & post card delivery service.
7) Business center & Tour Department.
8) Chinese and Western restaurants, coffee shops, bars, banqueting halls, conference rooms, multi-function halls, ballrooms, beauty parlors, massage rooms.
9) Shop(s) selling souvenirs.

2. Can the hotel staff understand English?
For all the 5 star hotels, the receptionists at the front desk can speak good English, and most of the other staff (room service, restaurant servants, etc) can speak some English, more or less. For most of the 3 star and 4 star hotels, especially the hotels selected by China Odyssey Tours, many hotel staff can understand English and some can speak English well.

While the staff of hotels of small towns usually don't understand English but very hospitable.

If you need help, you can always go and ask the receptionists at the front desk, who will be happy to be at your service.

3. Is the tap water drinkable in hotels?
Tap water is not drinkable except in some of the hotels. In hotel rooms there will be thermos of boiled water offered by the hotel free of charge or sometimes an electrical water boiler with which you can boil water by yourself. Bottled mineral water is recommended, especially for the first few days of your tour. The bottled water can be purchased easily for about $0.25 to $0.75 per bottle everywhere. Sometimes a bottle or two is provided free in your room by certain hotels.

4. Can I use my electrical appliances in the hotel rooms without a converter?
Throughout China (including Hong Kong), 220 volt/50 cycles is used. If your appliances are designed to operate at 110 volts, then you will need a Converter. Two-phase and three-phase sockets are commonly used in hotels. You may also need an adapter plug in order to use your electrical appliances. In case you forget to bring your own, you can always ask the housekeeper of the above three stars hotels to lend you one.

5. What kind of meals will be included in your cycling tours?
In our cycling tour, all breakfasts are included—the ones in the big cities or towns are western and Chinese style, some of which will be buffet, the rest are set menu, while the ones in those hotels or guesthouses in small towns are Chinese breakfast. Lunch and dinner are usually Chinese food (set table), but western food is available on request, at an additional cost.

6. I am a vegetarian, will you provide vegetarian (including no chicken / seafood) meals for me?
Sure, we can always make the arrangement according to your requirements. So if you have any special requirements on your food, please let us know so that we can inform the restaurants beforehand to meet your needs.

7. Do our tour guides and drivers have meals with us?
The guide and the driver in each destination will dine at the same restaurant as yours. But, they will not join you unless you invite them.

8. For example, if I want to eat at McDonald's or KFC, will I have chance to do that? Or will I have chance to choose my own meals?
Our goal is to make you satisfied, if your meals are not included in some areas and you want to eat at McDonald's or KFC or some other restaurants, ask our guides to give you some information about where the restaurants are and how to get there, etc.

If you don't think you prefer eating Chinese meals or pre-arranged meals throughout your tour, especially if you bring your child/children along with you, we suggest you leave some meals on your own so that you have chance to choose your own meals, we can always customize your tour according to your requirements.

9. We have several meals on our own, can you give us some suggestions about this?
First, always choose those restaurants that are dependable in terms of hygiene and quality.

Second, at the restaurants, ask the waiters/waitresses what the food they serve exactly is before you order, because sometimes at certain restaurants they give beautiful names to those food you may not want to eat at all.

Third, our guides are the local experts, so you can always ask him/her about what to eat and where to eat, they can give you some advice.

Fourth, prepare a notebook with the names of different food written both in English & Chinese in case you need to show waiters/waitresses what you want to eat.

10. Can we use our credit cards to pay for the meals in China?
Normally it is only in the restaurants of the hotels above three-star or some really fancy restaurants in the big cities that you can pay for the meals with your credit cards, most of the time you need to pay Chinese RMB in cash.

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