Top Qingdao Hotels

Upon Arrival at Qingdao airport, if you need to use the loo/toilet, do so before Immigration. I mention this because none of the passengers on our Dragon Air flight noticed the loos before Immigration. The signage is bad! Once you pass through Immigration, there''s only one loo (seat) per toilet and the ladies were not happy when you''re the 10th one in line. On Departure, the departure tax office is located near the Duty Free Shop which I found out after going through Health Check and Customs checks. If you''ve got alcohol with you, not stuff that you bought from duty free, do pack it into your check-in luggage. Our unopened small bottle of Bacardi was taken away from us. There was no signage about this. No one at check-in asked us about our contents in the hand carry. I demanded my bottle back, opened it, pour out the contents and threw it in the bin which incidentally is hard to find.

This is the first time I visited Qingdao. The weather was fine but rather cold. I went walking a lot during the weekend. The nearby Laoshan is worth visiting if you like some fresh air and get away from the crowd (although I was told that during the summer month even Laoshan can be rather crowded). Zhanqiao Pier is also very nice and worth spending few hours. I am disappointed about Badaguan Scenic Spot. The area has been neglected. Apart from some run-down German architecture there is nothing special to be excited about.

Qingdao is a beautiful city. "The little Qingdao", an off-shore island, is a must-see place. In contrast, personally I felt that Mt. Laoshan is so-so.

Qingdao was a great place to get away from regular chinese cities: fresh air, no pollution and great parks, streets and seawalks for strolling around. The chair lift to the TV tower is fun, but there''s not much to see in this mountain park. However, the hiking trails looked all right. Roland''s Cafe (around the point near beach no. 3) has a great patio with BBQ, pizza and cheap beer.

Great architecture from the German period and pleasant sea front best enjoyed in summer - it gets cold in winter. Around the hotel are some pretty good Korean and seafood restaurants.

The Chinese and the Japanese restaurant in the hotel was ok.

Easy to go around as the hotel is located right in the financial and commercial district. Most places to go to for eating and some shopping and convenience store or supermarkets are just walking distance. Some good restaurants outside can be recommended by the hotel.

We are working in Jinan so Qingdao is a great getaway destination. Very picturesque and the people are really friendly and speak pretty good english. If you''re european then go down to the waterfront opposite Gloria Inn. You''ll be treated like a star as everyone wants to take photos with and of you! The Lonely Planet Mandarin PhraseBook got us around pretty well.

A fantastic restaurant in Qingdao is called Hemingway, although the spelling is different and the pronunciation is totally different...it is beautiful and luxurious and the choice of food (ranging from vegetables to meat to fish) is unbelievable - they must have 50 varieties of fresh live fish and seafood and at least as much fresh killed!<br><br> If you are in Qingdao, you have to go at least once - and the prices are terrific...real value! It is only about 15 minutes drive from the hotel, right at the beginning of Donghai Lu!

As my trip was for business I didn''t have time to see any sites however the general appearance of this town with a beach and many locals swimming in the sea was a welcome change from a completely industrial/business city like Shanghai.