JI Hotel (Dalian Donggang Harbor Bay Plaza)

I booked a deluxe king room, and it was a bit less clean than the all-season hotels I've stayed at before. There was some hair under the table leg. Breakfast was pretty basic, nothing special.

The location is convenient, and the room facilities are complete. Just be aware that there might be all-night road construction downstairs in this area. The laundry room and everything else were clean and well-equipped. The only minor drawback was that this was our first stay at a HUAZHU hotel, and they asked us to check out before 12 PM – though we understood it was a weekend. There's also a lounge in the lobby where you can wait for your car, so you won't be left without a place to go 😄

This Atour Hotel's front desk service was excellent, and the price was reasonable. The room was a bit larger than other Atours I've stayed in, very clean, and had a large TV and a mini-fridge, which I really appreciated. It just opened in 2025, so I expected some renovation smell, but there was none when I walked in. A highlight was that all devices could be controlled by voice, even the windows could be opened and closed with a switch! The experience was fantastic! I'll definitely book here again if I go back to that area!

Great service, friendly staff, and a delicious breakfast.

I used to be a big fan of the Ji Hotel chain, but this stay completely changed my mind. We arrived at the hotel in the early hours of the morning, only to be told that the entire building had no air conditioning. Apparently, it wouldn't be turned on until June 16th. With temperatures close to 30°C that day in Dalian, it was incredibly frustrating that the hotel staff didn't bother to call us beforehand to inform us or ask if we'd like to switch hotels. Instead, they waited until 1 AM when we had already arrived to break the news (which felt like a sneaky way of forcing us to accept it, because who's going to go hotel hunting at 1 AM?). We found this level of service completely unacceptable. To make matters worse, when we tried to check in, our room hadn't even been cleaned yet. It took two front desk staff members ages to finally find us an available room. Honestly, it was a pretty speechless experience.

I've stayed at many Ji Hotels in different cities, and they usually have consistent facilities and standardized service. However, this Donggang location is the worst. The facilities lack attention to detail; the elevator is old, and even though it's newly renovated, it feels shoddy. The hallways and rooms have an odor, even with air fresheners. The lobby lights are dimmed around 10 PM, supposedly to save electricity? I heard this Ji Hotel took over a former hotel that went out of business. The front desk staff seems to be the original team. When they couldn't upsell me, they looked disdainful and cold. Around 10 PM one night, I returned to the hotel to find a female front desk staff member and two male staff members eating skewers right at the front desk...

The rooms are clean and tidy, and retrieving meals is super convenient with the little robots. The service attitude is excellent. Next time I visit Dalian, I'd definitely choose this Ji Hotel again. After all, their reputation speaks for itself.