Super fun! This was one of the theme hotels that were hidden on the Guangzhou Street and Hong Kong Street set. Appropriately, the Rosslyn Hotels' brand icon is the Landlady from Kungfu Hustle.
Upon arrival, you check in at the North Gate's Tourist Services Desk. The concierge welcomed me with a complimentary bag of fresh fruit and asking me to add their butler (Housekeeper Xiao Xiao) to my WeChat. If I needed anything, I just had to text the Housekeeper Xiao Xiao (who was super helpful with all my questions (in English) during my stay). Then the bellhop whisked me away, via golf cart, to my hotel.
There were several hidden hotels, with different themes, throughout the set.
The bellhop took me through an unassuming door among into what looked like an empty set, and up an elevator to the room floors.
The walkway offered a lovely view of the Ming Qing Palace set next door. The rooms were supposed to be themed as Guangzhou and Hong Kong in the 70s and 80s, but could easily pass for old Shanghai.
The room was immaculate. The bed was very comfortable, the shower has nice and hot and with fantastic water pressure. The room has some of the largest closet space that I have seen in any hotel. The WiFi worked without the need to register a local cellphone number (I've found that many other hotels, in China, offered free WiFi, but you need to verify with an ID code text to you. The texts never come through to my U.S. phone number, so I have never been able to take advantage of free WiFi; that is until I got to this hotel.) The little details were delightful surprises around every corner. They always refer to guests as "laoshi" (an honorific of teacher, or master, bestowed to actors) or as "starlet". Not gonna lie, I really wanted to take home the pair of the room's bone china cups.
The stay also comes with very decent breakfast buffet that had both Chinese and western dishes. They will even make you fresh wontons and noodle soups to order. The restaurants in the park are not great and quite expensive by China's standard. I recommend loading up at the more tasty free breakfast to power through the day.
The hotel's location was very convenient for touring Guangzhou Street and Hong Kong Street; which had very lively evening shows. (As you walk through the streets, look at the stores' signs and test your TV shows and movie knowledge by finding the Easter eggs.) The Qing Ming Palace Set is across the street from the Guangzhou Street and Hong Kong Street's South Gateon the other side of the park (don't worry, it's not that far). To access the other sets, you can take their shuttle, but it does not come around very often. It's more efficient to get a Didi.
Overall, it was a magical stay of being in the movies.
