Coro Hotel @ Chongqing Fortune Plaza

If you look on Google Maps, the location of this hotel in the CBD of Yubei shows a Days Inn, and that may set an expectation level in your mind that will not be met by reality. The Coro Hotel was previously affiliated the Days Inn corporation, but ended that relationship because the hotel was quite frankly better than what a Days Inn experience typically is. Be sure to visit their English web site, it is surprisingly complete and offers direct booking specials on occasion. I didn't originally book here, but wound up here after problems with another property being overbooked. It was, quite frankly, out of my normal budget range (around US$100/night for one of their better rooms, I normally spend 1/2 or less of that when I travel alone), but I was recovering from a cold, had a bad travel experience getting to this city, and was quite frankly just in need of a bed. The front desk staff, whether at 3 am or 3 pm, were wonderful and attentive. When I finally got to my room at 3 am, expecting a bed and a TV, I found a wonderful king-sized (1.8 x 2 meter) foam mattress bed with more real pillows (not just decorative throws) than most Chinese hotels would have in 4 rooms- just what my illness recovery was begging for, not the batten-covered plywood boards some places in China have and not overly soft as many of the Western hotels seem to overcompensate with. The room was a business suite, far more than I needed for a solo traveler, but came with a living area, an office area (with a full computer and both wired and wireless internet), and separate shower/bath that I would have been happy to have in my home. Ample closet space for two people, complimentary thick robes and slippers, and a mini-fridge with free drinks rounded out the amenities. My bright and sunny south facing room overlooked a quiet lake surrounded by a lovely shopping center with plenty of international dining opportunities, a movie theater, and at least several coffee/tea shops for just whiling away an afternoon. I strongly recommend asking for a south facing room, as north will have you overlooking a freeway. If you are a business traveler in need of a great room, property-wise, I don't think you can go wrong here as long as you need to be in the Yubei area of Chongqing. But if this isn't where you need to be, and you don't want to take a taxi, just be warned that the nearest subway stop (Optical Electronic Zone, Line 6) is about a 25 minute schlep up and down the curvaceous figure of north Chongqing- great exercise, at least, and does take you through a lovely park and square area, if you choose. There are 2 restaurants which I unfortunately didn't get a chance to try, and a modest gym with some exercise machines and dumb bells that gave me a chance to work up a sweat. If I have any complaint, it is the typical nit of Chinese hotels not providing outlets by the bed for the use of the customer. Unplugging one of the bed lamps got me the USB charging I needed, fortunately. I took pictures of the room, but it seems I can't upload them here. There are pictures on their web site, and I can tell you that my room was nicer than any shown. All in all, a very happy accident. If I get back there in the future, for sure it will be on purpose.