Yatai Hotel Jilin

Spent 2 nights here and was slightly apprehensive after reading negative reviews. This hotel is a small step down from the Jin An, but I'd say it's better value due to the larger step down in price. We paid 318 RMB per night for two people including buffet breakfast. Pros: - Big, comfortable bed - Clean room and clean, modern bathroom (sliding bathroom door & window let you open up the room) - Good shower pressure and hot water, plus all the little toiletries we needed (toothbrush & paste, shaving razor, shampoo & shower gel, cotton swabs, etc) - Complimentary coffee, tea, bottled water & fruit in the room - Big buffet breakfast with lots of options - Nice lounge area downstairs to meet people who aren't staying at the hotel - Seems like a central shopping area, and a straight shot to/from the main train station (30-minute walk with no turns; about 10 RMB or less for taxi) Cons: - A bit of a stale smoke smell in the room and hallways, but I expected worse based on previous reviews. I think they may have renovated recently and tried to fix that issue. It wasn't bad, but it was apparent. - Not much English at the front desk, but the staff were willing to try. One woman spoke a little English when we checked in, but she was not there at check-out or other times. We got by with translation apps. We will probably stay here again if we go back to Changchun.