City Inn OCT Loft Hotel in Shenzhen?

[kathrynlois]

Hi everyone,

This hotel looks pretty cool, but I'm wondering two things:

1. Should I be sketched out that there are no reviews of it (that I can find) anywhere on TripAdvisor? Has it been recently bought and name-changed after two years of dismal ratings or something? Has anyone actually stayed there or seen this place?

2. It's apparently here. Is this a decent district for looking around, a bit of shopping (we are not hardcore shoppers), etc?

I would also gladly take hotel recommendations if you have them, but of course I realize that I should be looking through TripAdvisor myself to find one.

Thanks one and all for any help!
K

[wtbhotia]

this hotel is quite west of the major hub (lo wu, dongmen) etc. Not much out there in my opinion, it is close to Shekou (major nightlife like wan chai, many expats there).

what is your main purpose of staying in shenzhen and what is your budget.

[kathrynlois]

Hmm, if it's away from the main area maybe that's not where we want to be. If there's good restaurants though .... do you ahve a recommended district and/or hotel for a vacation that will keep us busy without being dead bored of the same old shops? We'd like to look at art, etc.

Thanks!

K

[wtbhotia]

Ok if its ART ur intrested in then u must visit the Da Fen Village in Shenzhen, i hear its about the size of Sai Kung Town. see below website
Shenzhen : Dafen: The Artist Village of Shenzhen - travel Shenzhen with ChinaTravel.net

Official website of this place.

Da Fen Village

address in chinese so that u can take a taxi.

華 硊ㄩ旮詀庈韓詣票憚誰耋湮煉蚐賒
薊炵萇趕ㄩ0755-84732633 84732622


If want to shop and also visit this art village, i recommend u stay in Lowhu area

[Football16]

If you want a budget hotel but clean and close to subway and shopping try the Shen Tie Hotel - it is mostly Chinese but like it is clean and not too modern. Some rooms seem a bit better than others but you can't beat the price.

It is within walking distance of the MTR at Lo Wu at 63 Heping Road.

A not bad map here:
http://www.szcpost.com/map/index.html

Take care!

[Hatch]

City Inn is run by OCT group. The same company that has Windows of the World, happy Valley, China Folk Culture Villages Theme parks. This is there move into budget, but hip, lodging. OCT Lofts is nearby and is a bunch of converted warehouses turned into spaces for creative industries.

[dantart]

The OCT (Overseas Chinese Town) area is the main area for art galleries, in addition of course to the artists' village Da Fen which is about 40 minutes from OCT by taxi. Overseas Chinese Town is a very pleasant leafy area to stay and City Inn is , as mentioned above, the budget hotel brand for China Travel which is China's largest travel industry operator. City Inn is a perfectly OK place to stay and I suggest you ask for the hotel to give you directions on how to get there, as it is not far from the metro. Also the parent company run tons of tourist buses so there is probably a bus which will stop off at the hotel.
If you are staying in Hong Kong on your way to Shenzhen, at Dymocks Bookstores you can buy the fun Shenzhen Unique Guide map which shows all the art galleries and places of interest for art.
The only downside of staying in OCT is that you need to plan ahead where to go to eat as if you walk around you won't easily run into restaurants. However if you take the metro one stop you will find masses of places to eat or if you go to the Holiday Plaza mall (opposite the Crowne Plaza Hotel) there are lots of great places to eat, particularly regional Chinese.
Overseas Chinese Town is an affluent, upper-middle class area and you won't get hassled or stared at like you might in the busy downtown Lowu area. You definitely won't be bored! There are lots of things to do and see - too numerous to mention which is why I recommend the Unique Guide map.
Just to add to I said about restaurants, there are some in the arty Loft area where City Inn is, but they are expensive compared with general Shenzhen prices. (Which are amazingly cheap...) There are also wine bars and a good jazz place in the Loft area. Also the bar at the nearby Crowne Plaza always has great live music and is one of Shenzhen's main meeting places. The InterContinental is also close by, also with excellent night spots. (All these five star hotels are not expensive in Shenzhen.)

[kathrynlois]

Great information, thanks everyone!

[ray98]

When I visit SZ I always go to the Holiday Inn Express on the Guiyuan North Road - its like brand new - take a look on Last Minute Hotel Deals - Rates To Go