A freezing hostel and hot hotpot
The nice thing about arriving in Kunming is the airport is really near the city, we got to our hotel in about 10 minutes. I booked the Mercure Hydro Majestic chiefly because of its grand name and because it was cheap (30US$). It's a good hotel (later we will realise this is the best accommodation we will have for a looooong time) with central hot and cold air in a big spacious room with a view. However we were only booked here for one night as despite it's comfort its not exactly a good place to meet people.
The
next day we checked into the Hump for a week. This should give us some
time to find other long term accommodation. At first I loved it, the
decor is typical traditional Chinese and the rooms are really special.
The hotel is on the main city ring road. A walk around the block has the usual street food, random shops and markets. To reach most places of interest you will probably need to get a taxi or bus. If you are looking to make friends and explore the city you might consider staying elsewhere.
I booked the Hydro Majestic because I liked it's grand name. But aside from the name and palatial lobby, little else could be described as grand. The hotel felt empty and the restaurant uninviting. Desite having a spa, VIP room and various other facilities, this is not the kind of hotel you would tend to hang about in.
The room however, was a pleasure to enter. There was plenty of space to drop the luggage and it was quiet (unlike ALL of Kunming with it's never ending cacophony of blaring car horns). The room instantly provided us with comfort and we were grateful for the central heating (in January Kunming is chilly).
So the room is fabulous but the rest of the hotel is lacking something. Maybe the hotel is nothing special, but we will always have fond memories of the Hy Maj, shortly after staying there we moved into what would be a long stay in much, much worse accommodation.
WIFI? For a fee, otherwise a cable is provided.
Helpful staff? They are friendly and speak just enough English to deal with routine inquiries, I wouldn't advise asking any complicated questions unless you can speak Chinese.
Yummy breakfast? Not a chance, for us it wasn't included in the price and was a steep 46rmb and did not look appealing. Go to Wen Lin Street: Salvadors or Prague cafe have awesome western breakfasts for 25 - 35 rmb.
