I’ll get one thing out of the way: the Ashan River View Hotel in Chongqing is nothing special. It’s pretty much just your run of the mill hotel that provides basic amenities and so-so facilities. That said, if you happen to be on a budget and you can’t justify a stay at hard hitters like Ascott Raffles City and the Westin Liberation Square Hotel in Chongqing, then this hotel might be worth looking into.
Ashan River View Hotel Booking:
👉 Agoda: https://agoda.tpx.lv/mU8ICciy
👉 Trip.com: https://trip.tpx.lv/TEIp8ZZP
Chongqing Ashan River View Hotel: A Nice Place to Stay for Those on a Budget
This was one of the first things I noticed after confirming my booking and checking in. The complimentary slip-ons were nothing to write home about. I’d wager, you could find these at one of the numerous department stores dotting the city. Of course, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I always value comfort and these were surprisingly comfortable and coincidentally, fit my feet perfectly.
Next to the slip-ons was the room’s safe. I was actually surprised at how large the safe is. I’ve been to more expensive places that had safes that were relatively easy to carry. This one is not only large but hefty as well. Someone might be able to carry it but I doubt they’d get far before they’re noticed.
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Now here’s another two pairs of slippers that actually look aesthetically better than the slip-ons earlier. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to take a picture of these out of the bag as I immediately ended up using them as they were also quite comfortable (and looked better).
Though it was rather small compared to the other hotels I’ve been in, the bath room in this level was still adequate enough. The wardrobe/closet here should be able to hold a number of your clothes. Much like the slippers in the previous image, the bathrobes hanging here are also free for use only. This means that you won’t be able to bring them home with you without having to pay extra.
Chongqing Hotel Recommendations Based on My Own Stay
🔹 Ascott Raffles City Chongqing
🔹 Westin Chongqing Liberation Square
Top Activities in Chongqing
Wulong Tiansheng Three Bridges
Banquet in Ba Kingdom Royal Feast
One thing I really like about hotels in China is that most of their rooms typically have a number of safety equipment that you can use in case of emergencies. A good example of these is the Fire Escape Hood and Flash Light pictured above. Thankfully I wasn’t able to use this but it was nice to know that it was easily accessible in the event something happened.
The vanity area in this level’s bath room was sparse to say the least. It featured a large vanity mirror, a sink, and a hair blower/dryer. On the shelf underneath, you’ll find a nice selection of towels that you can use to dry yourself after a bath. As you’ve probably noticed, the room doesn’t have much in terms of bells and whistles focusing more on functionality rather than aesthetics.
The toilet area was surprising as it was quite spacious relative to the bathroom. I think a lot of this space is thanks to the hotel’s use of a smart toilet. As for the toilet itself, it was quite relaxing and comfortable to use. Moreover, the automatic bidet function is just a life-changing feature on these smart toilets. In fact, I think these ought to be the standard in all hotels (regardless of their star rating).
The shower was rather spacious as well which is likely thanks to how spartan it looked. It really just featured a shower head, soap and shampoo caddy, and a faucet fixture. Now, you might think this is extremely lacking and you’d be right. I should point out though that the room actually has two levels and this currently is just at the lower one.
Here’s a closer look at the soap and shampoo caddy before we check out the rest of the room. Again, I typically bring my own toiletries so I didn’t end up using any of these. For what it’s worth though, I did get a dollop of the shampoo on my hand and it actually smelled nice.
Back to the vanity area, here’s a closer look at the hair blower/dryer. This is one of those new designs (I think this one is specifically from Dyson) that are relatively quiet compared to older models. Now it still generates some noise though I think it’s much more tolerable.
Here you’ll find the living room area in the lower level. As you’ve probably noticed, the space here is rather narrow. I personally wasn’t a fan of this at first but then it actually grew on me the more time I spent here. Additionally, the view here at night was really nice.
If you have pressing work to attend to then you can set up shop on this table. Not only is it well lit, it also has access to some of the room’s electrical outlets. Feeling hungry? You can also scan the QR on the table to access the hotel’s room service menu. Like with most hotels though, the items here are probably much more expensive than if you bought them outside.
Just behind the office table is this area where you’ll find the electric kettle. I’m not going to lie, I spent quite some time here as I really enjoy drinking coffee and tea. Unlike most of the hotels I’ve been to here in Chongqing, this one unfortunately doesn’t have a coffee maker or dispenser.
Thankfully, it makes up for the lack of a dedicated coffee machine with a fridge. The restaurant doesn’t charge for corkage so you should have no issues bringing in food and/or drinks and depositing them here to cool down. Perhaps my only gripe about this fridge is that it’s actually quite small. Still, having a small fridge is better than having none at all.
Now this is the stairs leading up to the second level of the room. You’ll notice the kitchen counter area earlier (with the electric kettle) and the door to this level’s bathroom in the background. As for the stairs, they were unsurprisingly sturdy and it was actually relatively easy to go up and down them. I guess my only gripe is that the room really isn’t ideal if you have PWDs with you on your visit here.
After getting up the stairs, I then headed straight to the level’s bathroom area. I was actually quite impressed that it had this comfy bath tub. For a regular hotel, having a bath tub of this size was actually quite surprising.
Of course, to complete your bathing experience, the hotel also made sure to provide bath salts, a bath tub cover, and even a loofah to scrub the grime and dirt that you’re bound to accumulate walking around Chongqing. The bath salts are replenished daily and you can opt to request new ones for the other two as well. I don’t carry around bath salts with me when I travel so I did end up using these.
Here’s how the bath tub looks from another angle. Again, there’s nothing fancy about this. The main draw of this hotel is really value for your money and so it’s understandable the tub isn’t replete with features. That said, it works perfectly fine and I was able to bathe here comfortably.
Speaking of comfortable, I think that’s one of the words that would best describe the bed in this room. It was just the right softness for my back and it was also positioned in a way that gave you a nice view of the city outside. The wall near the bedside table featured one of the level’s electrical outlets as well as other I/O ports. Beside the bedside table is an infrared heater that should come in handy during the winter season.
If you’re not too keen on the view of the city, you can opt to watch a movie on this video projection screen instead. Honestly though, I ended up not using this (and even the television downstairs) since I typically came home to the room exhausted after being out and about Chongqing for the majority of the day.
Really, I found myself spending more time in the bathrooms and the kitchen counter area downstairs. I particularly liked the vanity area here upstairs as it seemed like it had more toiletries and easier access to the toilet. More importantly though, it was much closer to the bed than the one downstairs.
And with this, my impressions and review of Ashan River View Hotel comes to an end. It’s honestly a nice hotel that offers a great compromise between quality and affordability. The room is unique with its two-level concept and the amenities actually aren’t too bad. It’s spacious though it obviously falls short of higher end offerings from the likes of Ascott Raffles City.
Anyway, would you stay at Ashan River View Hotel if given the chance? What other value hotels in Chongqing do you know of? Make sure to share your answers to these questions down in the comments section!
