Novotel Harbin Zhongyang Street is a new city hotel on the sixth floor of a building on Zhaolin Street in the Daoli district. Harbin in winter is a city of ice and snow, and after a walk along Central Street you want to return somewhere warm, quiet and with fresh linen. Everything here is new: the bed linen, the spacious bathrooms, the even finish. From some rooms you can see panoramas of the city and one of its landmarks. The rooms are comfortable: standard ones of 30 m², twins with separate beds of 40 m² and family rooms. Guests call the hotel comfortable and note attentive staff and a varied breakfast. For a first trip to Harbin the position is a good one: the historic centre is within walking distance, and the metro takes care of the rest.
Daoli district: the Russian quarters and Zhaolin Street
Daoli is Harbin’s historic centre, where Russian and European buildings were put up at the start of the last century. Here too is Central Street (Zhongyang), a pedestrian thoroughfare paved with granite and lined with Baroque-style houses, and beside it St. Sophia Cathedral, one of the city’s symbols. The hotel stands on Zhaolin Street, 500 metres from Shangzhi Dajie metro station, about an 8-minute walk. Harbin railway station is not far either, and the Hongzhuan morning market suits a local-style breakfast.
- Central Street — a pedestrian street of early-20th-century buildings.
- St. Sophia Cathedral — an Orthodox church-museum on the square of the same name.
- Sophia Square — the heart of the district and a place for photographs.
- Hongzhuan Market — morning food and local life.
Tip for travellers: In winter the brightest event in Harbin is the International Ice and Snow Festival (roughly from late December to February): the ice sculptures glow in the evening. Dress properly warm and take a spare pair of gloves. Summer is gentler, with plenty of greenery, and people stroll along the Songhua embankment.
What the hotel has
The hotel belongs to an international chain and is new, so the amenities are clear and modern. There is a restaurant and lobby bar, a gym, a kids’ club, a conference hall and a multifunctional events hall. Airport and station pick-up, taxi booking, left luggage and a concierge are everything a newcomer needs. Among the unusual things are service robots that deliver items to the room.
- A restaurant and lobby bar
- A gym and kids’ club
- Airport and station pick-up
- Service robots, left luggage
- A conference hall for business guests
Rooms
Standard rooms are 30 m² with a queen-size bed or two single beds, the more spacious Superior categories reach 40 m², and there are family rooms of 34–36 m². The rooms have modern TVs, and guests call the bathrooms spacious. If you are going in winter, take a higher room with a city view.
Service
The staff, according to reviews, are professional and friendly. Reception helps with tickets and taxi booking, which is useful in Harbin in winter, when it is cold outside and you don’t want to flag down a car.
Rooms
The hotel offers the following room categories:
- Standard Queen Room — 30 m², 1 queen bed. In the room: shower gel, hair conditioner, shower cap, bottled water, electric kettle, minibar, private bathroom.
- Standard Twin Room — 30 m², 2 single beds. In the room: shower gel, hair conditioner, shower cap, bottled water, electric kettle, minibar, private bathroom.
- Superior Double Room — 30 m², 1 queen bed. In the room: hair conditioner, shower cap, sofa, bottled water, electric kettle, minibar, private bathroom.
- Superior Twin Room — 40 m², 2 single beds. In the room: hair conditioner, shower cap, sofa, bottled water, electric kettle, minibar, private bathroom.
- Family Room — 34–36 m², 1 double bed and 1 single bed. In the room: shower gel, hair conditioner, shower cap, bottled water, electric kettle, minibar, private bathroom.
- Deluxe Queen Room — 40–42 m², 1 queen bed. In the room: shower gel, hair conditioner, shower cap, sofa, bottled water, electric kettle, minibar.
- Queen Room with City View — 30–32 m², 1 queen bed, view: landmark view, city view. In the room: shower gel, hair conditioner, shower cap, sofa, bottled water, electric kettle, minibar.
- Superior Family Room — 40 m², 1 queen bed and 1 sofa bed. In the room: hair conditioner, shower cap, bottled water, electric kettle, minibar, private bathroom, shower.
Breakfast and dinner in Daoli
The hotel breakfast is noted as varied and tasty, and those who tried it write that it is enough even for long walks in the frost. The restaurant serves Chinese and European dishes, and in the evening you can sit in the lobby bar.
Harbin is a city with Russian traditions, so it is easy to find bread, sausage, borscht and ice cream in a waffle cone. Stroll along Central Street and be sure to try the city’s traditional food: dumplings with sauerkraut, sweet buns and the famous ice cream on a stick. It is crowded in the evening, and weekends in season are better planned in advance.
Pros and cons of the hotel
What the hotel is valued for
- A walk to Central Street, St. Sophia Cathedral and Sophia Square.
- New rooms and linen, spacious bathrooms.
- A metro station a few minutes’ walk away.
- A kids’ club and family rooms for travelling with children.
- Polite staff and a varied breakfast.
What to know in advance
- The hotel is on the sixth floor of a building: look for the entrance by the sign at the doorway.
- It is cold in winter, and the walk to the metro calls for warm clothing.
- In festival season the centre is overcrowded, and prices and queues rise.
- Standard rooms are small, so for a long trip it is better to take the Superior category.
What guests usually write
Guests most often praise the cleanliness, the new linen, the location near the centre, friendly staff and a varied breakfast. Few are dissatisfied; more often they remark that the hotel is new and many services are still being settled in.
How to book Novotel Harbin Zhongyang Street
Rooms for winter dates are snapped up in advance, so it is worth booking early. Choose dates in the “Where to book” block and complete the booking; you will see the payment method at the last step.
