This is a very seriously swish hotel.

The grounds in which it is set are beautifully manicured, although the pollution level makes the outdoor pool a little redundant. I never saw anyone use it!

The common areas are clad in a remarkable selection of coloured marbles, and the main lobby is huge and airy, breathtakingly furnished.

Rooms are spacious and very well appointed, even the standard ones, with plenty of the extras that make things so much nicer: fluffy bathrobes, slippers, sewing kits, shampoos, and so on. There's a minibar, with reasonably-priced (for a change) food and drink, and coffee/tea maker. Usefully, there's a room safe, but beware the number of people who may have access keys! Bottled water is provided, although the sinks have a purified water spigot (of unknown effectiveness). In general in China, you drink bottled water if you want to enjoy the rest of your stay.

The internet service is complimentary, which is a nice touch, and it is relatively quick and not badly encumbered. I had some configuration issues, arising from a hotel router that was designed for compatibility with Windows' buggy network stack rather than for the general case, but with some careful thought I was able to hand-craft my (non-Windows) computer's networking to match.

The hotel laundry is worth a mention. Drop your clothes in at the bell-hop desk in the morning, and they'll be returned to your room by the evening, in a wicker or bamboo tray, beautifully cleaned and pressed. Shirts will be carded up (with a cute card bow-tie!) as if they'd just come off the shop shelf. The prices are remarkable: several shirts, a couple of pairs of trousers, a couple of sets of undies and pairs of socks, all done for under GBP 10 (USD 20) total. Don't bother taking a load of clothes for a long stay, just get your stuff cleaned at the hotel!

Staff are exquisitely polite and do their best to be helpful, although they often have limited English. They are a mixture of Mandarin and Cantonese speakers, so even if you know some of one or the other, you may still need to get assistance from a staff member who knows the right combination of languages, to help you communicate what you need.

The hotel has its own travel and concierge centre, and they can be very useful. It also has a tourist shop, with silks, antiques (of uncertain vintage!) and curios for sale. The shopkeeper has (very) limited English, but will show you prices (in CNY) on a calculator, and you shouldn't accept the first price you get! The key phrase you need is "Tai gui le!" ("TIE GWAY LUH", "too expensive!"). Enter the price you _want_ to pay on his calculator, and bandy back and forth for a bit. If he gets angry, just smile, shrug and leave. It's all part of the game, and few play it better than the Chinese. Be very careful about buying real antiques, as Chinese Customs officials are on the look-out for what they - probably rightly - view as cultural raiders.

There are a number of restaurants. I was being "entertained" by my business hosts elsewhere most of the time, so I can't give a comprehensive view. The main restaurant, which doubles as the breakfast place, is light, airy and serves a pleasant mix of European food and European-styled Asian. There is also a more traditional Chinese restaurant (which I didn't have the chance to try, sadly), amongst others.

The leisure facilities are comprehensive, and I wish I'd had the opportunity to use them!

Given that rooms start from around GBP 30 (USD 60), it's more luxury than most Westerner travelers will ever experience, for a price that wouldn't get you a cramped, basic and badly-cleaned hostel bed in some American or European cities.

The Gladden has a bit of an identity problem: it wants to be Chinese, European and American all in one go. Somehow, it seems to manage it most of the time, and it's wonderfully charming when it doesn't.

I'm expecting to head back soon. Watch for updates!

Extra tips:

1. Make sure you always have bottled water with you, wherever you go.
2. Expect to get a sore throat three days after you arrive, which will go away 5-7 days after you leave China. This isn't a cold, it's the pollution. Sorry, and all that, but it's how it is.
3. Take plenty of pocket tissue packs with you. I can't emphasise this enough! Chinese toilets (whether squat flush-toilets or the Western pedestal type) often don't have toilet paper provided. You'll be fine in the hotel, but you're in a different world as soon as you leave.

This hotel is the best as far as i can tell. the service the staff. It was absolutely breath taking inside the lobby. the food was very good also.