I first stayed in the Friendship Hotel in 2000 on my first visit to Shenzhen and it's fair to say that at that time it wasn't that great. Since then I've mainly stayed at the Landmark and Sunshine hotels and both of these are good - albeit more than twice the price of the Friendship Hotel.

Roll the clock forward to November 2011 and I was looking for a less costly hotel as I needed two rooms and the site that I looked at showed new photos and suggested that the hotel had been refurbished so I took a chance.

I have to say I wasn't disappointed - in fact the refurbishment is still not fully completed but where it's continuing whole floors are closed so it's not intrusive.

The hotel facilities are basic (I wouldn't bother with the bar) but the rooms were clean and well appointed. The walls of the bathroom were glass which could be off-putting if you're sharing (there were blinds) but otherwise the one up from basic level rooms were fine.

In terms of location, the hotel is about 100 metres from Guomao Metro station which itself is just one stop from Luo Hu station (Luobao - green - line) and the Hong Kong border. Jiabin Road is a mainly shopping / business area and the hotel is about midway between the fantastic MixC shopping centre and the East Gate market.

In summary a well above average hotel for the price and the location makes it a bargain.