The accommodation at this hotel is first class. However, the service is way below that required of a 5star international hotel, and way below that of the Shangri-La where I have stayed on a number of occasions.

Breakfast service was non-existent - we were initially sat at a dirty table (none of the tables had been cleaned), tea and coffee took at least 15 minutes to arrive, there was no orange juice available and no milk. The selection of food was not great either, the bread had clearly been out all morning and was hard and crispy.

We booked a massage in a private room for 9pm. We got there at 9pm to be told that the couple in there before were staying longer so could we come back at 10pm? We duly did, though gave up at 10 past when the room was still not ready.

So there are some real basic things wrong with the service being offered at this Sofitel (supposedly a premium brand, charging premium prices) The situation is not helped by an absence of management, and for an international hotel a very low/non-existant standard of English amongst the staff.

I will be going back to the Shangri-La next time! And i suggest the Sofitel go back to basics and do some staff training.

And another thing, the whole hotel is way too hot!!! Save on the emmissions and cool the place (including the rooms down a bit)

The hotel, previously called Singapore Hotel was recently refurbished, and hence, the new, clean room condition. The big TV is a plus point. There was no air-conditioning in the room (heater only) and the small window made the rooms hot and stuffy (even when outside temperature went down to -15 degrees C at night). Unlike other hotels, laundry bags are chargeable at RMB 25 (USD 3.42) – there were no indication of the price, no price list or note that the bag is chargeable until we checked out, when the cashier asked for all laundry bags to be returned or charged. We had already packed our things in the bags and were rushing to the airport! To minimise the hassles of taking out the bags from the bus, opening them out, taking out the things etc, we paid for those used. As this is not a common, industry practice (unlike the mini bar, where it’s common knowledge that the items are chargeable), all hotel guests should be informed that laundry bags are chargeable at check-in or a note/indication of the price should be placed near the laundry bag. All 22 of us, from age of 20 to 70 (part of the tour group) has had varied travel experiences but has yet to encounter a hotel where laundry bags are chargeable until now!

That aside, one of the rooms was booked for 3 people; they requested for an additional towel and a bottle of water. This simple request was also declined rudely by the hotel staff with no reason given. Our tour guide had to step in and explained that the room was actually booked and paid for 3 people – so all amenities need to be enough for 3! Also, some rooms were not cleaned up and amenities not replaced throughout our 3-night stay (the “do not disturb” signs were not put up). Funnily, another room which had called for the room not to be cleaned was actually cleaned up despite a call made to the guest service centre and with the “do not disturb” sign put outside the door.

Breakfast –There was very limited choice of food compared to other 5-star international standard hotels (the breakfast menu does not seem to rotate. Sushi was good). Some waffle-making chef does not come to work until 9am although the café opens for breakfast from 6 or 6.30am onwards, so no waffles when we turn up before 9am. Serviettes actually ran out during breakfast on the third day of our stay, when one service staff mentioned that there were too many guests the day before and offered us napkin instead. The staff could have walked to the restaurant next door and get some serviettes or even call the housekeeping for a box of tissue! Talk about running the extra mile?

One concierge staff, Peter Sha, who was always smiling, friendly and approachable, should be commended. He very kindly offered us advice in telling us where to go for supper (we had a few fluent mandarin speakers).

Located next to the Wanda Shopping Centre and in the town area, Sofitel is not as convenient for tourists compared to the Shangri-La Hotel, which is located just across the river for all the snow and ice-related sights and saves a lot of traveling time.

If you are looking for a nice room, this is the hotel for you – if you are looking for a nice room with excellent service, please stay elsewhere. We would rather stay in Shangri-La, where service is consistent. Do note that throughout our 3-night stay, we have only encountered a front desk staff that could speak a little English. Time for some training in customer service.

I booked the hotel for a business trip. Called the hotel to make sure all renovation has been done. Booked 5 rooms in 3 seperate reservations. Rooms were prepaid in two different credit cards. The check in was longer than 20 minutes. The receiption manager has no idea what she was doing. We never received turn down service and they never change any pillow cases, sheets during a 3 night stay.

Breakfast was ok but the Room Service Dinner was just "BAD". Chicken on the salad was dry.

The room wasnt too bad. But very hard to adjust the heating in the room. Often too hard.

And again the check out is longer than 20 minutes again. They couldn't find any my credit card receipt at that time.

There is a major issue about service. I would rather to stay at Shangri-la next time, although it's an older hotel.

It's very hard to picture how Sofitel wants that property

This is one of the two 5-star hotels in Haerbin, the other one being the Shangri-La which is more expensive than the Singapore.

My flight arrived late in HRB and it's a pretty long drive to the hotel. I was really tired when I finally settled in my room. For some reason the heating was on full blast and I was not able to reduce the temperature (you don't compensate -25C outside by heating at +30C). I wanted to open the windows but they were locked. On top of that the light in the closet was on permanently due to the door switch being broken and it was annoying since I prefer to sleep in a dark room. It was much too late in the night to call housekeeping to have those fixed, and I was too tired to request another room.

The next day I checked out and went to stay at another hotel. But the Singapore isn't that bad really.