From Steven Chen, who booked us there online, to all the staff we met there, The Grand Park Hotel is great. Front Desk check-in was easy & fast. They asked to see my USA Passport to confirm my identity and granted my requests in full. The room is full size with a good size bathroom and storage closets with plenty of room. Their first floor restaurant has a wonderful buffet for breakfast, lunch & dinner. We stayed there April 25, 26, & 27 (my 73rd birthday). On the 27th, after returning from a visit to the Stone Forest of Yunan (must see) with our Kunming friends , we found a "Happy Birthday" cake with plates, forks and napkins sitting on the room table with a birthday greeting next to it. They must have noted my birthday date on my passport and followed up on it. They also let us borrow a wheelchair to take to the Stone Forest (deposit required) so my arthritis would not be a problem there. They made my visit something to remember forever. Many of the staff spoke English and since my wife is Chinese, we had no language problem. The Grand Park Hotel is kept clean everywhere and their guest service is wonderful. You will enjoy your stay with them.

The Harbour Plaza Kunming has changed its name to "Grand Park Hotel". The room is spacious and clean but the fitting is dated lack of characters. The room safe is too small to leave laptop in. We asked front desk if we could leave it in the hotel safe. They said laptops are valuable items not accepted to be stored in the safe according to their policy. Isn't that hotel safe for valuable items? When we checked in, we overheard other guests had problems paying on cards. So we paid in cash instead. They are a few banks nearby. The location of the hotel is not bad. In western standards, this hotel is definitely not 5 star hotel. I think it is between 3 and 4.

The influence of this hotel's Hong Kong parent is evident throughout. Our room was reasonably spacious, the furnishings were quite satisfactory, the entire hotel was clean and everything worked as it was supposed to. Although we stayed here while on vacation, I wouldn't mind staying here on business either. Perhaps the most intriguing feature of the hotel was the large and prominently displayed Viagra sign in the lobby gift shop. No professional ladies were evident at any time during my stay so maybe the majority of the hotel's guests are couples? It was certainly worth a laugh. Apart from a cooperative and enthusiastic doorman, the staff were somewhat indifferent -- reminiscent of the days before private enterprise. Once coaxed into action, they were professional and, dare I say, helpful.

WARNING. China is not as credit card oriented as the USA and Canada are. On April 22 my wife & i wanted to check in for a 6 night stay to celebrate my 72nd birthday with her Kunming relatives. but a nightmare started at the front desk. They said my Bank of America Visa card would not guarantee our total room cost, service fee and Government Tax amount, in addition to an estimate of my "in hotel charges", so I would have to pay them $7000RMB ($906US) in advance to register. They blamed Bank of America (suggested I phone them), Bank of China (their hotel account bank) and suggested I talk to them also and their own computer system. I got tired of discussing it, paid the $7000RMB and we went to their Promenade Cafe to have lunch. I used my Bank of America Visa card to pay for the lunch and took my receipt back to the front desk. All I got was confused smiles and shrugs and more blaming of Bank of America, Bank of China and their computer system. I began to understand why China has no personal checking accounts and Visa & MasterCard symbols are missing from most business front doors. The room was well furnished and had a comfortable bed. The bathroom and storage areas were also good. But, the free room delivery of newspapers stopped on the third day as did the window drape opening and closing. The receiver for the string over the bathtub to hang washed items, was installed upside down, so the string fell loose (called Concierge). The workman laughed and corrected it. The hotel is kept spotless, has many local wedding receptions and Western tour groups and the Promenade Cafe offers wonderful breakfast, lunch and dinner buffets (Vegas stlye) at a reasonable cost. Good points and bad points, just be ready for them.

After travelling around China for 3 weeks, we decided to spend a day relaxing in Kunming before heading off to Dali. The Harbour Plaza hotel is excellently located for exploring the city, surrounded by shops and markets, and within walking distance of a beautiful park. The hotel itself is relatively expensive, but if you are looking to relax for a few days it is an ideal place. The hotel staff were extremely polite and helpful, and most spoke good english. The rooms were clean and spacious, ensuring a good nights sleep, and this was one of the few hotels we stayed in in China where we weren't disturbed by construction work. The food in the hotel is fantastic, if a little pricey. However there are lots of cheap resturants near the hotel (there is a particularly good english speaking resturant down the road - I think its called the bluebird) If you do decide to eat at the hotel, there are plenty of options (in both western and chinese) in the hotel resturant. The hotel is a lot more westernised than some of the other places we stayed, until you step back outside you could almost forget you were in China. (The tv had more english speaking channels than I do at home!) However, the location and hotel itself are fantastic and I wouldn't hesitate to stay here again.