Hotel-elan is on Zhan Qian Heng Road which has many eating places and budget hotels. About 30 meters from Hotel-elan, at the corner of Zhan Qian Heng Road and Zhan Qian Road, is one end of the "Top Clothes Underground Wholesale Centre of Asia" which is a 2-level shopping tunnel under Zhan Qian Road, running all the way to the Guangzhou Railway Station and subway at the other end. The famous Baima and Yima clothing wholesale malls are accessible from one of the tunnel exits. Hotel-elan, together with hotels like New Mainland Hotel and Liuhua Hotel, are within a short walk from the wholesale area of Zhan Qian Road, Zhan Nan Road and Zhan Xi Road.

Hotel-elan is quite new, with 76 rooms over 6 floors. We booked 3 nights through Agoda at USD49 per night, and were given a non-smoking room on 5th Floor, with large window looking into the neighboring alley and old houses (see photo). Room was small but quiet. The bathroom was big, with all glass walls, but floor tiles were slippery with condensation from the shower, so the hotel provided 2 pairs of slippers, one for the bedroom and one for the bathroom.

Room had free LAN internet (Wifi was too weak to be used), flat LCD TV, aircond with individual control, rain shower, mini fridge (not working), kettle, hairdryer, safe, 2 bottles water complimentary. There was a very narrow table for the TV, and this was not wide enough to put a laptop, so it was a juggling act trying to do some work in the room. On 1st Floor next to the Reception, there was a small area with sofa seats and computers for guest use (see photo), but internet here was charged at CNY20/hour.

Free breakfast at the Snow Northeast Restaurant on 1st Floor was hardly edible. There were orange cordial (undrinkable), porridge, buns, eggs, salad, bread, and noodles. After the first morning, we went out to eat at the numerous eateries around the hotel. Highly recommended is The Mark Chinese Cuisine – from Hotel-elan, turn left, walk about 100 meters, past the Sheng Jie Supermarket. Mark serves cheap and good dim sum for breakfast and lunch. There is another restaurant, Bi Hai Nan Tian, on Zhan Qian Road corner of Chen Gang Road, opposite McDonalds. A cheap place for lunch or dinner is the Chung Kee seafood place – from Hotel-elan, turn left, walk about 40 meters, you will see live seafood in foam boxes on the sidewalk. The oysters, scallops, and Turbot fish were cheap and delicious. English was not spoken at these 3 places, and menu was in Chinese, so you would need to use sign language, or the help of a translator. Or try the upmarket East Ocean Seafood Restaurant – to the left of Hotel-elan, walk about 400 meters to the end of Zhan Qian Heng Road, turn left on Liu Hua Road and walk 100 meters.

There was a laundry shop about 10 meters to the right of Hotel-elan, which did clothes alteration for CNY5 per piece … useful if you had bought clothing at the malls.

We stayed here for 9 days and had a lovely stay. The staff were helpful and welcoming. It is situated on a busy but relatively quiet side street, off the main Zhan Qian Road which has a lot of malls and shops on it.

Breakfast was ok, but a bit same-y after 9 days, as if you don't fancy Chinese food for breakfast, there is just toast, butter and orange jam, boiled eggs, sweet corn on the cob and fried eggs or omlettes made fresh in front of you.

Rooms are made up daily, with fresh towels and toiletries, and also free bottled water each day.

There's a kettle and tea cups, and green tea and coffee and sugar sachets provided free of charge.

The flat screen TVs are great, but be prepared that there are precious few English language programmes or movies, and virtually none in any language other than Mandarin or Cantonese. You have to flick through the Channels to find anything worth watching, but CCTV10 (channel 9 I think on their TVs) is a news station in English, providing a very interesting Chinese take on world news which was fascinating.

Only not so great part was the 2 nights when they decided to scrub the hall carpet outside our bedroom at 2am, thus waking us up. They did not seem to understand why this had been a problem when we called down to them and the next morning when we spoke to them at the reception desk, but after the 2nd time it didn't happen again, so I guess they got it!!

Overall, a very pleasant, great value hotel in a great location (very close to major malls for individuals and buyers too such as the Jianhe Accessories City, which is right next to McDonald's, see directions below). Many good restaurants around (try The Mark Chinese Cuisine, about a 2 minute walk if you turn left out of the hotel and stay on the hotel side of the street) and a McDonald's just 5 minutes away (turn right out of hotel and left into Zhan Qian Road and you will see it in a building that goes over the street) if you can't face any more noodles and photos of entire roasted chickens, head and all, which adorn the walls of most Chinese food restaurants! There is also a lovely restaurant (pricey though) at the far end of the hotel street (Zhan Qian Heng Lu). Turn left out of the hotel and follow the road to the end, cross the main road at the end, and enter the park on the opposite side and right there is a lovely restaurant overlooking a lake with views of a very posh restaurant and tea house called the White House the other side of the lake.

Don't forget to grab some of the hotel's business cards from reception, because unless you speak Chinese, you will have great trouble getting back to the hotel as you are unlikely to find a taxi driver that speaks enough English. The cards have a map, the address in English and Chinese and a message in both asking you to be taken to the Hotel Elan in Zhan Qian Heng Lu (Lu = Road). A very useful thing to offer I think!

Great value for money. Cozy and clean hotel for a pleasant shopping trip in Guangzhou. Friendly, helpful English-speaking staff. Conveniently located. The Guangzhou shopping tunnel is just outside the hotel and so are the various shopping places.