“History and Elegance on the River”

This hotel arguably has more history than any other western hotel in China. Two treaties signed here and it has rooms that were reserved for Herbert Hoover, a long-time resident, and Sun Yatsen, a frequent one. It's in a neighborhood of 100-150 year-old buildings. The old part of the hotel was put up in 1886 replacing an earlier structure from the 1860s. It is gorgeous in dark wood and rich carpet elegance. A new wing went up in the late 1980s and is very stylish. It was completely renovated in 2010. The lobby is attractive and spacious and the staff were helpful. As is common in better hotels in China, their English skills were fair, but with some patience you can communicate well. Our room was spacious and attractive, with an elegant bath. The bed was comfortable, a little hard by western standards but much better than the norm in China. The hotel fronts the Hai He, or Hai River. There is a walkway on both sides of the river that goes for miles -- we're walkers and never found the end of it. At night it was a safe and magical place to stroll, it's about 1-2 miles from the main bridges in the heart of town to the hotel. We did not use the hotel restaurants as they were fairly pricey. There are no restaurants we could find within close walking distance, but taxi fares are extremely cheap, 10-15 yuan will get you anywhere but the furthest destinations. We found restaurants in Tianjin to be clustered in a few streets rather than scattered here and there.

“oldest hotelin Tianjin”

I hope you will have to chance to stay that hotel and visit Italian street there.