Commentary – Currency Issues

Dollars, Yen, Yuan, and Hong Kong Dollars, it is important to understand the exchange rate and the local economy. At most of the places we stayed, everything was appropriate.

At the Westin in Shanghai, we encountered some real issues. The Westin Hotel was nice, the staff was excellent, and the location was the best. We booked this hotel for the location. However, the prices for food were ridiculous. In Shanghai, you are in China. The cost for food at the hotel was higher than prices in the United States. For example, a bottle of water at the local food mart across the street cost 1.40 Yuan, in the Westin a bottle of water was 120 Yuan (~$16 USD). I understand you pay more for food at the Hotel; however a 100X markup form the local rate is silly.

I like the Westin Brand. I liked the Westin hotel in Shanghai. However, if we do return to Shanghai, we will probably find another hotel solely due to the outrageous food prices.

Remember, we ate all of our meals in Beijing at the hotel. We did not eat all of our meals at the hotel in Shanghai. (We also go to eat dog as a bonus for trying the local fare.)

The hardest detail with currency is the coins. We have lots of souvenir coins we are bringing home. For some reason it is easy to separate the bills. It is not easy to separate the coins.