BEST WESTERN Xuzhou Friendship Hotel

I travel frequently to China. It is not unusual for a 4 Star Hotel to be severely lacking in cleanliness and service. Not so here. The rooms were clean and spacious. I got a Queen Suite for the price of a Deluxe Standard room...a good deal. The breakfast was the usual buffet, with both western and Asian food choices. It was unremarkable at best. I did attend a banquet in the 2nd Floor restaurant. The food was great, as was the attentive service. I am unsure how much the banquet cost, but it was very good. My room came equipped with a "fresh water" tap, that was attached to some type of filter device under the sink. The water from this device tasted strangely bitter. I became ill about 8 hours after drinking a little of this water. I am an experienced traveler in China and take no risks when it comes to sanitation and food safety. I can only point a finger at this suspicious water. I would recommend that visitors to this hotel view this water source as contaminated. Bottled water is not expensive in China...why take the chance? Construction is everywhere in China. Xuzhou is no exception. Loud industrial sounds continued throughout the night. I'm not sure if any hotel could avoid this type of pollution. I slept adequately on the standard "firm" mattress that is so common in China. Of course, my sleep was interrupted by the standard midnight call (in Chinese only)offering in-room massage. For those that travel to China frequently, this is an expected inconvenience. For those new to travel in the PRC, the correct response is: "bu yao, xie xie"!