As both the capital of Hunan and an important transport hub for travellers on to other areas of China, Changsha has plenty of hotels. Unfortunately for those on a cheap budget, many of the cheapest hotels are without a permit to accommodate foreigners.

For the budget traveller, therefore, the best accommodation is a little out of the city proper, in the universities. The most convenient is the Hunan Normal University Foreign Experts Building (Hunan shifan daxue zhuanjialou, Tel: 0731-8883131 ext 2211) that has doubles with bath for under RMB100. The Hunan Agricultural University Guesthouse (Hunan nongye daxue waibinlou, Tel: 0731-4612770 ext 2060) has cheaper doubles, although with a distant location and is frequently full. If these are unavailable, try the Nanhai Hotel (Nanhai binguan, Tel: 0731-2297888) on Bayi lu, although prices are around RMB200 per room.

For mid-range hotels, the Cygnet Hotel is probably the best, with a nice Chinese restaurant where you can get authentic Hunanese cuisine. The Golden Emperor Hotel also provides good services with reasonable prices.The Lotus Hotel, from the 1980s, has fairly comfortable rooms, although little seems to have been done to them since creation.

For those on a top price budget, the Huatian Hotel would be the obvious choice. This is the best luxury "deal" in town with comfortable rooms and comprehensive facilities. The Dolton Hotel is of comparable standard.