The Citi Inn is a large newish (late 2005) 16 story Chinese hotel in a quiet part of the city (quiet is a relative term in Medan, but we were only on the 8th floor and had no problems with noise).

Impossible to guess from outside or even the reception area, the rooms at the Citi Inn are ultra modern - all opaque glass, chrome bars and blonde wood. They are also exceptionally large, and look even larger because of the decor and are kept spotlessly clean. No fridge, but there was a kettle and coffee pot warmer.

Almost new and of good quality, the bed and pillows were fantastic, and the linen was of surprisingly good quality. Lights were on sensors, as was a small extractor fan in the window. The air conditioning was very effective, but at this time of the year we only needed it for a few minutes when we woke up to freshen the room a little.

Staff were friendly and tried to be helpful, but it could be a little haphazard because of language difficulties. Satellite TV had Bloomberg and a couple of Chinese channels, including CCTV4 which is entirely in English.

Free, fast internet - cable in rooms and WiFi in public area's, very good (Indonesian) breakfast and a free airport pickup/drop off made this possibly the best value for money in Medan. Make sure you get the right one though - Sun Yat Sen. There is another Citi Inn Palang Melah which Peter checked out and it's nowhere near as good as this one in what we assume is the tourist centre of Medan - there isn't much there apart from a couple of hotels, a food court and a couple of shopping malls.

The Citi Inn is about a 15 minute walk from the Great Mosque, about 30 minutes from Chinatown (we walked for miles and couldn't find anything that resembled any China Town we've been to before) and about 45 minutes from the other Citi Inn. There is a shopping mall (but no supermarket) about 10 minutes walk in one direction and a large convenience store about 10 minutes in the other direction. There isn't much going on at night - a few basic not so good local eateries within a short walk and a couple of international fast food outlets at the shopping mall. Probably better to head for the stalls near the Mosque.

A dicky tummy and prospective long bus ride kept us here longer than we had intended, but I have to say it's one of the best hotels we've stayed in for a long time.