Howard Johnson Plaza Ningbo
Two pools in one hotel, rooftop and indoor
About this hotel
Howard Johnson Plaza is the one Ningbo hotel on this list offering two genuinely distinct pool settings: a rooftop swimming pool for open-air use and a separate indoor pool for year-round reliability, both paired with a sauna and fitness centre in the same building. Rooms come with air-conditioning, minibars, sofa beds, work desks and city views as standard, and a child-friendly buffet runs alongside the property's two restaurants and coffee house. Evenings lean toward the property's nightclub and karaoke rooms rather than a quiet lobby bar for guests wanting a livelier night out. It sits roughly 24 kilometres from Ningbo Lishe International Airport, with Ningbo Museum 28 kilometres away and Tianyi Pavilion at 33 kilometres from the property itself.
- Rooftop swimming pool
- Indoor swimming pool
- Sauna and fitness centre
- Nightclub and karaoke
Our take
This suits travelers who want a genuine choice between an open-air rooftop swim and a reliable indoor pool on the same visit, rather than settling for just one. The nightclub and karaoke rooms make it a livelier pick than the Westin or Shangri-La for an evening out, though guests wanting a quiet, purely business-focused stay may prefer a calmer downtown alternative instead.
- ✓Use the rooftop pool on clear days and switch to the indoor one when the weather turns.
- ✓Book a city-view room if the skyline matters as much as the two-pool setup itself.
- ✓Expect livelier evenings here than at a typical business hotel, given the on-site nightclub and karaoke.
Why we love it
- Rooftop pool and a separate indoor pool
- Sauna alongside both pool settings
- Two on-site restaurants plus a nightclub
- City-view rooms with sofa beds
Why guests love itHaving both a rooftop pool and an indoor one meant the weather never actually cancelled a swim during the stay, which was not something we expected walking in. The rooftop won most sunny afternoons, and the indoor pool and sauna took over once a storm rolled through one evening. The on-site karaoke room turned into an unplanned late addition to one night out with colleagues after the pool closed.