The hotel is right on the bank of one of the canals where all the tourist action is. Everyday, tens of thousands of tourists pass right under our room - that might give you an indication of the beauty of the view. The night view is fantastic too, but the lights go off promptly at 9pm, so all the tourists disappear and it becomes quiet.
The hotel is also in a very central location where there are direct buses to all the other places (eg #1 Silk Factory, Administrator's Garden, etc), but you need to know Chinese to read the routes posted at the bust stop. It is also about 150m from the Shan Tang subway station (exit #3), which itself is one stop from the Suzhou Railway station.
The rooms are old, but is well maintained and everything works, except for the bathroom tap (see below).
Con: the hotel staff are next to useless. They look like country mouse villagers working temporarily. She was eating her noodles right in front of us while checking us out. Knows nothing about everything.
Con: the facuet in the bathroom is too near the edge of the wash basin, making use very very difficult.