1

I stayed in this hostel, it was good and comfortable.
its in the town Tai'an, 15 minutes by bus from the mountain.

http://www.hostelworld.com/hosteldetails.php/Taishan-International-Youth-Hostel/Tai-an/36995?sc_sau=sfab&sc_pos=1

2

I stayed at Yuyequan Binguan but that was in 2005 so you may wish to Google the guesthouse name for more up to date info... Taishan is a really powerful mountain (much like Wudangshan and Huashan), take the time to enjoy it...

3

Qufu is not far and worth a look-see.

4

Tokyojoe - Did you make it to Taishan last September?
Where did you end up staying? How did it go?

I will be there in 1 week. I'm still trying to decide if I'll take my chances getting a hotel after I arrive (so I can bargain) or if I want to book it now. I would like to stay on the mountain so I can take my time exploring and hiking on the ways up and down, but even with my Chinese friend's help it is hard to get good information on anything but the Shenqi Bingguan (which is more money than I want to spend)!

I'd love to hear what you did in September, if you made it!

(tried to PM, but that is a defunct feature now, so I'll try here!)

5

I stayed at the "Rome Holiday Business Hotel" in Taishan. When I arrived by train in Taishan I asked the driver of a local bus, wether he would go to this place - he did! It was a long trip, because the train station is quite far away from the town. The driver told me when to leave (it was just about 500 m in front of the hotel). From the Hotel you only have to walk about 10 Minutes till you reach the gate, from where you go up to the top of Taishan (and pay the entrance fee). The hotel is simple but was OK for me. So I walked to the top and walked down the same way. In my opinion it is not worth to stay a night on top.