We arrived at the hotel before 1300 and the room was not ready. The lady at the counter then offered us a free upgrade and free access to the executive lounge for happy hours. Amazing.
The room is a standard hotel room with a king sized bed. The TV only has 10 local channels and none of them is English channel. The bathroom is a big plus and it comes with all basic items (comb, brush, shaver, etc). It has a shower area and a bathtub area. Quite spacious for this kind of standard hotel room.
We were at 19/F and the view was also great!
Highly recommended!
ผผู้เข้าพักMy stay here has actually been fantastic. The apartments are well constructed and decorated. The beds very soft and comfortable. Giving you a good nights sleep. The apartment facilities are such as kitchen, office and shower are first class. Top value for my money. The staff are friendly and very helpful and do try their best to assist you. I highly recommend keymore to anyone coming to visit Guangzhou flor longer term stays.
ผผู้เข้าพักTo put my comments into context: I initially booked rooms by 'walking off the street” before using Trip.com to book additional nights. The hotel is indeed new and has modern amenities. Firstly, I will explain the low score for ”cleanliness”. The physical cleaning was excellent, but my first room had an overbearing ”chemical” odour. I was given an air- purifier and told to leave that on and to leave the windows open. I was only given another room much later, but I had to ask for a room change. It was not offered. The second room had 2 air-purifiers and the ”chemical odour” was bearable. I was told the odour was because the rooms had not being used for a while and the hotel was new. To me, it smelt of chemical fumes, the sort one has after fumigation, or after carpet cleaning with chemicals. There needs to be more transparency. The fact that there were so may air-purifiers available suggests to me that management was aware of the problem. With regards to the low score for facilities: I tried to use the gym twice. The first time, I didn't understand what the gentleman said because I didn't understand Chinese and he didn't speak English. On the second attempt, I was more insistent and with the aid of translation software, I was told by the lady that I needed to produce a medical certificate because I looked over 60. I had never encountered this before, in any hotel in the world, or in other hotel in China. As for ”service”, the housekeeping and restaurant staff were great- effective, efficient, friendly and helpful. However, the male reception staff had the knack of making me feel ”guilty” for disturbing them each time I had to interact with them. It was not just the lack of a smile or the lack of greetings; it was also in the manner and tone. I do understand that having to use translation software with a foreigner could be wearisome, but, better-trained staff would not make it so obvious, especially for a hotel that uses ”James Joyce” in its branding to make itself more ”International” and ”sophisticated”. Another noteworthy episode that I am still confused about was when I first walked in off the street and enquired about rooms for myself. I was told that it was the weekend of the city marathon and that the only rooms available on the Friday and Saturday were big ”family” rooms (at higher prices). It was only later that I checked Trip.com and found that only the Saturday night was the hotel fully booked. I could have been offered a ”single” room for the Friday night and moved to the family room for the Saturday night. This offer was never presented to me. I hope management will read this, because this hotel has the potential to be a great hotel. It has obviously invested heavily in the facilities, amenities and into creating a unique ”ambience' or ”vibe”. It just needs to invest more time and effort into transparency, and staff-training, to ensure that the needs of the guests are paramount.
##friedThe mattress was so hard like wood. Was that a wooden board with beddings laid on top or what?!. I think that's the only downside i can pinpoint exactly.
Areas I thought it could improve in:
-Bidet would've been nice. Everytime I sat down, I felt chills down my spine(:(.
-The location. I liked the building B better, do they access it only to Chinese citizens or what?
-The pool and the hot spring was out of order. It was expected as it's not the season to use them. But-! It was quite hot that day (29ºC to 14ºC) so I asked if they could do us a favor and fill one of the tubs but they said no. :( After all that walking and beach stuff, I needed that relaxing hot spring). Regardless, there are things that I did enjoy. Specifically,:
-The tea set was exquisite. Had that traditional chinese craftsmanship and even the tea packaging felt special(for a freebie)
-Quality of the one-use amenities. The items provided felt like items you get for everyday use rather than hotel provided one-time use bathroom supplies.
-The shower water was HOT. That hot water rundown was exactly what a girly needs.
-The view. The garden downstairs was a sight to see. Especially at night. The wooden railings and the stairs light up beautifully when the sun goes down.
-Service. They were really kind. From the moment we went in till the moment we went back- they were all smiled and tried their best to serve their customers.
-Sitting area in every corner. You'll know when you get there. You can sit in your room or outside. There were at least 10 different seating areas with different amount of chairs and table. Plus, the chairs were comfortable.(some were not tho)
Overall, this place is 8 to 8.5/10
Extra tips I wanted to add:
-DO NOT FORGET TO BUY PLENTY OF ANTI MOSQUITO OIL, SPRAY, BRACELET, WTVR
-DO.NOT.DO.LAUNDRY. Unless it's early in the morning till sun goes down or during hot summers.
-Go to building B for restaurant, cafe or breakfast.