This is my 3rd trip to this 3rd largest city in China so the most exciting part of this trip was getting to check out a new property in the same Tianhe area. We got bored of Sofitel after staying there for the past 2 trips and I decided to make full use of my Marriott Platinum Elite to make the best use out of the stay.
**check out other hotel options in Guangzhou hotels here! **
Address – 228 Tianhe Road, Tianhe District, Guangzhou 510620 China. Website.
Contact – Tel: +86 20 6108 8888. Email: mhrs.canti.bc@marriott.com.
Location – Very well located in the centre of Tianhe district where plenty of shopping and eating happens, with 3 big malls within walking distance. The hotel is first sort of connected to Grandview Mall, then you’ll get Parc Central and Tee Mall right beside it which has more than sufficient options to burn all your RMB. You are also right beside 天河南站 Tianhe South APM (Automated People Mover System) and a slightly further walk will take you to 体育西路站 Tiyu West Road subway station which gets you pretty much anywhere you want.
Price – Member Rate Advance Purchase @ CNY1,086++ per night = CNY5,065.10 (SGD1,013) for a Deluxe 2 Double room. Courtesy of my Bonvoy Platinum Elite status, I was upgraded to an Executive Suite (75SqM) prior to arrival – technically a 5-category upgrade. At last check, the Suite charges CNY2,000++ per night. Score!
Getting There – we took a normal taxi from the regulated airport queue and cost us CNY120+ with tolls and 1 hour ride to the hotel.
Check In – we arrived at 2:00pm on Xmas day to the street level, and had to take the lift to level 5 where the main reception is. Check in was pretty much painless but I was a little disappointed we were not offered to be checked in at the Executive Lounge on level 20. I was also offered my choice of welcome amenity and I actually picked the cheese platter with white wine instead of points as I was curious how it would be.
Room – Suite 2022 was in huge!
The door opens to a hall way and you walk into the big living area which contains a half toilet, a work desk with Malongo-branded coffee machine (nope, never heard of it either), the necessary property collaterals, a huge purple velvety sofa, and 2 more individual sofa seats – and a huge TV right in the middle of everything. Too much space for 2pax but we were definitely not complaining! Although you can clearly see that the hardware is of age (no USB ports all around), cleanliness was not an issue in most places for sure.
The bedroom was equally big and again almost too much space!
A giant cushy king bed, a wall-mounted TV (which we never used), a huge bathroom with double sinks, separate toilets and showers, and a fancy looking angular bathtub. And then another day sofa which was very neglected throughout my stay. Toiletries were the usual Marriott-stocked THANN brand which has always been good.
And my choice of welcome amenity arrived in the evening as well – looked pretty good and mum gobbled it up.
Executive Lounge – My favourite spot for the trip (as always haha).
The lounge hours are reflected on an “Executive Lounge Pass” handed to you at check in:
Free flow alcohol for 4 hours?! Yes please!
The lounge itself occupied a rather big corner of level 20, split into 2 different corners of various seatings, mostly proper dining tables accentuated by a handful of cushy couches suitable for bigger groups.
Food wise, definitely typical of any good Asian Executive Lounges and plenty enough to be a dinner substitute with the main highlight being 4 whole hours of free flow alcohol. For some evenings, I had my dinner and drinks, went out for a walk, then came back for more drinks!
Alcohol offerings saw your usual spirits, wines, beers, and a sparkling option:
Food offerings over the various days:
There was a table hidden in one corner after the entrance but there were staff assigned to check guest rooms off during food / alcohol hours.
The breakfast spread at the Lounge was similarly more than sufficient – we could only take breakfast in the main dining restaurant as our room rate did not include breakfast.
Facilities – I actually really love the indoor pool. I mean, just look at this!
The water temperature was set to around 29 degree which was so comfortable for swimming that I managed 4 swims total during the 5 days!
If you prefer a bit more privacy when it comes to soaking in the jacuzzi, there is also a jacuzzi and steam room + sauna in the ladies dressing room:
Service – service was very good all round! From attentive and efficient service in the Executive Lounge to super pro-active staff at the ground floor always offering to help with luggage and lifts, right to good housekeeping. Nothing I could fault at all.
Check Out – Swiftly handled at the 5th floor front desk.
In summary,
an excellent choice over Sofitel for sure and with the consistently good experience over my 5 days, this would be a property for my next trip (if any).
Compare prices on TripAdvisor now!