painintheuk

Hi all,

I had a great weekend (despite a nasty cold) and it was nice R&R. I really enjoyed the city and will likely go back for another weekend if I can find the time. The Sun Yat Sen memorial and the entire area around that (Purple mountain) could easily be worth 2-3 days. I also saw one of the old gates, some of the city walls and the area around the Confucius temple (which I didn't visit).

The area around the hotel as people described isn't exactly full of character. The giant stadium (which I could see out my room) was impressive. The roads and banks and businesses were really quiet and of less interest. I did find a way to go if you go out the back of the Fairmont and turn right across the canal, it is much more of a local neighbourhood with several restaurants (Thai, Irish and a range of Chinese) and a wet market with several food stalls which provided me breakfast.

The 'hard product' of the hotel is beautiful. I had a standard room but it was great. Giant bathtub, lovely shower, comfortable bed and big TV with lots of English channels (though mostly news). There are connectors to attach your laptop, but none would fit my Mac. I need to find my adaptor in my current trip home! The blinds work amazingly well and when down completely block out any and all light from outside. I LOVE that! The AC could be a bit more powerful, but it wasn't crazy hot so not too bad. The pool is beautiful and one could even do a decent workout if wanted and there are great views all around. The gym is a little limited but better than nothing and I used it a couple of times. Two small downsides about the room were the overly complicated lighting system and the safe. I have seem lighting systems like this before with too many buttons. I just want an on and off switch for each light! I had to use my flashlight to figure out which button to push so I didn't blind myself . The safe was in a drawer rather than cupboard, but while it would handle a tablet it is not big enough for a laptop .

The 'soft product' is much more variable. At checkin the staff were incredibly friendly and helpful. I was slightly swarmed as I arrived and then more so (by more senior people) when they saw my name and that I was a Plat. A bit much, but they were very nice. The woman who showed me to my room was helpful answering my questions and helped with my pronunciation of my limited Mandarin. She had also personally prepared my Plat amenity which was a big fruit bowl plus a plate of delicious chocolates and macaroons beautifully presented. I also met a more senior manager later who spent 3 years at the Empress which was a nice taste of home.

The low end of variable was the restaurants. I had a $100 plat cert which I was planning to treat myself with this weekend. In China, for 1 person, $100 should go a long way, even at a nice restaurant! I wanted to eat in the Chinese restaurant, but it is clearly geared to large groups (which makes sense in China, but for a business hotel it would be nice to add a set menu for 1 or 2 people). I ate at the 'Vancouver Grill' but it was a giant disappointment. The food was very mediocre, and yet for a main with 2 sides, 2 small beers and the 15% service charge (NOT impressed with that!) it came to almost 400 RMB!! The next evening I was quite tired after a day of sightseeing and eating street-type food and just wanted something light so I went to the Lounge. The 2 women working there had absolutely no interest in me at all. Other than a small group of Aussies I was the only one there, but after waiting about 5 minutes I had to get my own menu and go up and order. My meal was again quite expensive for one of the small plates (sliders with fries) and that plus a small beer was almost 200 RMB. I was going to have another beer but after waiting a while and realizing they weren't going to ask, I just went back to my room. I had breakfast in the 60th floor buffet on my last morning (included in my room which was a nice surprise) and it was OK. A giant selection of Asian and Western dishes (though I was the only non-Asian there ), but like many buffets most of it was average. Below the quality of the buffets I've had at 2 of the Vancouver properties, better than Jasper, but about right for a big hotel.

So…. would I recommend it? It depends.

As a location it's not that bad. It is right at a Metro junction which is great (and is easy to use with clear English instructions and very low cost - just make sure you have coins or 5/10 RMB bills). Most of the neighbourhood is incredibly boring, but if you find the right bits it is actually very pleasant.

I would not eat there again. The little neighbourhood down the street looks like it has a much better selection at a MUCH better price and probably a better atmosphere.

Next time I go I will try another hotel, but over all it was mixed and depends on your expectations. I wouldn't rule it out for my own stays if I had to go back.

Thanks

Dr. PITUK