W Guangzhou - staycation (mid 2022)
W Guangzhou
W Guangzhou
26 Xian Cun Road Pearl River New Town, Tianhe District Guangzhou, CN 510623
W Guangzhou - staycation (mid 2022) (26 Photos)
W Guangzhou
Disclaimer
This review is unsponsored and the room with breakfast buffet and afternoon tea package for two people costed about RMB1,700 (after tax) at my own cost.This review is unsponsored and the room with breakfast buffet and afternoon tea package for two people costed about RMB1,700 (after tax) at my own cost.
Introduction
People’s Republic of China is still maintaining zero-COVID policy in mid 2022, trapping its citizens from leaving (by limiting issuance of passports and travel permits) and heavily restricted entry (reduced flights, limited issuance of entry visas). But people need to be away once in a while to relax and recharge. Hence staycation is in order in this scorching summer heat! Guangzhou is a stone thrown away from where I usually live and I miss W Hong Kong’s facilities and so W Guangzhou (W GZ) here I was!
Location
W GZ situates in the eastern side of mid Zhujiang New Town, a newer part of east Guangzhou, and it is about 15mins taxi ride from Guangzhou East train station. It is about 10 mins from the closest 3 subway stations, so it can be a bit of challenge to drag luggage in summer heat.
Check In
W is known for colourful hip design and W GZ is no exception but slightly toned down of that of W New York. Upon entry into W GZ I was greeted by helpful bellboy and then tall and long entry way. I checked in on weekend at around 10 am. Receptionist courteously welcome me and found only one available room of my type located on 15/F with a city view. I did not want to come back again for check-in in the afternoon so I took the only room. Receptionist also proactively offered reservation of packaged afternoon tea time slot.
Kudos to hotel management for recruiting frontdesk staff who could delightfully spoke the local dialect Cantonese in additional to Putonghua which is pushed by central government for standardization. It surly feels great to have someone speaking your dialect and doing the small talk with the funny words only found in the dialect’s vocabulary.
When I was leaving the hotel, the hotel bellboys helpful reminded guests of the upcoming rains. That was very nice touch.
Room
I had a Jewel room which was sufficiently roomy. The water closet and bathtub are in separate rooms. The rooms and shower stall have sliding doors which were difficult to move. The doors were definitely challenging for normal people with dexterity issue (e.g. elderly).
My city view room turned out to have office buildings view only, which I did not mind. The hotel is surrounded by housing estates and office buildings so I did not expect nice views even if I had stayed in other rooms.
Toiletries were the brand “Momo” which smelled not particularly nice. W could have chosen any other brand for better offering.
Service
In-room dining is possible, some examples of menu items are:
Continental/Cantonese breakfast set: RMB198
Breakfast fruit platter: RMB128
Belgian Waffles / Classic pancakes: RMB108
Antipasti Platter: RMB138
Classic Caesar Salad with prawns / chicken: RMB138/118
Classic Club Sandwich: RMB138
Linguini carbonara: RMB148
Taiwanese beef noodle soup: RMB128
Fried Pork Belly with fresh chili, smoked bean curd: RMB128
Tiramisu: RMB6
Food delivery is so ubiquitous in China so why bothering overpriced food from hotel? Ever more, Guangzhou is known as a food paradise. It is better to get out and enjoy the restaurants around the city.
Gym
I was looking forward to using the gym since I had rather nice impression from W Hong Kong. The gym in W GZ is sufficient but not impressive. The equipment still looks new but quantity and variety were slightly disappointing. There are a few treadmills, two ellipticals, one rowing machine, one boxing room, one room for Pilates and stretching, together with one set of dumbbells, and only a few machines such as abs crunch, leg extension, power rack, pec rack. It got a bit busy on Saturday afternoon but other time was quiet enough for enjoyment.
The changing room locates a floor below. It has its own gender-separate sauna, steam room, whirl pool and resting room with lounging chairs. The sauna was fine but the steam room was too hot to be comfortably seated and without the expected steam. I appreciate the lounging chairs in the resting room after a good workout and sauna relaxation.
A large towel and a pair of slipper were provided in locker. More towels could have been provided.
Pool
A swimming pool is located on the top floor with a view overlooking Guangzhou skyline. It is not large but good enough for leisurely swim. It got busy and noisy with kids but once it got quiet it was relaxing to spend time in the pool.
The bummer is that the changing room is inconveniently located on the floor below (same mistake as W Hong Kong).
Dining
My hotel package included breakfast buffet. The breakfast spread was pretty standard so there is nothing to write home about. The buffet had a noodles bar, a freshly squeezed juice corner which were nice.
I also had an afternoon tea that came with the package at G/F bar, not particularly tasty but nicely presented in a summer beach style.
Overall
The hotel is fine and I had a pleasant stay. Staff members were cheerful and helpful. However, considering the location, the price premium is not quite justified over other more centrally located hotels at the same class.