Westin Guangzhou, China [Master Thread]
May 4, 2010, 11:11 pm
#31
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: IAH
Programs: La Ministreuse de Surréalisme, CO Plat, MR Plat, SPG Plat
Posts: 11,358
I was going to start a new thread, but I'll just add to this one. I was upgraded to an executive suite (xx07) which was extremely clean. The executive lounge was very busy, but the offerings were good, though the replacements were not done as readily as they should be.
I made airport transporation (hotel car) days in advance and reconfirmed the night before. I called the bellman fifteen minutes before the appointed time, settled my bill ten minutes before the appointed time and was well ready at the appointed time. The bellman seemed alarmed because the time they had on their sheet was no longer the time I had in writing (on my email and what they had written down in the executive lounge) but the time of my flight. I was calm, but fairly assertive (perhaps leaning to pushy) and they somehow managed to find me a driver (it was 5 a.m.). I knew they were a bit nervous over all of it. I tried to stay as calm as possible because I just wanted them to resolve it. They were very nice and told us they would get us a driver in five minutes. They then brought us breakfast; which was a very nice touch.
Bottom line, we were at the airport on time; they handled it beautifully. It was a bad situation that ended up fine. Had I not been assertive, however, the circumstances may not have been the same. I would without a doubt, stay there again.
I made airport transporation (hotel car) days in advance and reconfirmed the night before. I called the bellman fifteen minutes before the appointed time, settled my bill ten minutes before the appointed time and was well ready at the appointed time. The bellman seemed alarmed because the time they had on their sheet was no longer the time I had in writing (on my email and what they had written down in the executive lounge) but the time of my flight. I was calm, but fairly assertive (perhaps leaning to pushy) and they somehow managed to find me a driver (it was 5 a.m.). I knew they were a bit nervous over all of it. I tried to stay as calm as possible because I just wanted them to resolve it. They were very nice and told us they would get us a driver in five minutes. They then brought us breakfast; which was a very nice touch.
Bottom line, we were at the airport on time; they handled it beautifully. It was a bad situation that ended up fine. Had I not been assertive, however, the circumstances may not have been the same. I would without a doubt, stay there again.
Nov 11, 2010, 1:24 am
#32
Join Date: Apr 2010
Programs: AA EXP, SPG Plat, HH Silver
Posts: 59
Good stay - one of my regular stops now
Stayed at the Westin Guangzhou again on my way into mainland China - I'm growing to really like this property. Great service, the upgrade to a Suite was very appreciated, and the lounge is very well stocked.
For those that haven't been, the hotel is literally 2 blocks from the train station (Guangzhou East - easy ride from Hong Kong); makes for a good stop on one's way in or out of the country. (~45 minute cab ride from Baiyun airport if you're flying.)
The rest of the property is good; I'm a fan of the gym - not huge, but everything you need - and open 24 hours with key card (staffed from 6am). Two pools, locker room with cold&hot pools, sauna, etc. (for those training types, I recommend a warmup on the bike (only one traditional and one recumbent), intervals on the treadmill (there's 4 or 5, so no worries), 10 minutes in the cold pool, then a swim (one indoor and one outdoor to choose from).)
Ended up being more of a training log than hotel review, but bottom line is that it was a good stay
For those that haven't been, the hotel is literally 2 blocks from the train station (Guangzhou East - easy ride from Hong Kong); makes for a good stop on one's way in or out of the country. (~45 minute cab ride from Baiyun airport if you're flying.)
The rest of the property is good; I'm a fan of the gym - not huge, but everything you need - and open 24 hours with key card (staffed from 6am). Two pools, locker room with cold&hot pools, sauna, etc. (for those training types, I recommend a warmup on the bike (only one traditional and one recumbent), intervals on the treadmill (there's 4 or 5, so no worries), 10 minutes in the cold pool, then a swim (one indoor and one outdoor to choose from).)
Ended up being more of a training log than hotel review, but bottom line is that it was a good stay
May 1, 2014, 9:10 pm
#33
Join Date: Jun 2012
Location: all over europe
Programs: SPG Plat, PC Plat, BA Gold, *A Gold
Posts: 62
the pool and gym is really great.
i prefer the sheraton lounge abit more, but both are great.
westin normally a bit more expensive.
upgrade was done nicely to a suite.
i prefer the sheraton lounge abit more, but both are great.
westin normally a bit more expensive.
upgrade was done nicely to a suite.
Apr 14, 2016, 6:54 pm
#34
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Sydney, Australia
Programs: QR/AC Gold, VA Silver, IHG Plat, Bonvoy Gold
Posts: 1,581
Review at Westin Guangzhou
We just stayed here for 4 nights and here is my review:
We chose to stay at Westin Guangzhou for 4 nights as I have SPG points to burn, and it was close to Guangzhou East train station where we catch the trains to/from Hong Kong. I used 46000 SPG points to book the Westin Workout Room which also includes Executive Lounge access and free breakfast daily at 39th floor. For basic room it would have cost me 40000 points so it is well worth paying extra 6000 points for a much larger room as well as Exec access and free breakfast.
The check-in experience was a mess. Initially I used Cantonese (local dialect at Guangzhou) to speak with the staff but she could not understand, as she speaks only Mandarin, so I had to revert to English. Despite my booking with SPG confirming Exec Lounge access and free breakfast, she claimed that my booking didn't included this. After some heated discussion, the duty and the hotel manager came over to say that they will sort it out with SPG, and didn't want us to have a bad experience. They are probably worried that I will complain to SPG directly (I am a Gold member).
The Workout room itself is really huge, at 71sqm it is definitely one of the larger rooms available. It was located at 10th floor looking over the park, which was good. Ironically if you are on really high floor you won't be able to see it. The room even has a separate mini suite section with doors, so that we can put the Westin provided cot there, and have our baby sleeping there and without disturbance from us when the door is closed. Even with the Workout equipment there are still plenty of room for everyone which is great.
There was a minor issue with the safe but Westin staff fixed it pretty quickly.
At Executive Lounge, the breakfast provided was fairly basic, compare to say normal full buffet restaurant. However it does have some hot food (both Western and Chinese options), with cook to order eggs, which I think is enough. We didn't try to breakfast at restaurant downstairs as Westin advised the complimentary breakfast is only available at the lounge. The lounge itself is spacious and the staff there are very polite and nice, and I could not fault them at all. In fact, on day 4, they automatically cooked and delivered an omelette for me without me even asking because I asked it on first 3 days!
We didn't try their evening canapes at the Lounge because we are always out. However I did grab a few drinks there after we come back to the hotel at night.
Whilst this hotel is not as well positioned as Shertaon at Tianhe for shopping etc, there are plenty of restuarants at short walking distance, such at CITIC Plaza (opposite Westin), and walking distance to metro station. I just hire Taxi to go anywhere in Guangzhou though. It is easy and cheap to do so.
At checkout, Westin gave us the complimentary service to Guangzhou East station on their vans. This needs to be prearranged with the Concerige which we did about 1 day before checkout.
Overall it is a pretty good hotel, with huge rooms. Some of the staff needs some training though but most are very good and polite. I definitely prefer this hotel compare to Sheraton GZ at Tianhe due to much large room size.
We chose to stay at Westin Guangzhou for 4 nights as I have SPG points to burn, and it was close to Guangzhou East train station where we catch the trains to/from Hong Kong. I used 46000 SPG points to book the Westin Workout Room which also includes Executive Lounge access and free breakfast daily at 39th floor. For basic room it would have cost me 40000 points so it is well worth paying extra 6000 points for a much larger room as well as Exec access and free breakfast.
The check-in experience was a mess. Initially I used Cantonese (local dialect at Guangzhou) to speak with the staff but she could not understand, as she speaks only Mandarin, so I had to revert to English. Despite my booking with SPG confirming Exec Lounge access and free breakfast, she claimed that my booking didn't included this. After some heated discussion, the duty and the hotel manager came over to say that they will sort it out with SPG, and didn't want us to have a bad experience. They are probably worried that I will complain to SPG directly (I am a Gold member).
The Workout room itself is really huge, at 71sqm it is definitely one of the larger rooms available. It was located at 10th floor looking over the park, which was good. Ironically if you are on really high floor you won't be able to see it. The room even has a separate mini suite section with doors, so that we can put the Westin provided cot there, and have our baby sleeping there and without disturbance from us when the door is closed. Even with the Workout equipment there are still plenty of room for everyone which is great.
There was a minor issue with the safe but Westin staff fixed it pretty quickly.
At Executive Lounge, the breakfast provided was fairly basic, compare to say normal full buffet restaurant. However it does have some hot food (both Western and Chinese options), with cook to order eggs, which I think is enough. We didn't try to breakfast at restaurant downstairs as Westin advised the complimentary breakfast is only available at the lounge. The lounge itself is spacious and the staff there are very polite and nice, and I could not fault them at all. In fact, on day 4, they automatically cooked and delivered an omelette for me without me even asking because I asked it on first 3 days!
We didn't try their evening canapes at the Lounge because we are always out. However I did grab a few drinks there after we come back to the hotel at night.
Whilst this hotel is not as well positioned as Shertaon at Tianhe for shopping etc, there are plenty of restuarants at short walking distance, such at CITIC Plaza (opposite Westin), and walking distance to metro station. I just hire Taxi to go anywhere in Guangzhou though. It is easy and cheap to do so.
At checkout, Westin gave us the complimentary service to Guangzhou East station on their vans. This needs to be prearranged with the Concerige which we did about 1 day before checkout.
Overall it is a pretty good hotel, with huge rooms. Some of the staff needs some training though but most are very good and polite. I definitely prefer this hotel compare to Sheraton GZ at Tianhe due to much large room size.