Short Stay: Imperial Springs, Conghua, China

DISCLAIMER: I was hosted on an all-inclusive 2-night stay by Imperial Springs. I am not under any obligation to write a review on FlyerTalk; opinions below are my own.

Long overdue report; I stayed here in March 2016.

Conghua is in a hilly region in Guangdong, approximately 45-90 minutes drive from Guangzhou depending on traffic. It's quite a picturesque area, and has been popular for decades among the elite in China for getaways - known for its hotsprings. Over the years, several resorts have popped up and the whole area has become a bit of a theme park, but not much in the way of upscale or luxury - apart from Imperial Springs, there's a Dusit nearby.

Imperial Springs is neatly tucked away at the foothills of the mountains and its quite secluded. If you are to visit, highly recommend going via Guangzhou rather than Shenzhen; we were actually picked up by our chauffer and butler in Shenzhen, and the drive took 4 hours there (and 2.5 hours back).

Our check-in was processed in-villa. There are several room types here; the main suites (3 types) are hosted in a short-storeyed building close to the communal pool, hotsprings, spa, restaurant and gym etc - but the highlight here is the villas.

There are are 3 types of villas; a 1-bedroom, 2-bedroom and 4-bedroom. We were in Villa Type A which are set on 'ground' level in a row-house style; a 1-bedroom villa, measuring approx 230 sqm (2500 sqft) with an expensive outdoor space featuring a lengthy private pool, our own private hotspring, and a mini-lawn. The interiors featured a separate living space/reception room with high ceilings, a king-sized bedroom, and a spa-inspired bathroom with a private massage area.

The decor - I'd liken it most to how Banyan Tree does China; it's definitely very 'imperial' as the name suggests; they haven't gone over the top with gold etc which is good; it's not overall to my personal tastes, but for a short getaway it's fine. The quality of furnishings does leave a fair bit to be desired though - the resort is new, and we had issues with several doors not opening, locking etc. It'll be interesting to see how good the upkeep is, particularly in a region known for its humidity.

The two- and four-bedroom villas are situated a bit further up the hill, with the 4-bedroom villas offering quite spectacular views. These also have multiple private hotsprings and private pools, so are quite well designed for privacy in the case of several different families staying together.

There's also a 28-bedroom presidential villa, which is absolutely insane. It's actually a resort within the resort.

The resort has 90 keys (not sure if that includes the presidential villa).

The flagship Imperial Palace restaurant serves Chaozhou and Cantonese cuisine. We ate here on our first night with a tasting menu prepared specially by Executive Chef Tim Goddard and it was the highlight of our food here (we arrived in the afternoon and ordered pasta for room service; it was average). The crispy chicken was absolutely succulent.

Sadly, it went downhill from here. The breakfasts - whether it was Western or Chinese - were pretty decent and served at FLAVOURS which is an all-day dining place. No buffet on offer (but I'm told it's on offer at other times), it was all a-la-carte, but the other lunches we had just didn't live up to quality, particularly for the price, particularly the one we had at Hole 28 (next to the golf course) which served sub-standard Western fare.

There's a (themed) spa, an indoor and outpoor pool and a gym, but it all goes a bit W here with neon and iridescent lighting (ugh!). There are also communal hot tubs (nice views), but if you're in the villas you probably won't be using those. 27-hole golf course designed by Colin Montgomerie too, for those who care; note that (as far as I'm aware), staying at the resort doesn't grant you access to the golf course - that's a separate membership (also see below).

However, I would say the biggest attractioncou here is the Kingold museum. It's a private three-storey museum and features porcelain, bronze, jade, painting/calligraphy; some 20,000 pieces of art and pottery some of which are 5,000 years. The museum isn't open to visitors (non-guests), so it's likely you will be the only guests exploring the place. The guide we had here was absolutely fantastic as well, and very knowledgeable. I only wish I had more time to spend hours here, literally.

The service also leaves much to be desired, but that may have a lot to do with the location - and perhaps language issues as well. The staff try, but the resort lacks the true warmth that would you get if a resort such as this was transplanted in Bali or Thailand etc. Additionally, staff aren't necessarily 'on-point' - my 'steak' was so bad I barely touched it, but was never asked if it was okay, or if there something wrong with it or what they could do to make up for it or why I barely touched my steak.

I don't think I could recommend anyone fly 18 hours+ to come visit this place; or even take a detour from Shanghai/Beijing etc. However, I do know some on this forum live in Hong Kong, and others regularly visit Shenzhen/Guangzhou for work. On that note, it's a good little peaceful getaway, quieter than Macau for starters, at least temporarily.

"The Prime" is set to be a series of private residential mansions/villas/homes that will be built near the resort, so not sure how that will impact it, in addition to more development in and around the golf course.

If you are to book here, definitely splash out for the villas (if within budget). I wouldn't recommend booking the pool suites, because although it's a private pool, there's nothing 'private' about the pool where everyone else can see you.