Over the Pacific on Cathay: China Hotel, A Marriott Hotel, Guangzhou & Exploring Guangzhou

Over the Pacific on Cathay

a.       Introduction/Preface

b.      The Club at DFW and Admiral’s Club DFW Terminal D

c.       Domestic First Class on American DFW-SFO

d.      Admiral’s Club SFO

e.      Cathay Pacific First & Business Class Lounge at SFO

f.       First Class on Cathay Pacific SFO-HKG

g.      Cathay Pacific The Cabin HKG

h.      Business Class on Dragon Air HKG-CAN

i.        China Hotel, A Marriott Hotel, Guangzhou &  Exploring Guangzhou

j.        Business Class on Dragon Air to HKG

k.      Cathay Pacific Lounges HKG

l.        Business Class on Cathay Pacific HKG-YVR

m.    Business Class on Cathay Pacific YVR-JFK

n.      American Airlines Flagship Lounge JFK 

o.      Domestic First on American JFK-DFW plus Conclusion and Final Thoughts

China Hotel, A Marriott Hotel, Guangzhou & Exploring Guangzhou

I arrived at the hotel at about 11:30AM and met my cousin out the metro station.  The hotel has about 3 entrances and luckily, one was by the metro station.

It took me a little while to find the hotel reception area and I made my way to the Elite member area.  I checked in with the agent and she upgraded me to a deluxe room on the 7^th floor.  I got a corner room that had both a king bed and a living room.  She explained that I had access to the Executive Lounge on the 17^th floor and also the buffet breakfast on the 2^nd floor in the Café Veranda.

Elevator

The hotel has several places to dine that included Prime Steak house, a buffet Café Veranda, Cantonese restaurant called Four Seasons, and a quick dining place called Food Street.  There was a gym on the 4^th floor along with a kids play area as well.  There were 2 towers that divided the hotel room areas each with a separate elevator.

 

Lobby

My Room

The room was pretty spacious and the décor was distinctively Chinese.  There was both wired and wireless internet access available.  The wireless was unreliable and I did not even bother with the wired.  There was a shower and toilet both separated along with a bathtub in the bathroom.  There was a walk-in closet along the hallway along with another guest bathroom as well.  A working station was available as well.  Both the bedroom and living featured a wide screen TV.

The Executive Lounge is the biggest one that I have seen from Marriott and easily seat 100 people.  There were soft drinks, bottle water, tea, coffee, and fruits offered throughout the day.  Hor d’veours was served from 5:30PM to 7:30PM and cocktails were offered during the same time period and for 2 hours after that.  

 

The first evening featured buffalo wings (missed it), sandwiches, chicken tenders, dim sum, and baked clam.  The second evening featured Peking duck, meat balls, dim sum, sandwiches, and a Japanese steam egg dish.  Fruits juices were served both evenings along with a self-serve open bar and a selection of fresh fruits.  Desserts on both nights were not that great but the flan was decent.  The wireless internet access was great on this floor.

Breakfast at Café Veranda was 170 a head ($30) and I took a guest with me on both days.  There was a wide selection of both Chinese and western options.  There were fresh juices offered on each day: cucumber on both, while cantaloupe was served on the first and Watermelon served on the second.  There was an omelet and egg station, noodle station, and plenty of buffet selection stations.  The Western options included: hash browns, bacon, sausage, beans, tomatoes, French toast, waffles, pancakes, and a wide assortment of breads/pastries. 

 

The Chinese options featured congee (with fixings), dim sum, stir fried noodles, fried rice, steamed rice, and even hot soy milk.  There were plenty of fresh fruits, yogurts, milks, juices, and cereals available.  All the usual accompaniments for breads and pancakes were offered.  Servers came around for tea and coffee orders along with clearing plates.  After eating there both days, I was induced into a food coma and skipped eating lunch on both days since I was so full.

I did leave the hotel to make a quick visit to visit the Guangzhou Asia Games Olympic Stadium.  Overall, the hotel was pretty nice and since it is Marriott’s first property in Guangzhou (2^nd one opening this summer), it offers a great deal of benefits.  There were a lot of foreigners at this hotel and it is very close to the convention center.  Inside the hotel felt very Western but looking outside the window, I was quickly reminded that I was still in China.  

I would go back to this hotel one day but want to try out the new property next time I am in the area and want to use a free night certificate from Marriott's Megabonus promotions.  The good thing is that this property is very close to the subway line making travel around the city very easy and the property is only 40 minutes by taxi to the airport.  I made a quick tour of the 4^th floor before checking out of the hotel.  Since the 17^th floor Executive Lounge was busy, I checked out via the Elite reception desk in the main lobby instead.  That was a quick and painless process for me as I only needed to go back to the room for my luggage and then leave the hotel shortly afterwards.