Holiday Inn Shifu Guangzhou

No te dejes engañar por la apariencia y la ubicación del hotel. La entrada no es majestuosa pero una vez que estés en la 4ª planta, donde está la recepción, quedarás impresionado. Más aún cuando está considerado un 4 estrellas pero, cuya calidad de habitaciones y servicio es de un 5 estrellas. La habitación y el cuarto de baño son grandes y espaciosos. Puedes elegir el tipo de almohada que desees. El personal es solícito y atiende inmediatamente tus requerimientos. La ubicación del hotel es magnífica para ir de compras o degustar comida local cantonesa. Hay algunos restaurantes famosos en la zona comercial peatonal en los que se sirve una muy buena comida cantonesa. Este es el lugar donde alojarse durante unas vacaciones en Gz y como no es turístico puedes disfrutar del auténtico sabor local.

El metro está a menos de 10 min. andando y por el camino podrás saborear los olores y sonidos del lugar. Gran metro, el tren está limpio y es eficiente. Volveré a este lugar en un próximo futuro.

Location:

This is the real Guangzhou. The hotel is surrounded by very old buildings, it's right on Shang Xia Jiu Pedestrian Street. Lots of shoppers, lots of shops selling clothes, bags, shoe, accessories for locals, RMB 19 for tops, RMB 15 for a pair of shoes. Don't expect Prada or Gucci. It's also near a few very famous restaurants, like Guangzhou restaurant, Tao Tao Ju, Lian Xiang Lou, where the locals love to eat. This is certainly not a touristy area.

In Guangzhou, we were warned to be careful of our handbags which could be snatched away by robbers on motorcycles. So being on a pedestrain street is the best.

Room:

First night we got the business non-smoking room, very spacious, very clean, very nice marble bathroom. We left for Yichang to take our Yangtze river cruise, then stayed here again at the end of our trip. We got the superior room, quite small but still very clean and comfortable.

Service:

Very good. I complain that my non-smoking room smelled of smoke, within a few mins, I was changed to another room.

Food:

Breakfast buffet has a good variety, average quality, but it certainly will fill you up. Chinese restaurant is average.

Siamo stati in una camera non fumatori Business a letti gemelli. Come dicevano sul loro sito web, la camera era molto più grande di quella che si trova normalmente in un albergo.

Questo è un hotel abbastanza nuovo e che vanta un'ubicazione fantastica. Potete andare a fare shopping lungo la strada pedonale lungo la quale si trova l'albergo. Ci sono anche un sacco di ristoranti.

Una cosa che ci ha deluso era il Dim-Sum che servivano nel ristorante cantonese dell'hotel. I ravioli ai gamberi che dovevano essere, in teoria, di qualità eccellente puzzavano ed era chiaro che erano stantii. Mentre mangiavamo un altro piatto abbiamo scoperto che era crudo.

Tutto sommato devo dire che questo è un buon hotel a quattro stelle e sono rimasto davvero colpito dal modo di comportarsi del personale. Inoltre l'hotel è immacolato.

Nos alojamos en la habitación Doble para ejecutivos no fumadores. Tal como se prometía en la web, la habitación era muchísimos mas grande que en cualquier hotel normal.

Es un hotel relativamente nuevo con una magnífica ubicación. Se puede ir de compras en la calle peatonal que hay debajo de el hotel donde también hay muchos restaurantes.

El Dim-Sum servido en el restaurante cantones del hotel me resultó decepcionante. Las gambas rebozadas de supuestas calidad superior olían y era claramente obvio que este Dim-Sum estaba rancio. Hubo otro plato que sirvieron que estaba a medio cocinar.

Globalmente debo decir que es un buen 4 estrellas y estoy muy impresionado con la actitud general del personal. Así mismo el hotel está muy limpio

We stayed in the Business Non-Smoking Twin Room. As promised on the website, the room was much bigger than any normal hotel room size.

This is a relatively new hotel with a great location. Shopping can be done on the pedestrain street right below the hotel. Lots of restuarants there too.

One disappointment was the Dim-Sum served in the Cantonese Restaurant in the hotel. The supposedly superior quality prawn dumpling was smelly and it was quite obvious that this particular dim-sum was stale. Another dish was found to be uncooked halfway through eating.

Overall, I must say this is a good 4 stars hotel and I am very impressed with the overall attitude of the staff. The hotel is very clean as well.

This is the second time I've stayed at this hotel. The first time was June 2006 when the hotel had only been opened a few months. During my first visit taxi drivers seemed to have alot of problems finding the hotel but the problems were not as bad this time as they have put up alot of signs at key intersections to make it easier for taxis to find the hotel. One driver tried to take me to the other Holiday Inn on Huanshi Dong Lu so I needed to explain that I wanted the Shifu Lu Holiday Inn.

The builiding site is still there so it is better to ask for a room overlooking the pedestrian street. The street is alive with activity from early morning until 11pm but then very quiet after this time. I have stayed in many hotels in Guangzhou and found the rooms on the pedestrian street as very quiet indeed.

Don't be put off by the streets around the hotel. This is the real Guangzhou and it is wonderful just to explore both these and the alley ways as people get on with their everyday life. You will not receive much hassle from street hawkers as it is not a tourist area.

I stayed on the executive floor of the hotel (Floors 12 - 14) as I was given a free upgrade. The rooms are some of the largest I've ever seen and well decorated. As mentioned in a previous review, the bathrooms are also very big with huge shower and seperate bath.

I found the facilities in the execuitve lounge to be much better than those offered in the more expensive holiday inn on Huanshi Dong Lu. They also offer free internet (there is a computer in the lounge) which is great for me as I never bring a laptop. The other holiday inn charges 3rmb per minute! for internet. A real rip-off.

The hotel offers very good value dim sum in one of its restaurants and of course there are many restaurants nearby.

The nearest metro station is about a 7 minute walk and the metro is clean, efficient and very easy to use.

The staff are very friendly and professional. I will definitely return to this hotel later in the year.

Totally agree with lil bro's review, just one tip, try and get an odd room number as they face the front of the hotel as opposed to the building site at the back.

I was rather shocked at the 'shanty town' look of buildings/streets around the hotel, but it still felt friendly and safe. Try a walk through the shopping precinct directly in front of the hotel, great for bargains and nice restaurants, but watch out for pick pockets.

Sono assolutamente d'accordo con la recensione del mio fratellino: provate a farvi dare una camera che abbia un numero dispari dato che queste si affacciano sul davanti dell'hotel e invece che sul cantiere che c'è sul retro.

Sono rimasto piuttosto shockato dal fatto che gli edifici/strade intorno all'albergo sembravano appartenere a una bidonville, ma il quartiere era pur sempre tranquillo e sicuro. Ricordatevi di andare a fare una passeggiata nella zona commerciale che si trova davanti all'hotel: è ottima se volete fare degli affaroni e se cercate dei bei ristoranti, ma attenti ai borseggiatori!

During our stay at this hotel, it was a pleasant stay. We booked the room last minute because of last-minute changes and the staff were happy to serve us. The staff were extremely nice, however they had some trouble understanding English.

There is a fitness center and an outdoor pool on the rooftop overlooking the central shopping area of Guangzhou. The rooms are amazing. The rooms are extremely large with large bathrooms. The bathroom includes: a shower, a bathtub, a face sink, and a toilet. The rooms are very roomy and very comfortable and clean. The hotel is quiet overall.

Some basic info about the hotel include: the lobby is on the 4th floor of the hotel, and the entrance to the hotel is on the 1st, therefore you must go up using an elevator to the lobby and take another elevator to the roof top, and to the rooms.

Some downsides to our stay were that... the lobby was extremely loud at the time of our check-in because they were renovating at the time; the area our window of our room was facing was a construction site which wasn't too loud and the sound is covered up by the curtains provided; the pool was a bit loud at night because of other hotel customers; during our swim in the pool, they were putting up a sign for a poolside party for the next day, and the enourmous sign almost fell onto the swimmers in the pool when the cord snapped; the location is great for walking, but is bad for drivers/taxis...some taxis didn't know where the hotel was so we had to direct them, even if we gave the driver the card provided by the hotel noting the driving directions from different parts of the area; lastly, the operator of the hotel doesn't understand and speak English very well and there were a few problems with our long distance calls..our friend called from our country and was disconnected many times due to the lack of knowledge of English.

There is also a working desk, a tv, and a closet with a safe inside the room.

Overall, the service is good, and the value of the room and the stay itself, is great. The price was very good, for the size and quality of the room.