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I was in Guangzhou for the Canton Fair and needed a place to stay. I generally like to check out new hotels whenever possible, but I just wasn’t that excited about the Westin Guangzhou, especially since it was so far from the Canton Fair. I had already stayed at the W Guangzhou back in 2015, which I loved, but this time around, I wasn’t in the mood for that one either. I also hadn’t stayed at any Hyatt properties since becoming a Hyatt Globalist, so I decided to put my new status to the test and see if my visit would be different from TPG Contributor Richard Kerr’s horrible Globalist experience. Spoiler alert: it was.
In This Post
Booking
Rates for a River View King room were going for about $389 per night and I used my Chase Sapphire Reserve Card so I’d earn 3x points for the travel purchase. According to our most recent valuations those 1,167 Ultimate Rewards points are worth about $26.
The Park Hyatt Guangzhou is a Category 5 Hyatt property, so if you wanted to redeem World of Hyatt points, rates for a standard room would start at 20,000 points per night. You can transfer Ultimate Reward points to Hyatt instantly at a 1:1 ratio, or if you’re looking to score more Ultimate Rewards points in a hurry, signing up for the Chase Sapphire Preferred Card gets you 50,000 bonus points as long as you spend $4,000 within the first three months of opening your account. Note that signing up for The Hyatt Credit Card after June 29, 2017, will earn you 40,000 World of Hyatt points, instead of giving you two free nights like it used to.
Check-In
There was still an hour to go until check-in when I arrived and I said to the concierge, “I wonder if, with Hyatt Diamond status, there are upgrades.” She kindly corrected, saying, “Sir, Hyatt Globalists are absolutely upgraded,” and instantly upgraded me to a suite. So A+ for Globalist recognition and actually following through on suite upgrades.
Unlike my experience with Starwood, where I’ve had to fight for suite upgrades that I’m eligible for, I was pretty surprised this hotel still had suites available and that they weren’t being held to sell during the Canton Fair, which is one of the busiest times of year in Guangzhou. Needless to say, I was impressed.
The Room
The suite was really nice. Here’s a peek of the bedroom.
I have to say, the bathroom at this Park Hyatt is really, really sexy, complete with two sinks and amazing city views. I actually took a hot bath — I always forget how amazing those can be, especially after a long day of travel.
The closet was huge, too, with plenty of room for all my things.
The room was really well-designed and I especially loved the lighting throughout the space. The living room was kind of an oblong shape, although I didn’t hang out in there much. There were great views as well, especially at night, when you can see the skyscrapers of Guangzhou all lit up.
Here’s the living room from another angle. The only downside to this room was the mini-bar, which I found to be pathetic and sparse. There was even a bag of Doritos in the fridge, too, which I found confusing.
The Spa
I went to the spa, which was expansive — there was a really attractive gym with views of the city and a great swimming pool.
I got a nice 60-minute massage from a strong Chinese therapist, which cost me $166.
I also think the bathrobes at the Park Hyatt are the nicest since they’re made of really thick and comfortable terry cloth.
After the massage, I had a glass of tea and another look at that beautiful skyline.
And, of course, the smog.
The Rooftop
If you’re staying at the Park Hyatt Guangzhou, you can’t miss the rooftop. The pool on the top floor was really sexy.
Once you get to the 70th floor, you’ll be able to get an amazing look at Guangzhou’s colorful skyline.
There’s a terrific rooftop bar, which you do have to make reservations for. Note that while I just stopped by to check it out at the time, I was let in since I was a hotel guest, but I could tell they were very strict about reservations.
From the rooftop bar, there are stellar views of the Canton Tower, which is lit up in rainbow colors at night. I really love that building.
I thought the style of the hotel was interesting, too. There were lots of minimalist designs, like the ones pictured below, displayed throughout the property.
Overall Impression
I had a great stay at the Park Hyatt Guangzhou. The hotel is centrally located for city exploration and about 15 minutes from the Canton Fair. It was chic, cool, had a great design, reasonable price points and the staff were right on point as far as Hyatt Globalist recognition, so two thumbs up from me!
Source: thepointsguy.com