The Ritz-Carlton, Guangzhou

I'm not a regular reviewer. I keep to myself, I let small things slide, and I usually can't be bothered to write a hotel up one way or the other. It takes something genuinely out of the ordinary to get a word out of me. The Ritz-Carlton, Guangzhou managed it. Let me start with the moment that summed up the whole stay. On our second night we came back around 10 PM, worn out from a full day out and about, stepped into the lift on the ground floor — and the thing wouldn't move. Our key cards had stopped working mid-stay, on a booking I'd paid two nights for in full at check-in. To the front desk we trudged, where instead of a simple apology, my wife and I were asked to recite personal details to prove our identities. Didn't they already scan the biodata pages of our passports, which had our facial pictures? The staff even got our surnames and titles wrong, mistaking our genders in the process. Apparently it was because the staff who did the first registration screwed up. We were the ones locked out, and somehow we were the ones under suspicion. But that was the last straw, not the first — and to understand why it stung, you need the start of the stay. We'd booked one of the hotel's priciest Club Rooms for the two of us and arrived the previous evening, around 5–6 PM. The staff sat us in the Club Lounge to wait for the room to be ready — and then, the instant I lifted my cup of Coke Zero that one of their own staff had poured for me, another staff member hurried over to inform us, with other guests nearby within earshot, that only one of us could use the Club Lounge and that we'd need to pay extra for the second person. My wife asked whether we could settle the payment after we'd rested, given we'd already left a deposit. In every other hotel we've stayed at worldwide, we could simply sign and charge it to the room after. Are couples meant to wait for their Club Room in separate corners of the premises? For a property that trades on the word "luxury," this kind of penny-pinching is beneath it. The food gave us no reason to soften. The Club Lounge spread was forgettable. The international breakfast buffet downstairs was no better — flat, characterless, the sort of thing you forget while you're still eating it. Mediocre food alone wouldn't move me to write. Piled onto everything else, it was just one more letdown. And for all the talk of luxury, the room itself didn't earn the price. The layout is genuinely odd. The windows ought to be the room's crown jewel — we did have a line to the Canton Tower and the river — but they're carved up by heavy frames and a thick central column, so the view you're paying a premium for arrives in awkward vertical slices rather than opening out in front of you. The furniture arrangement compounds it: a bed tucked into a recessed alcove with a television set off at an angle that makes it awkward to watch from the bed. The styling is more dated than grand. The bed and linen didn't help — the cotton felt low in thread count compared to other 5 star establishments, when a property at this level could easily have used Tencel or something finer. What lingers, though, isn't the food or the room or even the lockout. It's the feeling that we were being filed as not quite belonging. We felt disrespected from the moment we walked through the door. I've stayed in plenty of hotels that showed more genuine warmth and competence than this one did. For a place that ranks among the most expensive and highest-rated in Guangzhou, the experience was poor enough to make me wonder whether the other reviews are authentic at all. If you're weighing up where to stay in Guangzhou in 2026 onwards, my honest advice is to look elsewhere.

This is truly a great choice for accommodation in Guangzhou. The location is unbeatable, and it’s really convenient to get around the city. All the staff here are nice and helpful. I really appreciate the help from Ms. Yannis. She responded promptly to my request and made sure everything was well arranged for me. I felt relaxed and welcome throughout my stay. If you come to Guangzhou, don’t miss this fantastic hotel.

The staff at the front desk were very friendly when I checked in and helped me through the process quickly. I had a lot of luggage, and they even offered to help carry it to my room.

This check-in experience is very comfortable. The hotel is very luxurious. The view of the Guangzhou Tower River is very beautiful. The mattress in the hotel is soft and hard, and you can sleep until dawn. The breakfast is quite rich in variety and tastes good. The front desk was polite to check in, and the bell took the initiative to help me carry my luggage to the room, which was very considerate~

The Marriott app is a useful one, as you can chat with the staff before your arrival and make essential arrangements. The hotel is busy, and occupancy was high. Nevertheless, we were upgraded to the Carlton Tower River view room, which was spacious and amazingly comfortable. Breakfast was wonderful, and the staff was great. The hotel was kind enough to grant us a late check-out as well. Quite different from the service I faced with the hotels in Hong Kong.