Gold Coast Marina Club

This hotel has a lot of modern amenities such as a mini fridge in the room. The hallway was quite dark but inside the room was clean and nice. There was breakfast available either on the 16th floor during the week or the 4th floor on Sunday. The breakfast on the 4th floor was much better than the breakfast on the 16th floor. There is a grocery store called TASTE within walking distance, and also a Starbuck's coffee. There is limited parking available.

I had been booked into this hotel by the organiser of a conference I was attending and, having read the reviews of it on Tripadvisor, approached it with considerable trepidation. In the event, it wasn't as bad as I had feared. It's in a fantastic location (on the banks of the Pearl river, with excellent views), and has great potential, but it's badly in need of renovation. The Chinese Government's recent edict that no-one can smoke in public rooms was 'enforced' by there being notices to this effect, but then contradicted by the presence of ashtrays and matches in every room. As a consequence, the carpets, bedding and towels did smell of smoke (not *too* badly, but still noticeably). The breakfast provided was pretty cursory, too. I've no doubt the owners will put this right, but at the moment it's a slightly disappoiting experience if one's used to western hotels.

I was on business trip and the reservation was made by the organizer, I was not the one to pay so I didn't rate the value below. I stayed there for a week, and I would say please don't be misled by words like Gold Coast or Marina or Club, the hotel has, I suggest, nothing to do with any of them. It is not a resort. Location The location sucks. It is not a resort, but what about a busniess hotel? It is far away from the subway I think. I say I think because I dun even know how far away is the subway station. Apart from the taxis I took when I returned to the hotel on sereral occasions, I have never seen more than two taxis driving past the hotel main door. Even when I returned to the hotel by taxi, many drivers didn't want to drive in to drop me off at the main door, I was only dropped off at the junction with the main road, or even sometimes the opposite side of the road. Therefore, it was simply a mission impossible to get a taxi right at the door. I have tried to seek assistance from the reception counter (they don't seem to have a concierge, or it has already merged with the reception?) by asking them to get me a taxi by all means. However, I was simply told that it was difficult to get one due to peak hours/rain/drivers' handover time/peak hours + rain/all of the above. Then how about walking out a bit and giving it a try at the main road junction? Yes, the chance is a bit higher than mission impossible if the driver is willing to go to your destination. Luckily, there is a supermarket just across the road, and there are some restaurants/ cafes within 10-minute walk. Room It is said that the rooms facing the Parl River have great view. Welll, mine was facing the other side, ie. the main road, and the supposedly transparent window pane looked grey, so I all along had the curtain closed. I stayed in a double-bed room alone, it is neat but a bit old and shabby. I was doubtful about the cleanliness of towels, so I used my own instead. The air-conditioning was not too strong, but it was stronger than many others in China, which would only take down the temperature by 2 degrees celsius. The lighting of the room was not too satisfactory. If one has to doing some reading for your work, one has to do it outside the wardrobe, or go into the bathroom direct. Although there was a button named "Floor Lamp" on the bed panel, there was no such device inside the room. As soon as I checked in, I found the fridge not working. I called the housekeeping and I was told to switch on the "Floor Lamp" for that. The fridge which had replaced the lamp, however, did not work at all. I called the housekeeping again and it was proved that the socket was not working. Finally, I was provided with 2 extension cords to connect the fridge from another faraway socket. The interesting part was a 1-metre tall magazine rack placed next to the window. There were severl magazines on it and the latest issue was one of 2011. Food Correct, breakfast included. It was in buffet-style, but they were serving something different from ordinary breakfast buffet. I can tell you, the food was decent and tatsted all right. I have tried the Chinese restaurant adjacent to the hotel (it may not be the Chinese restaurant of the hotel as there is another one on the top floor), and the food sucks. I have spent an hour or so at the bar on the 5th floor before my departure. It was quiet and the view was not bad. Well, nothing more than that. Service Apart from the helplessness in taxi-calling, most of the staff members there were quite helpful. Free in-room wifi and almost every corner in the hotel earns my applause. To conclude, I find there's no reason to stay there no matter you are touring Guangzhou or having a business trip. if you have the say, don't stay.