Oriental Resort

It was a nice resort hidden away from the public roads. Access is by a winding motorway lined with trees. It is built spaciously at the foot of the Baiyun Hill. The tennis courts are reasonably maintained but not fully booked. The Chinese restaurant serves good food at reasonable price. The lack of spa facilities has prevented it from being vandalized. Nice place for a short leave to recharge your batteries particularly when you are a tennis fan.

I really want to know where and how all the positive reviews come from! Maybe they paid to stay at the individual villas ... We stayed here for 5 nights in Block 5, where the hotel rooms were. The corridor to the room was literally filthy... Water marks, falling down wall paper, smell ... Ok, you name it... And I'm sure you shall get it! My room literally stunk! Carpet was thin. Towels don't look clean. Water marks on the wall in the room too! If our rooms weren't already paid for by the other party, I would have just packed and go. What they need is not a major renovation, but an ultra-major renovation.

Stayed at the Oriental Resort for 8 nights in order to attend a conference at the nearby Baiyun Convention Center. I was a little disappointed upon arrival: a booking was made by via the organizing conference committee (which I paid two months in advance), however staff at the front desk was unable to find this reservation, so I had to pay the entire stay once more. Luckily this was settled upon checking out, and the price was very reasonable with an average 45€ per night. The hotel is nicely situated in a green environment, however quite distant from the nearest subway station (20 min walk) and touristic highlights in Guangzhou, making one dependent upon taxi's to get around (especially when it's 35°C outside). I was quite satisfied with the room, especially with the housekeeping, as the room was spotless when I got back every evening. I must add that housekeeping even exaggerated a bit: every day all the towels were replaced, despite the fact that I put them back on the shelves every single morning. A serious waste of water. Very good A/C, a tad noisy. I would like to point out the lack of sockets in the room: the only one available was right beneath the A/C, and a note on the table kindly requested not to use this one as the A/C sometimes leaked condensation water... so where to charge my phone et cetera? The bed/mattress needs some replacing, as they were hard as a rock. Internet is available in the room via cable only, no wifi. Breakfast was okay, however options were very limited for guests that are not that familiar with the heavy Chinese/Cantonese food in the morning. My major problem with this hotel was the lack of employees that spoke english adequately: one morning an employee at the front desk did not understand the word 'taxi'... rather difficult to get around like that... Also, upon greeting personnel, they often did not reply at all... Is it that hard to say "Good morning?". Friendliness is mandatory in this business. A decent place to stay when you need to be in the vicinity of the conference center, however I would not return there when on holiday.