Grand Metro Park Nanjing

I was checked into this hotel, for 3 nights, by my host and quickly into room 3002 which was at the end of a corridor and in a quiet location. I had stayed in this hotel in 2009 and it is as good now as it was then. One problem I remember from the past was there sometimes can be a long wait for the lifts and when one does come it can be very full. This problem is unchanged. The room was spacious with plenty of storage space – cupboards, drawers, wardrobe. There was a large TV but very surprisingly this had only channels in Chinese, not even CGTN. There was a safe but this seemed iffy and I decided not to trust it. Locking was fine but unlocking took several attempts. Toiletries were in large bottles, there was a short bath but very useful was the drying line which stretched over the bath – I like to do washing while I am away on business so I made great use of this. The separate shower cubicle in the corner of the bathroom was spacious and hot water was plentiful. One minor problem was the mirror behind the washbasin was prone to splashing so I was frequently wiping it with a dry towel because I hate the chambermaids to think I am a slob! The wardrobe contained an iron and ironing board. Wifi was good, reliable and worked well. Great fun was had getting used to all the different light switches and which lights they operated. Tea and coffee were provided, together with 2 water bottles – I thought 2 was meagre as 2 other hotels I had used during my trip both provided 4. Buffet breakfast was on the ground floor and this was excellent, opening at 0630 – often I was first in. A wide range of Chinese and Western foods. I did not try the buffet on the ground floor in the evening, though I wanted to, but my host was warned off by reports (unsubstantiated) that the quality was poor. We ate once in the restaurant on the 38th floor and this was excellent. We also ate in the excellent Japanese restaurant one lunchtime – this is run by a 3rd party, not by the hotel. A marvellous sight was the large train set in the hotel lobby – great for boys young and old! I was very happy during my stay here and would thoroughly recommend this hotel. All the hotel needs to do to make it perfect for me is to add CGTN and ensure the safe works properly.

We recently took a trip across China and I learned quickly, that every hotel bathroom struggles with black mildew in the showers--due to the humidity outside. I didn't have any bleach spray on me, but wondered if any of it could be managed by the product. We arrived at the Grand Metropark around 9:00pm. The hotel was booked by our travel agent. We stayed at 5 hotels in China during this trip and the Grand Metro was so icky, I am writing a negative review. It takes a lot to make me want to warn travelers, but here it is. Don't stay at this hotel. The rooms are very dated (think 1990s), cigarette burns on the carpet, the bed hard as a rock and very low to the ground and the bathroom shower was disgusting with rampant mildew. I took a Kleenix to the hinge to see how embedded the mildew was--came right off on my tissue. So clearly, no effort at all to clean that shower because it could have easily been wiped off. We told the manager who said he'd send up a cleaning crew. We declined that offer because it was late and we just wanted to go to bed. This may have been a decent hotel in its day, but in 2019, it's a dirty and tired hotel. Avoid if you can.

This hotel is well located, close to the Ming Palace and with even easier on foot access to the Nanjing Metro, less than 500 metres away. While the building has aged, the rooms are a good size, with functional bathrooms. When I stayed, the lifts we being renovated, so I expect other parts of the hotel may also be upgraded soon. Breakfast was quite OK and the restaurant produced a passable Chinese-style seafood buffet dinner. There's a lovely little coffee shop in the foyer. Staff were friendly and responsive. All in all, a worthwhile place to stay.