The hotel sits atop a ridge overlooking the city of Zhaoqing on the opposite bank of the Xi River and with its back to Gaoyao. It has a cavernous foyer that leads to a restaurant that could be measured in acres but always seems to be close to empty. It also has what is quite possibly the quietest "night club" in existence. In fact, with its isolation and apparent lack of guests throughout, I thought I might have ended up living out a Chinese version of "The Shining".
I think the hotel is rated at 4-star which, judging by the jaundiced wallpaper, cement-slab beds and non-existent mini-bar, seems a bit of a stretch. The front desk staff were friendly enough but spoke no English and any questions I had needed to be answered with a phone call to a translator, who himself was not a tower of strength in the language department. The "Do not disturb" sign was more honoured in the breach than in the observance by the housekeepers, not an uncommon phenomenon in... more