My afternoon flight out of Guangzhou was cancelled so I was left with an early morning one the next day and was able to get a good last minute deal directly from the Novotel website. I've normally stayed at either Huadu New Century or Good East before early flights and was hoping that staying right next to the airport would allow me a few minutes more sleep. It certainly did that, in a wonderfully comfortable bed in a well sound-proofed room, but there were a few visual shocks & other glitches on the way.
I entered through the rear entrance (from the airport terminal), and had to walk very carefully across the plaza as some of the paving tiles were very slippery in the Guangzhou humidity. Some of them had also been stained, and what looked likea graveyard for old a/c units turned out to be an out of commission water feature. Okay, these are strictly observations from someone brought up in the classical european tradition of visual arts, but even after 20 years in China I was reeling after getting to the main reception area on the 1st floor - all the public areas I could only describe as being furnished and decorated in mainland Chinese noveau riche ... out of proportion chairs with little hands sticking out from the backrests, orange and beige teamed with royal purple (that's just the carpet), a total hodge podge of unsympathetic colours and patterns throughout. But I survived long enough to reach my room, which had a much more restful colour scheme.
I had dinner down in the U8 restaurant - the buffet looked nice although limited, but didn't taste of very much, and was grossly over-priced for China at RMB130 (drinks not included). There were several indicators that I was really back on the mainland including the one-size-fits-all knife, fork & spoon for everything from soup & salad through dessert, the chair being so low to the table that my chin collided with my soup bowl, and the servers' total mystification at my request for decaff coffee, even after I explained in Chinese. No such thing, they told me.
Back up to my room to discover that there was no shower screen or curtain, or even a holder for the shower head. After some fiddling with the high-tech tap (faucet) I got the water supply figured out, but couldn't get it any hotter than lukewarm. The good news in the bathroom was the excellent toiletries :-)
And so to that lovely bed, surely one of the most comfortable in all China.
One more positive I need to mention is that all the front desk staff were happy and well able to communicate in English as well as Putonghua, with even a couple of local Cantonese speakers as well.

This is an excellent new hotel that I cannot recommend highly enough.

LOCATION: If you have to catch an early or late flight, this is your place. Depending on which part of the airport you need to go to, it's a 5-10 minute walk with luggage in tow. The hotel is literally across the street from the airport.

However, I don't recommend this as a base for sightseeing, as the center of town is a 30-minute cab ride away.

ROOMS: Excellent. Everything is still brand new and modern. The bed is very comfortable and the TV has many channels, including CNN. The bathroom is immaculate.

My only complaint is the shower. For such a modern hotel, I am not sure why there is no hook to hang the shower head. You have to figure out a way to hand hold the shower head without splashing around the entire bathroom.

SERVICE: Very polite and professional. English is spoken by the majority of the staff.

FOOD: This is my only question mark. I only had the chance to dine there for breakfast (which is included in the rate), so can't comment on the other meals. Excellent spread for breakfast, though, and great flavors. Not just the bland mass breakfasts that hotels typically dole out.

Stayed for 5 nights while attending the Canton fair in Guangzhou. The airport is well signposted from within the airport terminal building. From departures level it is a pleasant 2 - 3 minute walk, and you arrive on 2nd floor of hotel. Porters took my luggage and directed me downstairs to reception.
Reception + concierge was always well staffed, with no delays. Executive room was spacious (I'm guessing 35Sq.M), separate shower + bath. Internet 100RMB per day, well stocked minibar, good TV, iron+board in room, nice bed. The exec lounge breakfast was very nice, without any delays. The happy hour from 1730 - 1930 offered free drinks and nice selection of finger food.
I dined in the main U8 restaurant 4 nights, with OK value and selection. The 2nd floor chinese restaurant has less attentive staff - it took 30 minutes for my main course to arrive.

The free shuttle bus to the Canton fair took about 35 minutes.

The best thing about this hotel was the attentive staff and brand spanking new interioir.

Also unlike some "airport" hotels, this is just a 3 minute walk from the terminal. There is a shuttle bus if you want help with luggage.

Great, flashy and new hotel to stay at conveniently 5min walk from the airport. Eager, friendly and talkative staff. I had a classy and spacious standard 1 King Bed room with beautiful bathroom (separate bath and showerstall) and enjoyed it. Breakfast was good, in par with 5star hotels. Absolutely great price/quality ratio. Recommended!