Guangzhou’s offering as a MICE destination has been greatly enhanced in the past few years. While the trade fair industry there has grown rapidly, it is only recently that the city has begun updating its hotel stock with world-class brands. Aside from the established brands, the city will also get a Park Hyatt, Four Seasons, Sheraton and W Hotel in 2010 and 2011.
The 351-room Ritz-Carlton Guangzhou is the latest property to open in the city. The hotel is
a part of the developing Tianhe District, which is Guangzhou’s new central business district
that will also feature the city’s museum and opera house. Currently it is packed with cranes and other building equipment.
The hotel’s 18th-century Rococco-style ballroom can hold groups of up to 600 people for cocktails. The intricately designed ballroom on the second floor, where all the hotel’s function spaces are, is in keeping with the brand’s traditional look rather than the modern styling of other similar properties in China. The Ritz-Carlton is handy to nearby consulates and chambers of commerce, and the hotel also features 91 long-term residences.
GOOD LOCATION
The 704-room Shangri-La Guangzhou is ideally placed between the Pearl River and the Guangzhou International Convention and Exhibition Centre Pazhou Complex, which is only a short walk away for event delegates.
The hotel is a ten-minute drive to the centre of Guangzhou, which makes it further away than the other five-star hotels but also leaves it ideally placed to benefit from the huge growth currently taking place in Pazhou.
While the hotel is unmistakably a Shangri-La product, it is also among the biggest in China with its largest meeting space being the 2,240 sqm pillarless Pearl River Grand Ballroom that can hold 1,280 banquet style up to 3,000 people theatre style.
The Guangzhou Ballroom is the nextlargest space with a naturally lit foyer that can hold 540 people for banquets. The hotel’s auditorium can also seat 95 people with simultaneous translation available.
Other features include a Chi Spa, 5,800 sqm of landscaped gardens and 2,000 sqm of lawns for outdoor events. Recent clients include Prudential, Avon, Johnnie Walker and Wrigley’s.
The Westin Guangzhou opened last year with a 595 sqm ballroom on the fifth floor, but already the hotel has remodelled the retail space on its third floor into a new ballroom that will open this month.
The Westin features the biggest standard room size in Guangzhou at 50 sqm, as well as 28 Renewal Signature Rooms at 71 sqm each that contain gym equipment and a high-quality massage chair.
HSBC, Standard Chartered and Hennessy are all recent clients of the hotel. Ten minutes away by taxi, the Grand Hyatt Guangzhou has soft opened and features all of its meeting spaces on third floor, away from the main hotel areas. The hotel features contemporary colours and simple,
modern designs throughout.
CITY EXHIBITIONS
Guangzhou is the business hub of the Pearl River Delta and home to some of the world's largest trade shows. It has also added several new properties recently.
