Changzhou Marriott Hotel

“Largest building in city, you can't miss it!”

Stayed here for two days on the second part of a business trip to China. Changzhou is just over an hour from Shanghai by high speed train. The hotel is in the centre of the city and 15 minutes from the station. There is an underground car park with direct lift access to the hotel. Don't be fool… more

Stayed here for two days on the second part of a business trip to China. Changzhou is just over an hour from Shanghai by high speed train. The hotel is in the centre of the city and 15 minutes from the station. There is an underground car park with direct lift access to the hotel. Don't be fooled by the size of the building, the first 35 or so floors are offices and businesses. Some restaurants are on the first floor. Entering the hotel the vast size and space is certainly impressive. Spotlessly clean and nice and quiet. A nice fusion of music in the lobby playing throughout the day. I checked in early and given the hotel was not full, was able to get into my room at 10.30 am. A nice upgraded room, mine had a separate living area, two toilets, a vast shower with copious amounts of water. Curtains and blinds are electrically operated from the bed side. Plenty of charging points and a trouser press along with iron and board all in the room to use. Bathroom off from the bedroom spacious and wonderful, lovely shower as mentioned. Had a luxury bath too, but not used. Fridge and tea/coffee making facilities too, along with four bottles of water. TV channels 95% Chinese and local, but did manage to find CNN and a film channel playing old films in English. The Executive Room is on the 46th floor and has a mix of cosy chairs as well as formal dining tables. A hot buffet is from 5.30 - 7.30 pm and a nice selection to choose from. Obviously you need to pay to use the ER via the room booked or have suitable Bonvoy status. The hotel restaurant on the ground floor opens for breakfast at 6.30 am and there is no early access either. Breakfast is busy as always, and being there in July, the hotel had lots of families with children. Not overly surprising given the time of year, but in recent years, hotels like this would normally have more business guests than holiday makers. Regarding breakfast; a reasonable selection of food on offer, with hot and cold options as well as Asian and western dishes. Encountered minor language issues asking for something not specifically breakfast related, i.e. a bag to go with some pastries. This proved hard to explain, but managed in the end. As I checked in early, we ate in the Chinese restaurant on the first floor. At first we thought we'd be the only diners, but slowly it started to fill up. Lunch was the 'lazy susan' table rotating food round the table. Too many dishes to list, see photos, but overall a nice selection of food. I used chop sticks, but traditional cutlery was offered. No pool at the hotel, but gym and spa available. Laundry was collected promptly and returned nicely packaged and separated accordingly. Very reasonable costs for laundry too, especially due to hotel laundry prices being high for handling etc. Locally around the hotel are a selection of local cafes, a few shops but nothing really if you're looking for serious retail therapy. Check out was faultless, and good english spoken by all at reception. I would certainly return here if back in the area. There are other corporate hotels (Sheraton) close, but the size of the hotel, and view from the room, along with parking, ambiance, and pricing is certainly going to attract me back. Well done to the staff.

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