Rosewood Guangzhou — Hotel in Guangzhou City

You will regret not staying at Rosewood Guangzhou for your trips to the city. I have not visited the city for a few years due to the pandemic and new focus in business. Taking advantage of quarantine-free travel arrangement between the two places, I revisit the city and at the same time hosted a little birthday celebration. Guangzhou is not in shortage of five-star hotels, and among many well-known brands, I carefully selected the Rosewood Guangzhou located on the banks of the Pearl River in the Tianhe District's Chow Tai Fook International Financial Center. Believe it or not, it became the highlight of this trip.As soon as entering the hotel building, I was greeted with smiling faces all the way. We arrived much earlier than the appointed check-time in fact. After checking the reservation details at the front desk, it turned out that the room was not available yet. Guess what! The Rosewood team was so apologetic. In all fairness, those seasoned traveler would know that it is something very normal. In normal circumstances, I would just leave the bags with the concierge and take a tour of the city. Instead, the Rosewood team was so eager to offer us little brownies as compensation, which is rather rare nowadays. The front desk arranged someone to take us to their executive lounge, the "Manor Club", where we comfortably waited to complete the check-in process. During that time, they considerately served us with drinks, tea, and snacks. Generally speaking, one would not have high expectations for such snacks, at most, they serve as a quick bite only. However, the Manor Club team has raised the bar for the executive lounge. The snacks were beautifully presented, delicious in taste, and served with the appropriate warmth. In terms of appearance, aroma, and flavor, they deserve an unequivocal praise. We were even tempted to cancel plans to dine at other restaurants and enjoy the service at the Manor Club to the fullest extent. Of course, when it comes to the executive lounge, it is all about quality of service. During our stay at the Manor Club, we encountered several highly professional colleagues ( Tara, Rania, Hattie and Siyou) who were courteous and considerate, showing thoughtfulness and warmth. I have had the privilege of traveling to different places and staying at several five-star hotel's executive lounges. At the Rosewood Guangzhou, I was not just being served, it was pampered by the Manor Club team. This assessment is by no means an exaggeration. You can try it for yourself.You might think that this level of service is an exclusive privilege for guests staying on the executive floors? Fair point but not quite the case. I had an extraordinary experience at the Rosewood Guangzhou. The next morning, I went to Patina European Brasserie & Terrace for breakfast. I woke up a bit late and it was already bustling with people. Despite the various requests from guests, the service team still wore smiles, handled everything with efficiency, proving that the team not only receives excellent training but also genuinely and wholeheartedly treats service as an honorable job, rather than just a means to earn a living.It is worth mentioning that although Patina European Brasserie & Terrace serves a typical hotel-style breakfast, the taste was different - it carried the flavor of hospitality.I have traveled to various places around the world, stayed at five-star hotels, and experienced their executive lounges. Undoubtedly, this extremely satisfying experience puts Rosewood Guangzhou among the "top five" in my collection.The entire service team at Rosewood Guangzhou, as well as the team at the Manor Club, have redefined "customer-centric" and "excellent service". Lastly, I want to express special thanks to Pauling ( director of guest relations ) for her attentive care towards us. Joining others that I have mentioned earlier, they are the crown jewels of...

As the title says, what I experienced at Rosewood Guangzhou was arrogant service followed by an empty, defensive reply. This is a disgrace to any brand claiming to be five-star.||||The Call That Broke My Trust||I booked a 2:00 PM brunch through Dianping and paid a deposit of RMB 500. On Aug 30, 2025 at 1:22 PM (Beijing Time), I received a call from a Chinese mobile number.||||The staff member (ID 2903), who had never even met me, questioned whether I would actually arrive on time at 2:00, and then sarcastically remarked: “window seats cost RMB 400 per person.”||||For a five-star hotel, this was insulting and humiliating. No staff member who does not even know the guest should ever question punctuality or imply that a guest cannot afford a seat.||||Even worse, the call came from what appeared to be a private mobile number, raising serious concerns about data privacy and potential leakage of customer information.||||The Official Reply – A Second Insult||I canceled my booking immediately because my trust was broken.||||What shocked me even more was the official reply I later received from Rosewood Guangzhou, signed by Edison Yang. Instead of acknowledging the staff’s inappropriate language, the reply focused only on “procedural compliance,” and even continued to imply that I might not have managed my time properly — essentially a second insult.||||To make matters worse, Edison Yang did not disclose his position or role. In any true five-star hotel, complaint responses are signed with a clear title (Guest Relations Manager, Director of Rooms, F&B Manager, etc.). Hiding one’s position only shows a lack of transparency and accountability.||||Faulty Time Management Logic||If the hotel cannot reasonably accommodate guests at 2:00 PM, then this slot should not be offered in the booking system.||||The hotel’s own scheduling problem should never be turned into an excuse to question whether the guest can manage theirs. Compared to you questioning me, I have every reason to question your professional competence.||||⸻||||International Comparison||As a comparison, I recently booked at another leading international hotel via the same platform.||||They contacted me using the official hotel number, and the communication was professional and courteous — exactly the standard expected of a five-star brand.||||The contrast with Rosewood Guangzhou could not be greater.||||Chow Tai Fook Background||It should be noted that Rosewood is owned by Chow Tai Fook, a Hong Kong conglomerate rooted in real estate and jewelry, with a history of serving elites and officials rather than everyday guests.||||This explains a lot: the brand invests in glamorous hardware but lacks any genuine culture of hospitality.||||What Rosewood Guangzhou offers is not true service, but a hollow imitation of the traditions built by established European and American luxury hotels. It is like a monkey imitating humans walking, or a parrot repeating words — no matter how closely they mimic, it never becomes the real thing.||||Conclusion||In the end, Rosewood Guangzhou failed twice:|| • First, in service, by treating a guest with doubt and disrespect.|| • Second, in its response, by avoiding accountability and hiding behind excuses.||||Most of all, it showed a culture with no respect for guests. Their repeated message was that guests must “reasonably arrange their time” to fit the hotel, as if the hotel were doing the guest a favor.||||I have traveled to many countries and stayed at countless luxury hotels, but never have I encountered such arrogance and unreasonable treatment. It felt as if guests were begging for the privilege of dining there — utterly laughable.||||A true service industry should be built on respect and hospitality, yet here there was none. If this is how they speak to a guest directly, one can only imagine how little they think of their customers...

The architectural and interior design of Rosewood Guangzhou is, indeed, magnificent (or marvelous, if "magnificent" is not a word strong enough")! It has the most impressive design I have ever encountered so far. The excitement already starts even at its main gate. It is an imposing and stately wooden gate that separates the hotel from the most premium portion of arguably the most vibrant central business district in southern China. The gate is powerful in sending a ceremonial signal: you are entering one of the finest hotels in the region. The gate is magical; it gives a feeling that, once passing through it, we will be entering a horizon completely different from the outside, which is way more tranquil, high-end, and exclusive.One will not arrive straight at the hotel building after passing the grand gate. Instead, one needs to walk through a short outdoor sidewalk, like what one always needs to do after entering the front gate of a great French mansion. Walking on the sidewalk, one’s eyes will inevitably be drawn up and be astonished by the tallest skyscraper in southern China, whose top floors are where Rosewood Guangzhou sits on. Such a sidewalk arrangement cannot be more amazing; it ferments everyone’s expectations to the fullest extent before one eventually enters the hotel. Then, that excitement erupts like how the lava does from the La Palma volcano these days: After passing one other grand wooden gate, one will eventually enter the Rosewood hotel. The first thing to welcome everyone is a highly exquisite arrival hall. The whole area adopts a trendy British design, which, interestingly, manages to still maintain a high level of classiness. This vibe extends all the way through the ultra-fast elevator to the lobby on the 95th floor. Beyond that, one will need to take another elevator to reach, literally, the rooms above the clouds (for instance, my room is on the 101st floor). The a**osphere changes dramatically once we step out of the elevator. The corridor suddenly turns dim, but not to the extent that it turns scary. Instead, the moderate dimness brings the floor enormous peace and calm, just like walking from a grand ballroom to a quiet living corner. Of course, like every part of the hotel, the corridor is decorated with countless (really, countless) exciting artworks. The most enjoyable and refined corridor I have seen!Again, another different vibe rises up once we open our room door. Even after experiencing so many excitements, it will still be hard not to be astonished by the room. Unlike the public areas, which are so British, the rooms are filled with a comfortable volume of oriental vibes. On top of the British background, the oriental elements make the room magically lively, peaceful, calming, and fresh. It is my first time using the word "fresh" to describe a room. The beautiful rooms at Rosewood Guangzhou are just like a cup of fine green tea, which makes people feel so light...