南通滨江洲际酒店 — Hotel in Nantong

Nantong, Jiangsu Province… The last city on the Yangtze River (The World’s Longest River) before it reaches its delta city of Shanghai. Most regard it as a heavily industrial city with factories bigger than its mountains and a small city most known for its river trading port and business opportunities. To me, it’s a city with a story defined that is defined by one trait: movement. Everything moves around Nantong like an art piece made from humbleness, pride, and passion. The movement at times must be paused, with many coming to Nantong whether for business, leisure, or simply finding the self-esteemed needs for an adventure… Hundreds of them every night find themselves resting in the Nantong InterContinental Hotel…||The City of Nantong is an interesting milestone for me as the reviewer: it is the first Chinese city I have ever explored alone that is new to me. Every time I come to the InterContinental Hotel, I always regard them as a prestigious brand up to the small details. As a strict reviewer and loyal Diamond Ambassador Member, it is difficult to impress me with the prestigious standards. I write reviews, not for myself, but to serve future guests as to whether one hotel is worth going to or not. Here is not only a review, but my story with the Nantong and the InterContinental Hotel…||I booked the hotel the day before my check-in day, and I used a total of 17,000 IHG One points with this hotel for the reward night between August 8th to the 9th. A few hours after I pressed the confirm button to lock in my reservation, the hotel’s designated Duty Manager at the time Rita Shi called me to confirm my reservation and my stay preferences. She was enthusiastic, energetic, yet surprisingly friendly at the same time through the telephone. Rita asked which bed did I want, did I want a smoking or non-smoking room, what was my pillow preference, my amenity choice, and my arrival time. I was assigned to arrive for early check-in, which was arranged by Rita. ||Sitting on the train waiting to arrive without an idea of what to expect from the city of Nantong, I look outside the window to see the train crossing the widening Yangtze River. Whilst crossing I see Nantong for the first time, and the adventure began for me. After getting off at Nantong West Station, I went straight to the hotel. I was greeted by the concierge staff outside the rotating doors as I trotted into the spacious lobby. A right turn led me to the Ambassador’s check-in area, and sitting at the check-in desk was Rita. Rita being very friendly as she was on the call got me excited about what was to come in this stay. She made sure that my stay was going to be the best it can be. We spoke a lot about the brand, my adventure to Nantong, the hotel, and most importantly Nantong itself. With the effortless and smooth check-in procedures Rita helped me go through, along with all the fun talks we had over check-in, Rita processed my check-in in 19 minutes and 9 seconds according to my stopwatch. Although long, we did have an enthusiastic conversation that added the extra minutes. ||The hotel upgraded me from the Classic Room that I booked to the King Classic Room with the Yangtze River View. On top of that upgrade, Rita generously gave me access to the Club InterContinental Lounge on the top floor. Concerned about both my photographic hobby and my high floor stay preference, Rita decided to let me choose one of two rooms: One with a view of Wolf Mountain and the Yangtze River, the other on a higher floor but with less scenery of either. Undecided on which room was better in my sense, Rita let me take a look at both rooms so I could trial the views of each one. After looking at both rooms, I told Rita that I wanted 615, which was the room with the better scenic view. Rita brought my bag up to the room whilst I toured the city center and the Hao River Scenic Area (not as exciting as advertised). After some lunch at the city’s BaBaiBan Mall, I went back to my room. ||Although I was only upgraded by having a better view, the entry-level “Classic” rooms give you the sense that you only need good views to make your rented space perfect. The Classic King Room with the River View is a 45 SQM/488 SQFT space with so many modernized features that make this room incredible. In your King Classic Room, you have a nice king bed, a wooden desk area with a multi-media plug-in port, a sofa chair next to the window, mood lighting, a closet area, and an LG TV with Free Entertainment plus International TV Channels. In the bathroom, you have a bathtub next to the bathroom window, double vanity sinks, a separate Japanese toilet room, and rain + handle shower room. Byredo is the current soap brand featured for all of the bathroom showers and sinks supplies. Its perfume scent elevates every washing experience from hand washing to the rain shower. To top off this room, I was given some nuts and a big fruit plate for the Ambassadors in the foreground of a magnificent view of Wolf Mountain and the cargo ships floating along the Yangtze River. Turndown service was given before bedtime. The room was clean and well prepared, nothing was dirty with only a tiny crumb found on the desk. Other than that, everything was spotless. The only thing I would want the room to improve on is the shower’s water flow, as the pressure has been slow. ||Where would tourists, adventures, or business people go in the hotel to relax apart from one of the 381 guest rooms, suites, or villas? You could try out the comfortable Lobby Lounge, which was run by the Lobby Lounge Manager Daisy Ren when I got a can of soda water there. It is a modernized lounge area with couches, tables, and some good lighting. Perfect for drunken celebrators, computer-glued company employees, families, and other members of what makes Nantong moves at it is. ||However, what if guests wanted something extra special that defines exclusivity with the ultimate personalized services? Where would foreign executives of multi-national corporations, families who would want to make their trips extra special, friends who want to show off their wealth, or one who wants an exclusive photographic view of Nantong’s finest landscapes? That one exclusive place would be the Club InterContinental Lounge on the top floor. This is a club lounge designed differently from any other Club InterContinental Lounge I have stepped foot on. Overlooking both the mountains, the river, and much of the hotel compound, the club lounge has a unique buffet room, a separate snack and bar counter, meeting rooms, lounge seating, and a front desk. Attending the lounge was the Club InterContinental Supervisor Flora Xiang and the Club InterContinental Attendant Doreen Wang. On a rotational basis, Rita would also manage the Club Lounge. Both of whom were attentive, kind, and professional. ||Opened from 1 PM to 10 PM, the Club Lounge has fresh fruits, snacks, and drinks. 3 PM is when the Afternoon Tea Service starts and 5:30 PM is when Happy Hour starts as well. I was there for Happy Hour, and I had many buffet dishes well-cooked by the Club Chefs. Items include fried calamari, chicken nuggets, Irish mutton stew, octopus, steamed vegetables, rice, and borscht. I was consistently served my favorite Perrier Sparkling Water even though it was not immediately featured in the fridge. Flora managed to keep serving it, which was well appreciated. I took some really good photos with my camera. It is the best scenic viewing point to see the cargo ships making their way up and down the Yangtze. Staring at the busy river and mountains from the lounge is storytelling by itself, a contrast between ancient nature and modernized infrastructure. As a first-time lone adventurer in a Chinese city, it made me understand Nantong deeply more and more by what they have on the scenic list. ||For an industrial city, there aren’t many specialties when it comes to Nantong as opposed to more culturally enriched cities like Shanghai, Suzhou, and Hangzhou. Nor does Nantong have any well-rated restaurants that serve local food specific to Nantong. The Nantong InterContinental has 4 restaurants on-site. Two of the best restaurants are on the 1st floor, where I had the chance to eat all 3 of my meals at this hotel. That restaurant is Commune, which is a casual all-dining restaurant that is a combination of two separate restaurants: East Commune and West Commune. ||I had dinner at East Commune which is a casual Chinese restaurant at Commune. Serving me was the East Commune Manager Tracy Xie. She recommended me the Nantong Clam Broth. It consisted of clams found in Nantong, eggs, and vegetables cooked fresh to order. That was followed by Braised Belly of Pork and Rice. All of which were well-cooked to perfection, and I enjoyed my dinner in a modernized bustling atmosphere with traditional Chinese designs. ||Breakfast and Lunch for me were at the West Commune All-Day Dining. The breakfast buffet had a lot of variety, with great table seating as comfortable and modern as the Shanghai Wonderland InterContinental Commune seating. There were many varied options from the Fresh Fruit, the Bakery, Chinese, Western, and Noodle sections. One of the highlights was the Chinese-style naan bread baked in the Chinese oven served by the amazing Indian chef. The small wontons wrapped fresh were served to order, which was excellent. I managed to get Eggs Benedicts earlier than its served time, which was served to me by the Egg Station chef, which was amazing given how they managed to make it earlier than usual. I ordered a-la-carte for lunch and got the 24 Hour Stewed Beef Cheeks with Mashed Potatoes and Grilled Vegetables. It was a spot-on dish, and it was served by the nice West Commune Manager Abby Lin. So far a spot-on dining experience at this hotel. I wish I had the chance to try the hotel’s Japanese Restaurant Hotori and the Cantonese Restaurant seen in many InterContinentals Caifenglou. ||Although Nantong is not known for tourism, there is always somewhere good to go to there. The Wolf Mountain is 100 meter Buddhist Temple Mountain. Along the Yangtze River next to the hotel is Binjiang Park. You can exclusively use the private entrance and exit to easily access Binjiang Park for free. To embrace the scenery of Binjiang Park and the Yangtze, the ultimate way to embrace it is to bike it as suggested by Rita. Rita understanding that I couldn’t use the public bike rentals due to technical issues, lent me one of the hotel’s Sports Trials ST100 Bikes for free. I got it right from the concierge team who are phenomenal. It is a mountain bike that tops off what I need. It was given to me for free, but anyone wanting to use it can pay 30RMB per hour. I used the bike to ride along the park to the mountain. From there, a 30-minute climb got me to the top of Wolf Mountain overlooking the Nantong area. A dip in the Chinese traditional interior-designed swimming pool helped me cool off the 40-degree heat after an intense exercise. They have a nice fitness center and spa at your disposal when you need it. ||The hotel is a complex on its own, almost like a resort town if you ask me. On top of all of those attractions mentioned, you have an expansive garden with its swan lake and its bridge paths. There are separate villa compounds that make this hotel a residence, as well as its separate apartment block. On top of those, it is a wedding venue and a nice place to celebrate some kid’s 10th birthday. I had the chance to witness both events taking place at the same time. ||You could argue that Rita Shi is the best Duty Manager in the entire InterContinental Hotel China Branch. As a lone young person with no plan on what to do or to expect in Nantong, Rita enlightened me on what I could do in Nantong and helped guided me on what I could do on my agenda within and beyond hotel property. Rita is heartwarming, keen, and deadly precise in trying to satisfy every guest staying at this hotel. In ways, she made this adventurous trip to Nantong more exciting through her insights and accommodating generosity. It is almost as if she wanted to take a huge role in your hotel experience, and she is someone I think is the most trustworthy, loyal, and phenomenal Duty Manager not just for the hotel, but for the guests that make Nantong economically run like a powerhouse. To be impressed by a Duty Manager is a complete understatement because I have seen many of the managers in the many InterContinental Hotels I have been to. From start to finish, I was extremely impressed. There is no easy way to say it, she is the best of the best of the best. Period. ||Before I left back for Shanghai, I checked out of the hotel with the Guest Services Manager Jenny Wu. We had a lovely conversation about my travels and Nantong. She closed out my stay by personalizing my departure from check out to departure. I had the final brief chance to say goodbye to Rita before I left. My first lone adventure to a new city in China has ended. It won’t be the last time I will step foot in the Nantong InterContinental Hotel. ||Overall, this is such a great stay! In ways, this stay is closer to perfection than it can ever be. I admire this hotel and its service! Even staying at the hotel’s lowest category room, the standards are already higher than you can expect. If it wasn’t for the great service, it wouldn’t have made this hotel as perfect as it can be. I’m glad I have chosen Nantong as the first city to explore alone in China. It is such an awesome destination to go to for photographic exploration. ||This is the 25th InterContinental Hotel I have stepped foot on as a Diamond Ambassador Member. There is a ranking list on which InterContinentals were the best in my experience. Because of the phenomenal, yet mind-blowing experience at this hotel, I have decided to rank this hotel #3 out of #25. It is the second best Chinese InterContinental I have been to. The Chinese InterContinental Breakfast Buffet Ranking is also #3 out of #16. ||I would like to thank the InterContinental Nantong Hotel for facilitating such an amazing stay. It certainly deserves to be the Top Rated...

Nantong, Jiangsu Province… The last city on the Yangtze River (The World’s Longest River) before it reaches its delta city of Shanghai. Most regard it as a heavily industrial city with factories bigger than its mountains and a small city most known for its river trading port and business opportunities. To me, it’s a city with a story defined that is defined by one trait: movement. Everything moves around Nantong like an art piece made from humbleness, pride, and passion. The movement at times must be paused, with many coming to Nantong whether for business, leisure, or simply finding the self-esteemed needs for an adventure… Hundreds of them every night find themselves resting in the Nantong InterContinental Hotel…||The City of Nantong is an interesting milestone for me as the reviewer: it is the first Chinese city I have ever explored alone that is new to me. Every time I come to the InterContinental Hotel, I always regard them as a prestigious brand up to the small details. As a strict reviewer and loyal Diamond Ambassador Member, it is difficult to impress me with the prestigious standards. I write reviews, not for myself, but to serve future guests as to whether one hotel is worth going to or not. Here is not only a review, but my story with the Nantong and the InterContinental Hotel…||I booked the hotel the day before my check-in day, and I used a total of 17,000 IHG One points with this hotel for the reward night between August 8th to the 9th. A few hours after I pressed the confirm button to lock in my reservation, the hotel’s designated Duty Manager at the time Rita Shi called me to confirm my reservation and my stay preferences. She was enthusiastic, energetic, yet surprisingly friendly at the same time through the telephone. Rita asked which bed did I want, did I want a smoking or non-smoking room, what was my pillow preference, my amenity choice, and my arrival time. I was assigned to arrive for early check-in, which was arranged by Rita. ||Sitting on the train waiting to arrive without an idea of what to expect from the city of Nantong, I look outside the window to see the train crossing the widening Yangtze River. Whilst crossing I see Nantong for the first time, and the adventure began for me. After getting off at Nantong West Station, I went straight to the hotel. I was greeted by the concierge staff outside the rotating doors as I trotted into the spacious lobby. A right turn led me to the Ambassador’s check-in area, and sitting at the check-in desk was Rita. Rita being very friendly as she was on the call got me excited about what was to come in this stay. She made sure that my stay was going to be the best it can be. We spoke a lot about the brand, my adventure to Nantong, the hotel, and most importantly Nantong itself. With the effortless and smooth check-in procedures Rita helped me go through, along with all the fun talks we had over check-in, Rita processed my check-in in 19 minutes and 9 seconds according to my stopwatch. Although long, we did have an enthusiastic conversation that added the extra minutes. ||The hotel upgraded me from the Classic Room that I booked to the King Classic Room with the Yangtze River View. On top of that upgrade, Rita generously gave me access to the Club InterContinental Lounge on the top floor. Concerned about both my photographic hobby and my high floor stay preference, Rita decided to let me choose one of two rooms: One with a view of Wolf Mountain and the Yangtze River, the other on a higher floor but with less scenery of either. Undecided on which room was better in my sense, Rita let me take a look at both rooms so I could trial the views of each one. After looking at both rooms, I told Rita that I wanted 615, which was the room with the better scenic view. Rita brought my bag up to the room whilst I toured the city center and the Hao River Scenic Area (not as exciting as advertised). After some lunch at the city’s BaBaiBan Mall, I went back to my room. ||Although I was only upgraded by having a better view, the entry-level “Classic” rooms give you the sense that you only need good views to make your rented space perfect. The Classic King Room with the River View is a 45 SQM/488 SQFT space with so many modernized features that make this room incredible. In your King Classic Room, you have a nice king bed, a wooden desk area with a multi-media plug-in port, a sofa chair next to the window, mood lighting, a closet area, and an LG TV with Free Entertainment plus International TV Channels. In the bathroom, you have a bathtub next to the bathroom window, double vanity sinks, a separate Japanese toilet room, and rain + handle shower room. Byredo is the current soap brand featured for all of the bathroom showers and sinks supplies. Its perfume scent elevates every washing experience from hand washing to the rain shower. To top off this room, I was given some nuts and a big fruit plate for the Ambassadors in the foreground of a magnificent view of Wolf Mountain and the cargo ships floating along the Yangtze River. Turndown service was given before bedtime. The room was clean and well prepared, nothing was dirty with only a tiny crumb found on the desk. Other than that, everything was spotless. The only thing I would want the room to improve on is the shower’s water flow, as the pressure has been slow. ||Where would tourists, adventures, or business people go in the hotel to relax apart from one of the 381 guest rooms, suites, or villas? You could try out the comfortable Lobby Lounge, which was run by the Lobby Lounge Manager Daisy Ren when I got a can of soda water there. It is a modernized lounge area with couches, tables, and some good lighting. Perfect for drunken celebrators, computer-glued company employees, families, and other members of what makes Nantong moves at it is. ||However, what if guests wanted something extra special that defines exclusivity with the ultimate personalized services? Where would foreign executives of multi-national corporations, families who would want to make their trips extra special, friends who want to show off their wealth, or one who wants an exclusive photographic view of Nantong’s finest landscapes? That one exclusive place would be the Club InterContinental Lounge on the top floor. This is a club lounge designed differently from any other Club InterContinental Lounge I have stepped foot on. Overlooking both the mountains, the river, and much of the hotel compound, the club lounge has a unique buffet room, a separate snack and bar counter, meeting rooms, lounge seating, and a front desk. Attending the lounge was the Club InterContinental Supervisor Flora Xiang and the Club InterContinental Attendant Doreen Wang. On a rotational basis, Rita would also manage the Club Lounge. Both of whom were attentive, kind, and professional. ||Opened from 1 PM to 10 PM, the Club Lounge has fresh fruits, snacks, and drinks. 3 PM is when the Afternoon Tea Service starts and 5:30 PM is when Happy Hour starts as well. I was there for Happy Hour, and I had many buffet dishes well-cooked by the Club Chefs. Items include fried calamari, chicken nuggets, Irish mutton stew, octopus, steamed vegetables, rice, and borscht. I was consistently served my favorite Perrier Sparkling Water even though it was not immediately featured in the fridge. Flora managed to keep serving it, which was well appreciated. I took some really good photos with my camera. It is the best scenic viewing point to see the cargo ships making their way up and down the Yangtze. Staring at the busy river and mountains from the lounge is storytelling by itself, a contrast between ancient nature and modernized infrastructure. As a first-time lone adventurer in a Chinese city, it made me understand Nantong deeply more and more by what they have on the scenic list. ||For an industrial city, there aren’t many specialties when it comes to Nantong as opposed to more culturally enriched cities like Shanghai, Suzhou, and Hangzhou. Nor does Nantong have any well-rated restaurants that serve local food specific to Nantong. The Nantong InterContinental has 4 restaurants on-site. Two of the best restaurants are on the 1st floor, where I had the chance to eat all 3 of my meals at this hotel. That restaurant is Commune, which is a casual all-dining restaurant that is a combination of two separate restaurants: East Commune and West Commune. ||I had dinner at East Commune which is a casual Chinese restaurant at Commune. Serving me was the East Commune Manager Tracy Xie. She recommended me the Nantong Clam Broth. It consisted of clams found in Nantong, eggs, and vegetables cooked fresh to order. That was followed by Braised Belly of Pork and Rice. All of which were well-cooked to perfection, and I enjoyed my dinner in a modernized bustling atmosphere with traditional Chinese designs. ||Breakfast and Lunch for me were at the West Commune All-Day Dining. The breakfast buffet had a lot of variety, with great table seating as comfortable and modern as the Shanghai Wonderland InterContinental Commune seating. There were many varied options from the Fresh Fruit, the Bakery, Chinese, Western, and Noodle sections. One of the highlights was the Chinese-style naan bread baked in the Chinese oven served by the amazing Indian chef. The small wontons wrapped fresh were served to order, which was excellent. I managed to get Eggs Benedicts earlier than its served time, which was served to me by the Egg Station chef, which was amazing given how they managed to make it earlier than usual. I ordered a-la-carte for lunch and got the 24 Hour Stewed Beef Cheeks with Mashed Potatoes and Grilled Vegetables. It was a spot-on dish, and it was served by the nice West Commune Manager Abby Lin. So far a spot-on dining experience at this hotel. I wish I had the chance to try the hotel’s Japanese Restaurant Hotori and the Cantonese Restaurant seen in many InterContinentals Caifenglou. ||Although Nantong is not known for tourism, there is always somewhere good to go to there. The Wolf Mountain is 100 meter Buddhist Temple Mountain. Along the Yangtze River next to the hotel is Binjiang Park. You can exclusively use the private entrance and exit to easily access Binjiang Park for free. To embrace the scenery of Binjiang Park and the Yangtze, the ultimate way to embrace it is to bike it as suggested by Rita. Rita understanding that I couldn’t use the public bike rentals due to technical issues, lent me one of the hotel’s Sports Trials ST100 Bikes for free. I got it right from the concierge team who are phenomenal. It is a mountain bike that tops off what I need. It was given to me for free, but anyone wanting to use it can pay 30RMB per hour. I used the bike to ride along the park to the mountain. From there, a 30-minute climb got me to the top of Wolf Mountain overlooking the Nantong area. A dip in the Chinese traditional interior-designed swimming pool helped me cool off the 40-degree heat after an intense exercise. They have a nice fitness center and spa at your disposal when you need it. ||The hotel is a complex on its own, almost like a resort town if you ask me. On top of all of those attractions mentioned, you have an expansive garden with its swan lake and its bridge paths. There are separate villa compounds that make this hotel a residence, as well as its separate apartment block. On top of those, it is a wedding venue and a nice place to celebrate some kid’s 10th birthday. I had the chance to witness both events taking place at the same time. ||You could argue that Rita Shi is the best Duty Manager in the entire InterContinental Hotel China Branch. As a lone young person with no plan on what to do or to expect in Nantong, Rita enlightened me on what I could do in Nantong and helped guided me on what I could do on my agenda within and beyond hotel property. Rita is heartwarming, keen, and deadly precise in trying to satisfy every guest staying at this hotel. In ways, she made this adventurous trip to Nantong more exciting through her insights and accommodating generosity. It is almost as if she wanted to take a huge role in your hotel experience, and she is someone I think is the most trustworthy, loyal, and phenomenal Duty Manager not just for the hotel, but for the guests that make Nantong economically run like a powerhouse. To be impressed by a Duty Manager is a complete understatement because I have seen many of the managers in the many InterContinental Hotels I have been to. From start to finish, I was extremely impressed. There is no easy way to say it, she is the best of the best of the best. Period. ||Before I left back for Shanghai, I checked out of the hotel with the Guest Services Manager Jenny Wu. We had a lovely conversation about my travels and Nantong. She closed out my stay by personalizing my departure from check out to departure. I had the final brief chance to say goodbye to Rita before I left. My first lone adventure to a new city in China has ended. It won’t be the last time I will step foot in the Nantong InterContinental Hotel. ||Overall, this is such a great stay! In ways, this stay is closer to perfection than it can ever be. I admire this hotel and its service! Even staying at the hotel’s lowest category room, the standards are already higher than you can expect. If it wasn’t for the great service, it wouldn’t have made this hotel as perfect as it can be. I’m glad I have chosen Nantong as the first city to explore alone in China. It is such an awesome destination to go to for photographic exploration. ||This is the 25th InterContinental Hotel I have stepped foot on as a Diamond Ambassador Member. There is a ranking list on which InterContinentals were the best in my experience. Because of the phenomenal, yet mind-blowing experience at this hotel, I have decided to rank this hotel #3 out of #25. It is the second best Chinese InterContinental I have been to. The Chinese InterContinental Breakfast Buffet Ranking is also #3 out of #16. ||I would like to thank the InterContinental Nantong Hotel for facilitating such an amazing stay. It certainly deserves to be the Top Rated...

I’m writing to clarify a terrible experience, which made me extremely unsatisfied during my last stay.

I was been told by the reception working in the gym, that I must wear swimming cap if I want to access the swimming pool due to the cleaning maintenance policy, which completely makes sense for me. Unfortunately, I hadn’t brought any such stuff with me, and I did explain to that lady and asked for help. However, she didn’t mean to help and kept repeating the policy until I reminded her to call the front desk. She lifted the phone and passed to me, said ‘you could talk with them by yourself.’ This behaviour really made me feels I was in some freelance market, instead of a professional and high qualified hotel. I took the phone but I cannot reach the keyboard, I asked the lady to dial the number for me accordingly. She did. I explained my situation to the front desk lady. She offered me an effective solution just in a second, which cheered me up. She guided me to enter the swimming pool first and ask the duty staff there for the spare one. After I hanged up the phone, I tried to walk in but been stopped by the reception lady again. She seemed not trust what I was telling her. I was very unhappy and declared with her, says she could call the front desk again to verify this agreement.

I do understand the policy and I do understand the lady was trying to do her job. But obviously, this was not the service I was expecting. The problem is about the attitude to solve the guest’s problem.

Apparently, the other things I felt was definitely above average, especially the customer care after sales. I received call from the team after checked out. I told the staff about this particular bad feeling. She promised to fix it. Afterwards, the manager named Kelvin called me again, his purpose was simply to deliver the sincere apology, which makes me feel respective.

Honestly, I have been travelling around very frequently. I understand the standards in hospitality. I don’t mean to blame anyone, only hope my suggestion can make to concentrate the employees’ training on skills.

Thank you...