Nanjing Gulou District Hotels

The hotel is in a great location, short walk to train station. Room is dated but still clean and comfortable. Noted that they have started doing renovation on certain floors The room facilities & toiletries are good, especially the powerful Laifen hairdryer😍 which is lacking in other hotels. Free minibar too!😍 Front desk staff are warm & helpful. Special thanks to Tan Liang who helped to us with Didi Taxi booking and asked the doorman to tell the driver to drop us at the specific entrance at the Railway Station.

Driven by the excellent food and service at the Horizon Club, I switched from Shangri-La Yangzhou to Shangri-La Nanjing, embarking on another culinary adventure. 1. **Location**: The Shangri-La Hotel Nanjing boasts an excellent location. It's just one subway stop from Nanjing Railway Station, and the hotel is right next to the subway exit, making it incredibly convenient for exploring other attractions by metro. 2. **Guest Room**: A huge thank you to Manager Xiao Jiang at the Horizon Club for arranging the only lake-view suite on the 41st floor and for granting me a late check-out until 3 PM. The room was spacious and bright, with a generously sized living room and bedroom, both featuring full floor-to-ceiling windows offering stunning views of Purple Mountain and Xuanwu Lake. However, as the hotel has been open for some time, the room design inevitably had a few drawbacks. Firstly, there was no separate walk-in closet in the suite; I had to go into the washroom to change. Secondly, the luggage counter was rather small and high, which would be inconvenient for guests with a lot of luggage. Thankfully, the housekeeping staff quickly brought a luggage rack, providing a proper spot for my suitcase. Most importantly, the toilet in the bathroom wasn't separated by a door; it was openly situated next to the vanity, which significantly compromised privacy and convenience. While not a smart toilet, the heated seat was a comfortable touch. 3. **Dining**: The Horizon Club's dining options certainly lived up to Shangri-La's standards, with breakfast, afternoon tea, and happy hour all being very lavish. However, perhaps due to the sheer number of guests, the management felt a bit disorganized. Not only did the kitchen's food quality seem to decline—some dishes were bland, making me wonder if salt was forgotten or if they weren't cooked evenly—but the service quality also appeared to struggle. During breakfast, I asked a Horizon Club staff member if they could get me some Laoganma chili sauce from the downstairs restaurant, but they replied they couldn't leave their post. I then asked a chef, who promised to bring it, but perhaps they were too busy or forgot, as it only arrived after I had finished my meal. It felt like Nanjing's approach was different from Yangzhou's; the upstairs and downstairs restaurants seemed strictly segregated, preventing staff from cross-fetching items. What confused me, though, was that the soup dumplings I ordered and the pan-fried dumplings I picked up were clearly from the downstairs restaurant, as they arrived a bit cold. At Shangri-La Yangzhou's Horizon Club, staff would either ask the chefs or personally retrieve items upon request. Nevertheless, I must say, the à la carte duck blood vermicelli soup, seaweed wontons, beef noodles, and Eggs Benedict at the Horizon Club breakfast were quite good. The next day, when I had breakfast on the second floor, I discovered that, just as other reviews mentioned, the downstairs restaurant offered a much more extensive spread. There was a wide variety of Western breads and pastries, including large and fragrant caramelized egg tarts kept warm in a warmer, maintaining their fresh-from-the-oven quality. They also had trendy items like butter mochi, mochi yolk pastries, and kid-friendly treats like marshmallows, popcorn, and mini cupcakes—my eyes were truly overwhelmed by the choices. The Chinese section boasted delicious handmade soup dumplings, beef potstickers, siew mai, large pork buns, and duck blood vermicelli soup. Even the whole grain options like sweet potatoes and corn looked impressively large and generously prepared. However, when I asked the staff if I could order Eggs Benedict, they said they had never heard of it. Honestly, when evaluating a hotel's dining, I often prioritize whether they offer handmade food, especially at breakfast. I particularly dislike places that are filled entirely with reprocessed frozen foods; it just feels very insincere. Finally, I must also thank Sherry from the hotel's pastry shop for the delicious mini cakes and mung bean cakes delivered to our room. They were a wonderful surprise and a comforting treat after being out. 4. **Scenery**: Of course, a visit to Shangri-La Nanjing wouldn't be complete without checking out their rooftop helipad, but unfortunately, the weather wasn't good, so I missed out on the rumored stunning views. However, what I was very pleased with was the short walk—just a few minutes—from the hotel to Xuanwu Lake. It happened to be the lotus season, and strolling by the lake, I was greeted by the sight of 'lotus leaves stretching endlessly green to the sky, and lotus flowers under the sun glowing with a unique red.' As far as the eye could see, vast expanses of lotus leaves, like small umbrellas, swayed in the wind, creating gentle green ripples. Pink and white lotus blossoms bloomed in profusion, dotted amongst the green foliage, appearing exceptionally clear and elegant. Colorful pleasure boats crisscrossing the lake added a vibrant touch to Xuanwu Lake. In summary, I was generally satisfied with this stay. At check-out, I even received some delightful hotel-made palmiers, which was a lovely touch. I will definitely choose Shangri-La again on my next trip to Nanjing.

I’ll start with the things that annoyed me about this hotel. The list is long… 1. How the hell are the rooms so expensive when the curtains are not automatically? You can’t move the curtains from the bedside. You have to get up and go move it all the way. 2. The Ac is so noisy and the only way you can turn it off is leave your bed and go right there 3. Only two switches next to the bed for the lights. All other switches by the door. In fact, it’s not a smart room though what I paid for showed they have everything. Paid almost 700 a night. 4. There’s no menu in the room and I called for menu and they said they’ll send someone but had to call back 30-45mins later and they sent someone with some kinda snack that I didn’t even ask for. Finally menu came an hour later after a series of calls. The only thing I liked was the bathroom and the views if am being honest. I paid for the highest floor but got put in the 38floor telling me the higher floors were out meanwhile I paid for it. One more thing, there’s bathtub but no bath soap nor salt. Like how you expect me to take a bath ???? Nahhh!!! They’ve got to put their game up!

Hotel overall good even though a bit rub down after its opening 15years ago. Staff very nice and rooms are very clean even though the furniture has some marks here and there (we stayed 65th floor). The breakfast we did not try as it was too expensive. However what was really disgusting was the sauna/spa area. The pool itself was closed but the changing room that includes the sauna and a hot tub was really run down, dirty and stained everywhere. Apparently nobody has really cleaned it for years. The water in the hot tub was brownish. My wife said the ladies rooms looked considerably better though.

A little bit hiccup with the ac, but it was solved immediately by the staffs, and we get updraded to a new room and acces to clubhouse, thank you. We booked a cute family room and the children love it

The hotel looks new and located next to Xuanwu lake in a quiet but convenient location. Among several Ascott hotels I have stayed, this is the worst regarding to its service. The guy at the front desk lacks a professional attitude. The information he provided was wrong and he was corrected right on site by a lady next to him. So embarrassing! I booked three rooms and they were assigned far apart. I made three calls to the front desk, two were not answered by anyone during day time. The one got picked up provided me with wrong information about the pool hrs. I went to the swimming pool only to find out it’s closed. I went straight to the front desk and was told that oh they forgot the pool is closed on Monday. I should have been told so over the phone. They’ve got to provide more trainings to their staffs before open for business. Ascott in Nanjing needs improvement!

The hotel is located near Gulou Square, with good geographical location and convenient transportation. It is close to Zifeng Tower, Shiziqiao Food Street and Wuyue Plaza, which can meet various food needs. Xuanwu Lake Park is also not far away. The only problem is that it is not easy to find. You have to come in from the alley leading to the north campus of Gulou Hospital and have the same front desk as GreenTree Inn. The hotel is newly renovated, and its style is similar to that of a certain season. I booked a 1.5-meter king-size bed room, and the front desk lady helped me upgrade it to a 1.8-meter king-size bed room for free. The room is generally comfortable, of a suitable size, and the bed is also comfortable. The only drawback is that the bathroom door opens right in front of the toilet, which is a bit cramped. The glass door of the shower room does not block water very well, so there is water all over the floor after taking a shower. There is also no marking on the switch panel to control anything, so turning on and off the lights is like opening a blind box every time. Overall, I am quite satisfied!

Overall great experience and recommend the hotel! Location is great, close to metro & lake Clean, big room although a bit old for some stuff View is amazing! Staff is helpful and nice. I was sick for a couple of days during the stay and they gave us some snacks & late checkout all for free. This was unexpected and very much appreciated so staff if you read this, thank you very much!!!

The hotel is situated within an office building. A major inconvenience was that food deliveries weren't allowed directly to the room; guests had to come down to collect them. Similarly, the laundry room was in a completely different building, making laundry quite a hassle. The front desk is on the 6th floor. The room itself was decent, and while parking was available, the lot was quite small. My biggest frustration came at check-out. I specifically called ahead to inquire about a later check-out, only to be told I had to vacate by 12 PM due to 'high room occupancy.' It took repeated insistence on my part to finally get them to agree to a 2 PM check-out. I absolutely do not understand why the hotel attempts to shift its own operational problems onto guests. The service was utterly poor! ❌ ❌ ❌

Hotel location is good. Very near to shopping mall Deji, and metro. There are plenty of local food around. Basically, is a cozy hotel. Don’t expect luxury as this is a budget hotel. Clean and hygienic enough.  Have been to this hotel many times. Will be back again. This time chose trip.com and will be using trip.com. Easy to use and rewards points are higher. Used to use agoda for the past 15 years. However, I think management has changed and lack of integrity. Cannot believe agoda lies. Made a booking on 26Oct for 27Oct-4Nov to Guangzhou, and realised made a mistake. Cancelled by mistake and realised there was a cancellation fees of 13%, amount 700CNY. Agoda claimed that the hotel refused the refund, but the money was collected by agoda instead. They lied repeatedly and kept pushing the blame to the hotel. I booked the same hotel via trip.com and verified with the staff in person. Integrity is an issue.As such, start using trip.com.