20 Best Hotels in Pearl River Delta, China

Next to the Guangzhou East Railway Station, this upscale hotel offers large luxurious rooms in a sophisticated palette of soft blacks, grays, and beige. The buffet in the second-floor café is beautifully arranged around a centerpiece of coral, and the high ceilings lend an air of sophistication.

With spacious rooms, top-tier restaurants, and the Mandarin Oriental's famous service, this sophisticated address ranks firmly among the top hotels in Guangzhou. Designed to feel like a traditional Chinese residence—albeit with plenty of contemporary touches—the rooms here are the most spacious in the city, starting at 60 square meters (646 square feet). Floor-to-ceiling windows, big bathtubs, and lots of dark wood make for a luxurious retreat.

The theme is pure Italian Renaissance, right down to the Venetian gondolier uniforms worn by the staff, and the wide spiral staircases and long hallways give the place an M.C. Escher aura. The Venice Hotel's swimming pool is one of the largest in Shenzhen, and extends from an indoor pool under a domed roof to a connected outdoor pool with a swim-up bar. The hotel also has a number of excellent restaurants and is a popular place for wedding banquets.

Located in Guangzhou's Western Business District, this convenient hotel is ideal for both business and leisure travelers. Some rates include complimentary breakfasts. For other meals, you have your choice of three restaurants and the Full Moon lobby bar, which offers decent coffee and is decked out with wood carvings and rustic furniture.

Encircled by shopping esplanades, this Marriott property gives you easy access to a range of restaurants that will satisfy any appetite. The hotel is favored by business travelers because it's connected to the subway and close to the Trade Fair Exhibition Hall. After a day of exploring the city, stretch out with a few laps in the outdoor swimming pool.

This four-story establishment has an attractive colonial facade that blends well with the surrounding area. Standard rooms are tastefully decorated with wood furniture and have big windows. If possible, get a room facing Shamian Avenue, the quiet, tree-lined street that runs the length of the island. The hotel's entertainment spaces including a karaoke room, billiards room, and a spacious library.

Across from Liuhua Park, this conveniently located hotel caters more to local Chinese travelers but has well-priced rooms and verdant surroundings. Its grounds include a subtropical 2.5-acre garden with pavilions, carp-filled pools, and rock gardens. An outdoor pool sits next to the garden. The lobby is gussied up with thick gold pillars and gold-and-white floor tiling. The shopping concourse is filled with shops selling antiques and carpets.

You can't beat the views at the Four Seasons Hotel Guangzhou, ensconced in the 103-story Guangzhou International Finance Center. The decor, which includes modern sculptures in the lobby, is plenty reason to pay a visit. The main lobby is on the 70th floor of this stunning building, and the hotel soars up to Catch Restaurant on the 100th floor. Don't miss the 25-meter lap pool on the 69th floor.

In the northern business suburbs, this recently renovated hotel is famous for its spectacular garden that includes an artificial hill, a waterfall, and pavilions. The enormous lobby has an impressive collection of gold-foil and black marble murals. There are 11 restaurants (a mix of Chinese, Japanese and Western fare), including French restaurant and The Carousel Restaurant, which features an international seafood buffet and view of the city.

If you're looking for a hotel that's as serious about its facilities as it is about its food, then the Grand Hyatt is for you. Connected to the shopping center, the 38-story Grand Hyatt is known for its Chinese restaurant, Belle-Vue fine dine, Penthouse sky bar and alfresco cafe. The rooms are gorgeously designed, with a spa-like marble bathroom, a large workstation, and floor-to-ceiling windows.

Originally a set of guesthouses, this refurbished hotel on Shamian Island has an old-school ambience despite its aging facilities. The main building, a throwback to the 19th century when it was originally a bank, has a pink and white facade, an imposing portico, and twin domes on the roof, where you'll find a pool and a decent sauna facility. Standard rooms are a little musty, but the hotel retains a fairly inexpensive dining room on the first floor.

A classy blend of fun and flair, the Spanish-themed InterContinental Shenzhen has everything from bellmen dressed in toreador costumes to a massive Pirates of the Caribbean–style ship serving as a bar and restaurant. Rooms and suites mix the latest high-tech amenities like LCD TVs and Bose surround sound with plush furnishings. Some are simply decorated, while others are more grand, with sleek leather chairs, wood paneling, and glittering chandeliers. For some relaxation, check out the palm-shaded water park and its imitation beach.

This hotel's retro space-age exterior, featuring rounded balconies that look as if they might detach from the mother ship at any moment, greets visitors arriving on the ferry from Hong Kong. Although it's one of Shenzhen's older luxury hotels, the Nan Hai still holds its own, offering a lively piano bar, attractive rooms with balconies and sea views, and a number of excellent restaurants. There's also a fitness center with tennis courts and workout equpipment.

With a great location in the heart of the business district and an elegant interior, the Pavilion is a solid option for an international-class hotel in Shenzhen. The service is professional, and most of the staff speaks English. There are three restaurants and a coffee shop, as well as a miniature golf course, tennis courts, and a sauna.

Bringing five-star luxury to Guangzhou's Pearl River New City neighborhood, the Ritz-Carlton Guangzhou is home to posh rooms with marble baths, five restaurants and a bar, and a swank spa. In addition to its hundreds of standard guest rooms, the Ritz offers 35 suites and 58 club-level rooms—all of which feature featherbeds draped with Egyptian cotton linens. After a day of exploring the city, rest your tender soles at the spa, which pampers you with aquatherapy beds and a wet lounge with a sauna. The fitness center includes an outdoor heated pool. It's conveniently located along the Pearl River near major landmarks, as well as across from the Guangzhou International Convention and Exhibition Center.

A more wallet-friendly option in the OCT area, the Seaview is clean, comfortable, has river views, and tends to be popular with visiting artists since it's across the street from the He Xiangning Art Museum. The third-floor Cantonese restaurant is good for dim sum.

This historical hotel was built in 1963 and great for visitors on a budget. Its rooms are a little spartan and the lobby cramped, but it's clean and friendly, and the location—right in the middle of Shamian Island—is second to none.

The unbeatable location—practically straddling the border with Hong Kong—has made the Shangri-La a popular meeting place and a longtime landmark. Rooms, though aging a bit, are first-class, the hospitality is excellent, and there are impressive restaurants, including lounge/restaurant/bar 360°, which takes up the top two floors and offers a view of Shenzhen. The Shangri-La also has a number of other excellent restaurants, making it a good choice when all you want to do is relax.

The word "stately" describes every aspect of the Shenzhen Wuzhou Guest House, which was built by the municipal government to house dignitaries—the guest list includes Chinese Premier Li Keqiang—and is now open to the public. Two buildings (one is pyramid-shaped) house guest rooms ranging from simple and modern Western style to lavish, if a bit over-the-top, Chinese decor. Fitness buffs are in for a treat, as there's a massive fitness center, tennis courts, and two indoor-heated swimming pools. There's also an impressive Chinese art collection.

This is an older hotel with some newly renovated rooms, as well as basic amenities for both leisure and business travelers. There's a notable garden that sprawls across an acre, and lots of Greek sculptures and western murals scattered throughout the property.