6 Best Hotels in Guangzhou, Pearl River Delta

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.

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.

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.

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.