Echeng Hotel Guangzhou Zhujiang New Town in Guangzhou

Out of four hotels we stayed at during our 8-day trip across four cities, this one was by far the worst. Let me start with some minor issues. For a family room, which is clearly for three people, we only got two breakfast vouchers, even though it cost over 200 more than a standard room. And frankly, their breakfast was terrible anyway. As for hygiene, there were brownish stains on the pillows, looking like hair dye from a previous guest. The mattress felt incredibly cheap and uncomfortable. Compared to Atour hotels in the same price range, the pillows and bedding here aren't even close; they offer zero comfort. These aren't huge problems, and I didn't even bother complaining to the front desk. Now for the two major issues: As you can see in the picture, the bed faces the door directly. So, as soon as you enter the room, you're looking at the bed. The lighting in the room was dim. It was okay during the day, but at night, every time I turned over, I'd be facing the main door, which was incredibly eerie and instantly woke me up. If you're easily scared, do not stay here. The biggest problem, however, is the doors. I'm not sure if they lack soft-close mechanisms or what, but I was startled awake three times in the middle of the night by a sound from the hallway, like an earthquake combined with a firecracker. After walking 20,000 to 30,000 steps a day, I was exhausted, yet I was still scared awake two nights in a row. After the first night, I said we shouldn't stay here, as we couldn't get any rest. But my parents said to just make do for the last day. It's true that checking out midway through our trip and then checking into another hotel would have been too much of a hassle. But I really regret staying that extra night. Around 3:22 AM, there were three consecutive loud bangs, and our family of three was woken up again, our hearts pounding. My mom asked, 'What was that? An earthquake?' I even stood by the door for a while to figure out where the sound was coming from. I suspect it was other guests closing their doors. We chose this place because our usual hotel was fully booked, but it's really not a good place to stay.

The hotel is quite inflexible; discounts are only available if you sign up for their membership. The facilities are outdated, and I wouldn't recommend it unless absolutely necessary. While one female staff member (with glasses) was helpful, the service from the rest of the staff leaves much to be desired.