Pantower International Hotel

While this is probably considered the best hotel in Kaiping, I wish the location is more central or located in an area with restaurants and shopping. It's kind of located on a peninsula which nothing around the hotel. It's not a place that you can just walk around. You'd need taxi to go in and out to go anywhere. Room is decent. Carpet is dated. Beds and shower are nice. Amenities: - Breakfast is to our taste with many local Kaiping food. We love the daily buffet breakfast! especially the made-to-order soup noodle, and "salty chicken cage" local Kaiping dish. - Fitness Center is probably the worst I've ever seen from my years of traveling! It is very small and the limited equipment is old and rusty. Worst part is one time I went down to try to use the gym, 2 older men were in there exercising, in their UNDERWEAR and are topless. WTH. Oh there is no AC in the fitness center, so that could be why they are topless and in their underwear. - we didn't use the swimming pool but looks clean and has a shaded area if you preferred to stay in the shady part of the pool. - beauty salon - permanently closed even though the hotel signs still shows operating hours. - massage center: around 280rmb for 80mins body massage. We didn't try it though. massage room is ok only, nothing to write home about. - wifi - took several attempts to get wifi to work in our room, but even after its working, it was super SLOW. Not a good experience. - laundry service. super expensive to a point that you might as well just buy new clothes to wear instead of washing. Self-service laundromat is not a thing in China. Very hard to find and when you do, the machines are probably terrible. Service was very good. Staff is eager to help and answered all of our questions. My relatives said there are other hotels (not as big as Pan Tower) but newer and closer to restaurant/shops. We may try another hotel next time for proximity reasons. We like to be able to walk around the hotel but not many fits that criteria.

Based on Western standards, it’s a solid 4 star hotel. When it was built many years ago, it was probably considered a 5 star. But as time goes by, the furniture and fixtures gets a bit dated. Still, it was comfortable and more than adequate. We upgraded to a suite with a separate living room. The views of the river were great. The sheets were very soft and clean. Had all the usual amenities including unlimited bottles of water. The internet was quite difficult to get and slow when received and the tv took 3 technicians to get to finally work! The a/c functioned fine as did the hot water. The outdoor pool was surprisingly large and crystal clear. The temperature was a perfect 30 C. The gym was a bit small but still had many of the basic equipment. Breakfast variety was mostly Eastern fare. Not much of a salad or truly healthy selection, but one can put together an adequate breakfast. English is spoken by a few of the staff, but the translation apps make that easier now. Most staff was very friendly and aimed to pleased. If you find yourself in Kaiping for the watch towers or old towns, you can’t go wrong staying here. I believe it’s the best that Kaiping has to offer. Howard S.

Hosted by a friend for a 2 night stay, this hotel meets international standards. The rooms are large and the layout very decent. The beds are comfortable. Perhaps the breakfast spreads can be more varied to cater to foreign guests.

All rooms have great river views. Check-in very slow, and only one key per room. Lighting not good enough: and so many switches: need to stay a week just to figure them out. Spacious, modern, very clean accommodation. Loads of staff, always looking for something to be doing. Chinese breakfast: good, fresh ingredients. “American” breakfast: have seen better in the cheapest diner –“bacon” was processed meat, “sausages” were mini frankfurters, baked beans hard as ball bearings. But for the service and price it would be churlish to complain Good 4 stars. Just a few small details prevent me giving 5 stars. Great value.

Clean, good value hotel. Was in the area visiting family and it was exactly what I needed to rest. Paid a very reasonable rate for a suite and I was very pleasantly surprised by the good size and modern room. Top notch bathroom. Only thing to improve was breakfast, but then again for that price it was great. The Chinese restaurant in the hotel is also excellent.

This was my first visit to Pan Tower Hotel in Kaiping. Under no expectations, I was pleasantly surprised on my arrival. Porters await at the main entry, a massive foyer complete with huge chandeliers greet you. Across to reception, which as always in China is a little slow with all the criteria to go through being a Western visitor. The staff were happy and helpful, although English was not as good as I thought it may be. Two sets of elevators, one for even numbered floors, the other for odd floors, just a little different. My room was on the 25th floor and I found it better than most hotel rooms here in Australia. A large size by most comparisons, with King bed, good clean bathroom with plenty of towels, bottled water and accessories, some for sale. The room offered terrific views down the peninsula and rivers. The only drawback was the smog, which is very thick. The Pan Tower is not close to central down town, so the hotel restaurants are where you'll need to eat, unless you have some local connections, as I did to take me to other dining places. The breakfast buffet did offer a large selection, however some dishes weren't as appealing as possibly expected. The coffee was just ok, but the thing about Chinese breakfast buffet's in hotels is, they don't keep the food hot enough, it is luke warm at best. For approximately $95 AUD per night, my 3 night stay was quite acceptable and will definitely stay there again.

The Pan Tower International Hotel is a perfectly acceptable, upscale western-style hotel in a town that doesn't see much in the way of western visitors. Nestled inside a sprawling riverside property near the center of town, the exterior resembles an older, mid-tier Hyatt Hotel. Replete with a long driveway approach lined with world flags and a baggage porter awaiting your arrival. Check-in is about as fast as it can be, given the need to hand over your details for visitor registration with the local police. The lobby is clean, upscale, but striving for grandeur. Although there are quite a number of vacant retail spaces in the lobby, you'll want to take note of the restaurant where the complimentary breakfast is served. At the time of my visit, there was also a women's outerwear shop that sold affordable and well-designed scarfs, fur jackets, and the like. A member of my party bought a hat and a jacket from the boutique. On the way to the guest room elevators, there is a hallway that leads to a fitness center and billiards hall. A posted sign notes a charge to use both of these facilities. The standard room is rather large by western standards. I had a 2-double bed room and requested an additional rollaway. All three beds easily fit in the room and the third member of my party noted that the rollaway bed was extremely comfortable. Elsewhere in the room was a built-in bar, tea kettle, a desk with a chair, a floor lamp near the exterior window, and a master light control panel built into the shared nightstand. Unfortunately, there are not enough power outlets positioned throughout the room, so be sure to request a power strip in order to charge all of your devices. The furniture and room design were functional but plain. Bottled water is provided for free, along with an important reminder not to drink the tap water. Wifi, as with all Mainland China hotels, is painfully slow and filtered. The bathroom could use some updating. A very sterile design. But hilariously enough, there were personal hygiene products on the bathroom counter marked "for purchase," including condoms. The most surprising aspect of my stay was the breakfast buffet. You'll need to "tag in" to the buffet with your RFID enabled room key card before entering. Once in, I'm sure you'll be as delighted as I was by the selection and taste. There had to have been at least 50 items to choose from. Mostly eastern delights, with hot and cold dishes and a selection of bread and fruit. The highlight was the short-order noodle bar, with a selection of noodles, meat, and toppings. The chef on the morning of my stay did an amazing job of making a tasty soup broth. The western selection, however, was hurting for variety. Hot dogs were passed off as breakfast "sausage." And eggs had to be ordered through the short-order cook. Luckily, you are able to make your own omelet or request eggs any way you want. The most glaring offense at the buffet was the coffee. It was downright terrible and should be avoided. Ditto to the "Sunny-D" variety of orange juice. Service, from the check-in to the buffet was quick, efficient, and helpful. Overall, the Pan Tower International Hotel is a perfectly fine, upscale hotel for Kaiping. A solid 4-stars on the western scale. You can't go wrong staying here, despite some of its peculiarities.