Hotel Name: Aiqun Hotel
Address: 113 Yanjiang West Road, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou, China.
The Aiqun Hotel is a historic landmark in Guangzhou, which I didn’t know at the time of my booking. I was just looking for somewhere to stay near the river in the old part of the city.
The Aiqun (also spelled Oi Kwan) looks straight out the 1930’s, and after consulting its own wiki page I see that it was the tallest building in the city from 1937 to 1967.
When I arrived I couldn’t believe that my budget 3-star hotel was in such an amazing building. I booked online for the rate of 204.65 CNY per night ($29.70 USD).
The hotel is a in flatiron-style building on a triangular block on the north bank of the Pearl River.
Despite its grand size the lobby is very small. I was expecting it to be more cavernous. After a smooth check-in process I went to my room.
The building is from the 30s while the wood-panelled hallways look like from the 70s or 80s.
I got a double room with a private bathroom. The bed was comfortable if not a bit lumpy. It was an interesting room with lots of assorted old furniture. The room was old but everything was well maintained and in working order.
The room had a good climate control system which is needed in this steamy tropical city. There is free wifi in the hotel and I had no problem with the connection. Remember though that there is the Great Firewall of China, so many sites like Google and Facebook are blocked.
Free water and tea and coffee making facilities are included.
When I booked I made sure I got a hotel with a window. I was half hoping to get a room with a riverside view, but I would have happily settled with the roadside view. What I wasn’t expecting was the hotel to have a hollow centre with windows facing the dead space. So technically I had a window, but this was the view.
The bathroom was spacious with a big sink area.
The shower was in the bath that was high to step up into.
One thing that impresses me about Chinese hotels is that they are required to have smoke masks in every room.
No 4th floor is a common feature of hotels in China. No problem though with the top floor being the 13th.
I stayed here just after John Wick 3 was released and I had recently watched the first two movies. Without dropping any spoilers, there is a hotel in the series called The Continental. It’s a safe haven for hitmen and gangsters, and the New York branch is shaped like a flatiron (though not the Flatiron Building). If the producers are scouting for a location for John Wick 4, then I recommend that a location scout come to Guangzhou and use the Aiqun as a location for The Continental Hotel.
Apart from being in such a cool building, it’s also in the best location on the nicest part of the riverside. There is a wide walkway along the river, with old trees making it even more scenic. From here it’s about a 20 minute walk to the heritage area of Shamian Island.
Overall this was a great place to stay if you are looking for a unique budget hotel stay. It wouldn’t surprise me if this hotel is eventually bought and converted into a 5-star hotel, so enjoy it now in all it’s shabby 3-star glory. Book the Aiqun Hotel or search for more hotels in Guangzhou.
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