I am always impressed with Shangri-La's management. Every chain smells the same, same good, which is not that difficult to do. What I was impressed is, when I was having their wonderful breakfast buffet, I asked for coffee. It came right away. The servers were so attentive, that they even left me a full pot of coffee! As a coffee junky, I was so happy and gave myself several pours...What is even more amazing, when the POT was almost empty, the server girl came over and asked me if I needed a new pot! I had never been taken this good care of in any other hotels.

The hotel room seemed no difference from other hotels I have stayed at, but if your look into details, you could tell that they have planed everything. There was electrical outlet by the bed so that I could charge my phone. There was also a good hairdryer directly connected in the bathroom, which a lot of hotels don't have anymore. Free wifi was also available in the room.

Shangri-La might be my favorite hotel chain.

I stayed at the Shangri La Guangzhou in a Horizon Club Riverview room on the 31st floor for 3 nights while attending a trade show nearby. Whilst everything about this hotel exudes opulence, quality and perfection it is the small things done well that makes a difference and the attitude of ALL the staff is unsurpassed in any hotel I have stayed.
I had arrived to be picked up from the airport by the hotels car. I was greeted at the arrival lounge and walked through quarantine, immigration and customs quickly. Having collected my baggage at the carousel I was soon whisked to an Audi A6 and greeted by the driver who advised it would be a 45 minute drive to the hotel and asked if the temperature in the car was to my liking. The Audi was set out with bottle water and cool towel along with mints all nestled in the armrest. The trip was smooth and when we arrived at the Shangri La it was almost like a F1 pitstop with Porters removing my suitcase from the boot, another opening the Audi door for me and a Concierge welcoming me by name and requesting I follow her. We travelled directly to my room on the 31st floor facing the Pearl River where she proceeded with my registration in the room. Booking the car was a great way to move quickly between airport and hotel and I would highly recommend it.
The room is nothing less than [almost] perfect. High ceilings bring a feeling of space and luxury with a drop pendant and a chandelier providing a nice change to the usual lack of lighting from above most identified with hotels. The built-in and free standing timber furniture including desk is finished to a high standard and includes all necessary equipment within easy reach; flat screen TV, DVD player, phone, an array of power outlets, internet cable, an extensive range of stationery items, bar fridge and tea and coffee making facilities.
The king sized bed is very comfortable providing just the right amount of firmness with the option [stowed away in the wardrobe] for a synthetic pillow and additional blanket. There is a television in the bathroom where you can lie in the bath and continue to watch along with a motorized screen between the bathroom and the bedroom providing light or privacy.
I frequented the gymnasium on the 4th floor twice during my stay. It is well equipped with a great range of Life Fitness equipment along with free weights. The only criticism I have here was the gym was fairly warm but there were enough bottles of water and towels for use along with some fruit to keep your energy levels up. I didn’t get to the indoor or outdoor pool or try the sauna but I’m sure that they would be of a high standard.
In room dining was of excellent quality and had an array of varying meals emanating from the various themed restaurants within the Shangri La. I found most helphful when ordering in room dining that each item had a number alongside in the menu which meant there was little room for interpretational error. Also refreshing was the fact that the operator provided you with a time when you could expect your meal to arrive. I both cases my meals arrived within 2 minutes of the stated time.
Breakfast buffet in the Horizon Club on the 34th Floor was good and a little disappointing. The food selection and quality was good and on the first morning of three, the service from the waitstaff was amazing. It was very proactive and efficient. However the service level fell away amazingly on my last two mornings to the point where I walked out having given up on trying to catch the attention of any wait staff on one occasion. These last two mornings were weekend days, so maybe the staffing levels are less. But at these prices I expect continuity of service.
This is a truly international standard hotel. Having said that it is not cheap and I guess it is a case that you get what you pay for.
Dislikes:
The built-in hairdryer in the bathrooms cord needs to be longer as I struggled to extend it to the height required for me [178cm]
Continuity of service and attentiveness at the Horizon Club buffet breakfast

Likes:
In the main, personalized service from all staff
Efficient delivery of all requests
Opulent and “less of a hotel room feel” hotel room
Great gym with just about everything you need for a good workout

We arrived late at night and because they only had twin instead of king rooms left they upgraded my room to a suite (and my 3 colleagues) for free!

The suite was fantastic with everything you would expect from a Shangri-la. I ordered a club sandwich on room service, it was good but a bit cold and expensive at £25 with a beer.

Breakfast was excellent although not as varied as you usually get in a Shangri-la.

My only negative was with the location, its on the Pearl River (not as beautiful as it sounds) outside the centre of Guangzhou. However this would be a good location if you were attending the expo centre next door which to be fair is probably why the hotel was built there.

Service was superb, the front desk spent at least 30 minutes helping us organise train tickets to Hong Kong and even wrote various statements in Chinese in case we ran into problems.

In short if you are happy with the location you will be delighted with the Shangri-la.

We have stayed in this Hotel for a couple of times. Our kids (both 4 years old) love the swimming pool which is set in a lush garden. I have to say this is the best swimming pool you can find in metropolitan Guangzhou! Although there is no water slide, no water park, the pool is so calm and relaxing that it is such a big contrast to the buzz outside. Breakfast buffet is excellent and they have a top-notched Chinese restaurant too.

The most important thing is, the hotel is very close to the Chime Long Zoo which is about 10-15mins drive away. You can take a taxi or use the shuttle provided by the hotel. Our experience tells us that anyone would be much much better off staying at Shangri-La Guanzhou than the ChimeLong Hotel when visiting the Zoo (We have stayed in both). It is so much less crowded,and the service and food much much better!