Haoyuan Hotel - Shenzhen

The rooms are spacious, though unfortunately they look quite old, with small holes in the wall if you look closely. The hotel itself also feels dated, and the service was okay. I’ve had more helpful staff at other brands in the group. It’s in a remote spot, closer to the HK border, though getting there is still a 10-15 minute walk.

I came back to Four Points by Sheraton Shenzhen for a second stay because it’s conveniently near highways and business areas, which works well with a tight work schedule. That first visit had already involved two room changes because of strong cigarette smoke in non-smoking rooms. The room was just okay, and breakfast was well below average for a Sheraton-branded hotel. The second visit was much worse. After a long day of work, I found mold and grime in the bathroom, including mold on the water hose. I felt itchy while working on the bed and noticed a moldy smell. The headboard was damp and moldy too, and there was mold or water damage on the walls, AC vents, and wallpaper. I asked to move and was shown rooms on floors 5, 7, 8, 10, and 11. They had similar problems: mold, smoke odor, and dim lighting. In one room there was a bed bug on the pillow, and another smelled like a smoking bar. In the end they moved me to another building, a four-minute walk away. That room was a little better, but had no bathroom partition, leaving the floor dangerously slippery, and a connecting door with no sound privacy. The hallway smelled strongly of disinfectant or formalin, so I had to sleep with a mask on. There was no fridge, and the furniture had visible water damage. The whole stay was disappointing and frustrating, and felt borderline unsafe.

The rooms and hotel are dated, but it’s convenient for the Hong Kong port. The ATM worked for foreigners, and breakfast was very good.

It’s one tall tower in Shenzhen, with spacious rooms. A few have a great view of the river, with Hong Kong in the background.