Dusit Devarana Hot Springs & Spa Conghua Guangzhou

Dusit Thani Hot Springs Resort A Thai-style hot spring hotel with a good amount of space. Its more than 100 small villas are built along the hillside, following the terrain. Guests can get around the hotel using golf carts, and staff proactively help with luggage. It has that laid-back Southeast Asian resort vibe. Each small villa has its own hot spring tub in the courtyard, so you can fill it up and soak whenever you want, which is much more pleasant than public hot springs. It's also great for photos. The in-room mini-bar drinks are free, and they even gave a complimentary small bottle of wine. The toiletries are L'Occitane. Aside from other issues, the natural environment and service are excellent. However, the rooms are really showing their age and haven't been well-maintained. The curtains are difficult to draw, and some tiles are broken and haven't been repaired. The washbasin area design isn't very practical and is inconvenient to use. The hairdryer quality is quite poor and not very effective. The public hot spring area experience also wasn't great; there are too few signs, and the dim lighting is quite disappointing. It's easy to trip in the dark, which is quite dangerous. Breakfast is quite varied, with fresh ingredients for made-to-order noodles, wontons, and excellent toppings like beef offal, radish, and preserved vegetables with minced pork. The freshly made rice noodle rolls had a skin that was too thick and not much meat. The preserved egg and lean pork congee had plenty of preserved egg and meat slices, and the seasoning was good.

Food: The breakfast was terrible, with not much to choose from. The dining hall looked rundown and felt eerie and a bit scary every time I went, which made me uncomfortable. Facilities: The hotel is very old. The room was large but not very comfortable. There's an outdoor gym and swimming pool, but it was too cold to check them out. The main draw is the hot spring, which has many pools. However, there are no recreational facilities like a card room or coffee shop. So, it was quite a sight to see people playing cards in the lobby. The room also lacked a full-length mirror, which was odd. The room is very old; many blinds were broken, and the bathroom and toilet couldn't be properly sealed, which felt very insecure. Furthermore, it's not wheelchair-friendly, with only stairs everywhere. Except for the elevator in the suite building, there are no other elevators. You have to climb. Cleanliness: Cleaning must be very hard work, with staff having to carry things up and down stairs. Cups and other items were definitely washed and dried in the room, but the disinfection process is questionable. Environment: The hotel is built from several villas, including attached villas, on a small hillside. It's not actually that big. However, upon check-in, no map was provided, so we had to call an electric cart for everything. This was inconvenient during peak check-in times. Service: The staff seemed enthusiastic, but they were mostly temporary workers or interns. They didn't show any initiative in solving problems and didn't feel genuinely warm. It felt like they were just going through the motions. This is probably due to low wages and severe exploitation by the management, leading to unenthusiastic and passive service. 30-minute travel photoshoot experience (includes makeup and styling, requires 1-day advance reservation): I couldn't even book the photoshoot one day in advance. I'm not sure what kind of service this is. They said it's first-come, first-served, but if they can't guarantee a booking, they shouldn't offer it. This feels like a breach of contract. The hotel didn't address it and blamed the outsourced third party, but the outsourced party is a service provider chosen by them and reflects their corporate image. It was really bad. Unlimited access to the double rare radon soda hot spring: This was good. Although the hot spring didn't have a sulfur smell, completely different from the Tengchong hot springs I visited last month, it had many pools and quite a few amenities. The hot spring service was decent. However, it's open to the public, so there were many tourists, though not overly crowded, which was acceptable. It was good that the staff were mindful enough to avoid guests when they were changing clothes.

I booked this hotel specifically for the travel photography package. The photography team was excellent – very skilled and produced some amazing shots. The makeup artist did a beautiful job, and the photographer was quick to deliver the photos and edited them perfectly.

Overall, the room was good, but attention to detail regarding cleanliness is needed. The front desk staff were very welcoming. Mandy and Sharyl, the housekeepers, were professional and helpful, addressing all our requests. My only minor suggestion would be for the staff to be more proactive in assisting with luggage when guests have a lot.

As always, the stay was comfortable, the restaurant food was delicious, and the spa was very relaxing 😌. Unlimited access to the world's rare radon-soda hot springs for two: Truly authentic hot springs! Private radon-soda hot spring experience in the room: The privacy was decent, and it was very comfortable 😌. 30-minute travel photoshoot experience (includes makeup and styling, requires 1-day advance booking by phone): The photoshoot outfits were great and very beautiful.

I'm very satisfied with the hotel I booked this time. Both the hot springs and the private onsen were excellent, and the hotel service was top-notch. Our butlers, Mandy and Sharyl, were attentive throughout our stay. Even my elderly parents said this trip was very comfortable.