The Astor Hotel, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Tianjin, a central feature of the regeneration of Tianjin’s historic centre, the heritage gem evokes the romance of a bygone era with all the contemporary luxuries of a world-class hotel. The Hotel overlooks the Hai River in the heart of the Heping financial district. Hotel features 152 elegantly appointed rooms and suites in both classic Victorian style and more contemporary elegance. All rooms are equipped with 42-inch LCD TVs, CD/mp3 sound stations, Lavazza Capsule coffee machine and high-speed Internet access. Hotel features five exciting dining and wining venues. ShuiAn serves an authentic Cantonese and local cuisines, while Café Majestic is an all-day-dining restaurant with 24-hour A-la-Carte menu. For the extraordinary European cuisine, head to 1863 Bistro & Terrace which has more than one hundred year culinary tradition. The Victorian Lounge offers a wide range of beverages and British High Tea. The Award-winning British Gentleman bar – O’Hara Bar is famous for single malt whisky, selected wines, feature cocktails and live jazz show.A total of 730 sqm of conference and meeting space includes the Buckingham Ballroom with a fine domed ceiling, and the Windsor Multi-Function Rooms. Over 700 square meters of space is dedicated to the hotel’s own museum, a testament to The Astor Hotel’s long heritage and pivotal role in Tianjin’s development. The nearby pier, which is owned by the hotel, will be used as a jump-off point for river cruises.As a Luxury Collection Hotel, The Astor Hotel Tianjin provides a range of signature services, including ‘Luggage Liaison’, a suite of travel services including luggage storage and unpacking/packing services upon request, and ‘News Paper Direct’, a print-on-demand service for over 520 newspapers.
"I traveled with my parents and we got to experience both the old and new buildings. In the old building, we stayed in the Cai E and Huang Xing rooms, both with their own unique decor. The rooms in the new building were standard. The front desk was very thoughtful and helped us coordinate rooms on the same floor. We also got a free room when we topped up our membership, which was a pleasant surprise. Although I might not stay here again if I return to Tianjin, I can at least transfer it to someone else. The dining service was excellent. We arrived at the restaurant at 6 PM. We didn't know we needed to reserve a table for dinner and had a boat tour at 7:30 PM, so there wasn't enough time to go out and find another restaurant. The manager of the buffet restaurant, upon learning of our situation, enthusiastically helped us find a table quickly. The parking was particularly impressive; despite limited spaces, they always managed to help us find one. The hotel also provided a free boat tour, and the staff were very friendly and patient with our questions. The museum had many old artifacts; the typewriter was especially nostalgic, reminding me of the crisp 'ding' sound when changing lines on the one I had as a child. Before leaving, we couldn't find new fridge magnets, but the staff were very patient and asked us to point out which ones we wanted, then retrieved new ones directly from the warehouse.
The biggest issue was the complimentary photo service, which I only learned about on the way home and significantly dampened the overall experience of this trip. My parents, both elderly, went for the photoshoot. The service for seniors was perfunctory; the person in charge casually gave them unwashed clothes and didn't allow them to choose. In contrast, other younger guests could select their own outfits. When asked where they could take photos, the staff member simply told my parents to 'listen to instructions.' When both my parents wanted to take pictures on the stairs, the photographer refused to photograph one of them. Each room is entitled to three free photos, so with two rooms, my parents had six free ones. Perhaps because they perceived seniors as having low spending power, the overall service and attitude towards them were noticeably different from that given to other customers, who received patient explanations. After the shoot, there were no makeup remover wipes, so my parents had to return to their room to remove their makeup. I paid 320 yuan for five photos, which was very few considering they barely took ten pictures of each parent. At the time, I thought, 'A century-old hotel is different, huh?' Compared to the market where you can often choose from hundreds of photos, this was a minimalist approach. Who would have thought they were just too lazy to serve?
As a service industry, especially a century-old hotel, the discriminatory service attitude of this photography department is surprising and completely out of sync with other departments. There's nothing wrong with adding projects to attract customers, but not at the expense of service quality. Regardless of how much they spend, all customers are customers. Do I, a customer, really need to teach them such a basic principle?"