Four Seasons Hotel Guangzhou will begin welcoming guests Aug. 1 in the top 30 floors of the 103-story International Finance Center.
The building, designed by Wilkinson Eyre architects in London, is composed of concrete-filled steel tubes laced around a three-sided vase-shaped structure. Two sides offer views of the Pearl River delta, while the third overlooks the central business district and old city center.
A visit to the 344-key hotel begins with an express elevator ride up to the 70th floor lobby. The lobby itself is a 30-story atrium.
Hirsch Bedner Associates used stylized dragon and cloud motifs throughout the hotel. The express elevator to the lobby uses onyx fantastico, a red stone that changes color depending on how it’s viewed, to symbolize the breath of a dragon. The cloud motif appears in the custom guestroom carpets.
Of the 344 guestrooms, 42 are suites. In Premier Rooms, triangular free-standing bathtubs draw inspiration from the shape of the building.
Hua Spa at Four Seasons Hotel Guangzhou offers nine treatment rooms, including three VIP suites, with floor-to-ceiling windows, a vitality tube, private shower, and steam room. The women’s area includes a Vichy-style shower, rhassoul mud chamber, crystal steam room and laconium, while the men’s area includes an herbal steam bath, Swedish and Finnish sauna, and an ice fountain.
The 99th-floor Tian Bar serves cocktails, while the 100th-floor Catch dishes up signature seafood, much of it prepared in a demonstration kitchen envisioned by Steve Leung Designers Ltd. Caffe Mondo features Italian-inspired cuisine, including pizza from a brick-lined oven, on the 72nd floor, while the Atrium Bar serves light fare, tea and cocktails in the lobby.
Executive Chef Law Yiu Choi is in charge at Yu Yue Heen, with a menu of innovative Cantonese food served one level up from the lobby and in eight private dining rooms that can accommodate 10 to 32 diners. The design, by HBA, features red chandeliers, polished black stone, and modern abstractions of Chinese calligraphy.
On the 72nd floor, Michelin-starred chef Kazumi Sawada leads the team at Kumoi. The restaurant serves teppanyaki, yakitori, and sushi in a room enclosed by floor-to-ceiling glass etched with cherry blossoms.
Four Seasons Hotel Guangzhou has 38,585 sq ft (3,585 sq m) of event space in three ballrooms and eight smaller meeting rooms located in the first five floors of the building. One room, the Sapphire Room, is specifically designed for press conferences.