Amazing Pan Pacific Suzhou: 1st Class Hospitality

Pan Pacific Suzhou is by far the most unique major city hotel I’ve stayed in. Often referred to as “Venice of the East” Suzhou is a beautiful city steeped in ancient traditions with classical gardens, canals and enchanting bridges. The hotel here is equally impressive in a beautiful juxtaposition of fortress meets pagoda.

Offering luxurious comforts with the most gracious of hospitality that you might come to expect from a Pan Pacific. Certainly a world away from the last “Luxury” hotel I reviewed here.

Arrival & Check-In

We arrived into Suzhou after a 14 hour overnight sleeper train from Xian. It was a super Deluxe Suite with double bed and our own private bathroom!

Our train arrived at 10:30am and we got a taxi to the hotel.. it was raining a fair bit so we didn’t capture any photos of the exquisite exterior on arrival but here is a stock picture from Pan Pacific themselves..

I took some in following nights as it is just so stunning..

For reference to location here is a map..

There are a few entrances into this hotel and thus a few lobbies and receptions accordingly..

Despite arriving several hours before check-in time, we were courteously received with welcome drinks. After making sure were we seated and comfortable they took care of check-in formalities.

I booked a Premier Room with Breakfast, which comes in at just under 400 square feet. But we were offered a room upgrade with “Afternoon Canapes & Drinks” sort of Club access included for a modest add on which amount to around £40 per night and seemed a good deal.

Pan Pacific Suzhou Upgraded Room

After our welcome drinks and fruits we were escorted to our room (the place is like a maze with several adjoining buildings but interconnected hallways)

The room was huge and looked very Pan Pacific with their signature scent that follows you all over the world. What made the room feel even more roomier was the high fancy ceilings.

Besides the large bed with plush headboard, you have several sideboard/console tables with various height lamps. All providing you with options to create exactly the mood you want.

You have a comfy chase sofa with footrest stool and desk area which would be big enough to be its own room. Then right outside we had our own private terrace with desk chairs..

I was somewhat puzzled what this room type was since on their site, they go from Premier Room to A Deluxe Suite as the next available category. This was not a Deluxe Suite but measured over 500 square feet!

There is a 55″ TV in the room with local cable and international channels but you can use as your screen for almost anything you can think of. I found a interesting water feature as a background that was really soothing.

You can look into the bathroom from the room though that can be adjusted with an electric blind!

The room features a large lid closet with all the bells and whistles you can expect from towel gowns, plump slippers, laundry bags, shoe shining kits, fully stocked mini-bar and more.

Pan Pacific Suzhou Bathroom

The plush opulence of the room is carried through into the bathroom suite which also was big as some hotel rooms in itself!

The goldish marbled tiling is finished with gold trimming right down to the large bathtub. The separate shower cubicle features exposed walls that are cased behind clear class and pebbles lit up by cleaver lighting within it..

Naturally the bathroom was fully stocked with everything you could possibly need with essential dental/sanitary kits right up to pampering product by Embrace, which I’ve love and long associated with Pan Pacific.

Turndown Service

This specific Pan Pacific has a turn-down service that is available on request. I think I much prefer that over those that just provide it by default when you might not actually want it.

The one night we requested turndown, we came back to an immaculately made up bed, fresh flowers and water bottles and new slippers and bathrooms.

Pan Pacific Suzhou Facilities

The hotel features a large fully equipped gym, heated indoor and an outdoor courtyard style pool..

While the outdoor one is not very busy in winter months, the indoor can have many guests in peak hours but you can always find a time where it is more quiet.

Pan Pacific Suzhou Breakfast & Evening Drinks Canapes

The hotel has two different restaurants on its grounds, as well as the Garden Lounge catering to all your F&B needs.

Since our room rate included breakfast and afternoon canapés we took advantage of that most of the days we stayed.

The breakfast selection had a wide variety of Chinese/Asian items as well as western dishes both from buffet stations and specific items made fresh to order for you..

Unfortunately, since I did not think about reviewing the hotel, I did not take any pictures of the actual selections but as you can see they were all in a very appealing setting..

I personally don’t like to eat anything too savoury or spicy for breakfast so selected very English breakfasts most days 😀

There are various table spots with great views out into the hotel buildings or courtyards..

The afternoon tea/canape setting was in an equally impressive setting..

All the food we had were excellent with a wide range of choices available. Unfortunately I was not drinking at the time so did not take advantage of the free cocktails from 6-8pm every evening!

Local Attractions Included

This being yet another big Chinese city, some attraction are some distance away and require getting cabs however there were many local points of interest for which the hotel granted complimentary tickets to such as gardens of Pan men park and canal cruise.

We really enjoyed exploring the surrounding gardens as well the canal cruise and would have happily paid for it! The staff even while some spoke limited English, were super helpful with various bookings right down to getting us back to the train station.

Overall Thoughts

I absolutely loved my stay in this Pan Pacific Suzhou. I’ve always been a fan of Pan Pacific and stayed in their properties all over Asia from Dhaka to Manila and most places in between. Yet for some reason I have yet to become a member of their own programme!

This place had a level of charm from both an architectural point of view as well as the perhaps providing an interesting blend of Chinese/Singaporean hospitality that just worked.

The hotel had a great atmosphere all around that I would certainly choose to stay here again if in the city. One caveat to mention is, the hotel is undergoing refurbishment in various stages (perhaps history has done so in various cycles), so not all rooms or wings of the hotel might be the same.

We walked past some parts that felt older and the rooms less modern, but that may well be our wing in a few years time, if they only refurbish different areas in different times. Therefore, I would recommend perhaps just booking a couple of nights first and then extend when you are happy with your room!

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