Banyan Tree Hotels & Resorts has announced the opening of Angsana Zhuhai Phoenix Bay. It is located about 10-minutes journey by taxi from Zhuhai city center and would be a perfect retreat for those visiting Zhuhai and the vicinity of Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Macau or even Hong Kong.
My wife and I were privileged to be among the exclusive first few invited by Banyan Tree to enjoy complimentary 3 nights stay before the hotel’s grand opening later in 2018. We were to feedback our experiences and observations to the hotel so that they could assess the quality of their hotel’s operations and make further improvements if needed.
Unfortunately, the spa, outdoor heated canal swimming pool, and fitness centre were still not ready during our stay. So this is a sneak preview, not a review, of this new hotel.
Getting to the Angsana Zhuhai Phoenix Bay from Hong Kong International Airport
The hotel is located 50 km (one hour by taxi) from the Zhuhai Jinwan International Airport. We found that it is more convenient and probably faster for us to take a direct flight to Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) and take the CKS ferry directly from HKIA to Zhuhai's Jiuzhou Port. From there, the hotel is a short taxi ride away.
We flew into Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) arriving late morning and did a brisk walk to the ferry ticketing counter at Transfer Area E2. There is NO NEED to go through Hong Kong’s immigration or reclaim our check-in baggage. They would be transferred to the ferry directly.
No queue at the CKS ferry ticketing counter at Transfer Area E2 in HKIA.
We need to buy the ferry tickets at least 60 minutes before the scheduled ferry departure time for ticketing and transfer procedures. For passengers without checked baggage, 30 minutes would be sufficient.
The ferry service is not very frequent (about 4 to 5 trips per day), so it is important to check the latest updated ferry schedule and plan accordingly. We managed to buy the tickets for the first departure at 12.15 PM, despite a slight delay in our flight’s arrival time. The fare from HKIA to Zhuhai's Jiuzhou Port is HKD260/pax for the standard ticket.
We handed over the airline’s checked luggage claim tags to CKS staff at the ticket counter and in turn collected the ferry’s checked luggage tags.
We had time to grab a quick lunch (takeaway croissants and coffee) while waiting for our luggage to be transferred. Once the attendant at the transfer gates confirmed the success of our checked luggage transfer using her hand-held device, we were allowed to enter and board the shuttle train bound for the SkyPier. Ferries to the nine ports in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) and Macao depart from the SkyPier.
The journey by ferry to Zhuhai took 70 minutes and was comfortable on the large and stable catamaran. We cleared immigration at Zhuhai and once done, we were in China.
Suddenly, we were isolated from the outside world. No Facebook, no WhatsApp, no Instagram, and the worst of all, no Google!
Tip: Use the free Wi-Fi at HKIA to download a cached copy of the map of Zhuhai in Google Map. That way, you can still use the GPS function on the cached copy of Google Map in your smartphone even though you are unable to get fresh online content in Google Map. There is no Wi-Fi on the ferry unless you buy the VIP class tickets.
Green coloured Zhuhai taxi picking up passengers at the taxi rank just outside the Jiuzhou Port terminal.
There is a taxi rank just outside the ferry terminal. Taxi fare is regulated and based on meter, so there is no fear of fare scams. Being a very, very new hotel in Zhuhai, our taxi driver had not heard of the Angsana Zhuhai Phoenix Bay, even when we showed him the name and address, printed in Chinese. He took less than a minute to locate the hotel’s name and address on his smartphone, using the Chinese’s equivalent of Google Map. Once done, he used the GPS to bring us to the Angsana Resort without any further delays. The hotel is 11 kilometres from Jiuzhou Port (20 minutes by taxi) and the fare was about 40 RMB.
Overview of the Resort
The hotel is set along the coast by the foot of the Phoenix Mountain. It is designed with local Lingnan or Cantonese architecture and the 202 luxurious and spacious rooms and suites are spread over 5 storeys. All rooms are fitted with a private balcony or garden with great sea views.
Located on the side of the hill facing the sea, the main entrance and lobby is located on the topmost floor. The lobby floor is decked in polished marble floorings in warm colours. I was immediately awed by the spaciousness of the open lobby and the views of the bay on the three sides of the Lobby Lounge that is located further inside.
Check-in counters at the lobby, looking back towards the entrance.
Four standalone check-in counters are available to handle the check-in formalities. The process requires a photo of all guests to be taken using a camera that looked similar to the ones used at passport control and immigration in the airport.
We were also served a cup of welcome tea, towels and snack during check-in. Once check-in processing was completed, a young man who spoke excellent English led us to our room, located on the second floor.
It was interesting to examine the many ancient Chinese porcelain pillows that decorated the wall next to the lifts. My grandma used to have one like this long time ago that was made from wood.
These colourful rectangular porcelain items on the wall of the lift lobby are ancient Chinese pillows. Ancient Chinese pillows are often hard pillows, made from stone, wood, bamboo, bronze, or porcelain instead of stuffed fabric.
Our Room
We were booked into the standard Panoramic Sea View Room. Larger and more luxurious room options include the Coastline Jetpool Room with 3.2 square metre private jet pool, Coastline Canal Pool Room with direct access to outdoor canal swimming pool mimicking a stream in front of the room and various types of Suites, including Duplex Suites with private infinity swimming pools and space for the whole family.
At 63 square meter, the standard Seaview Room is right sized for us.
Upon entry to our brand new room, the bath area is on our right and the wardrobe area is to our left.
Wooden doors slide open to reveal the bedroom with a King-size bed. We could select a pillow of our choice by ticking a pillow menu card left on the bedside table and it will be provided during the turn-down service.
One of the first things I did was to turn on the large flat screen TV to check out the cable channels available, especially the live Sports channels. There is free in-house English movies-on-demand channel as well.
Spacious bedroom with King-sized bed with a sliding wooden partition to the bath and changing area.
The mini-bar area with more than enough items to make our stay comfortable.
The room is brightly lit by natural light from the large glass doors that opens out to the sea-facing balcony.
11 square meter sea facing balcony.
I like the exquisite white marble floor and wall tiles and marble countertop that gave the bathroom a chic and luxurious look. The countertop comes with two washbasins and orange pouches filled with toiletries for the gent and lady.
The bath area feature separate toilet and shower cubicles and a circular bathtub set against a rustic stone tiled wall.
The evening turn-down service had laid out the pyjamas, dimmed the lightings in the room and lit the essential oil in the burner to create a nice soothing feel to the bedroom. In terms of weather, April is probably one of the best times to visit Zhuhai. We took a walk around the grounds of the resort in the nice cool weather. The sky was overcast and hazy but generally cool and pleasant to be outdoors. 
Exploring the grounds of the resort.
We could see workers still are working on the 1728 square metre outdoor heated pool that winds through the resort like a canal. 
Large bug that reminded me of scenes from the movie “Starship Troopers”.
Palms trees, tropical shrubs and some giant ants and beetles are part of the landscaping around the pool. Personally, I find the giant bugs and ants a bit out of place.
I think the pool would be awesome when it is finally open. I understand that the free-form swimming canal would also feature a glass aquarium with vibrantly coloured fish, the first of its kind in Guangdong Province.
There are beaches next to the pool and also on the left side of the resort. I think it would be better to just use the beach for sunbathing and only swim in the hotel’s heated pool when it is operational.
Families with young kids enjoying the beach.
Beach on the left side of the resort.
Dining at the Angsana
There are three main restaurants at the resort.
Lobby Lounge - Shadow Bar
The Lobby Lounge is an all-day café that serves beverages and snacks.
It is multi-level. A flight of steps leads down to the outdoor terrace located on the 4th floor, with more tables and seats offering relaxing views of the bay and the resort.
Lower level of the Lobby Lounge.
Views of the bay and resort from the terrace of the Lobby Lounge.
We had afternoon tea at the Lobby Lounge shortly after check-in. We sat outdoor at the terrace enjoying our tea and snacks while testing out the WeChat messaging app that a Angsana staff had helped us to download and install on our smartphones using Baidu (the Chinese equivalent of Google).
I understand that the Lobby Lounge - Shadow Bar may feature a live band in the future when the hotel is fully operational.
International Buffet Breakfast at the Market Place
Our stay included complimentary daily breakfast as well. We had a sample of the international breakfast buffet at the all-day Market Place restaurant by the seashore. It was very lavish with lots of food choices.
Large selection of bread, pastries and croissants.
Selection of noodles, stewed pork ribs, stirred fried vegetables and Hakka tea soaked egg.
Truffles quiche, Mexican quesadilla, smoked salmon, bacon and pineapple bread that is sweet and fluffy.
We ate seven of these small mangoes with sweet and firm flesh. There were also local fruits like peaches and Chinese pears.
Dinner at the Rice Bowl
The Rice Bowl Restaurant, located behind the lobby on the top floor, serves authentic Thai dishes and East Asian favourites.
We love Thai cuisine and chose to have dinner at this Restaurant on the first and last day of our stay so as to enjoy the best of Thai cuisine in a modern ambiance. There are also some outdoor tables for those who want to enjoy views of the resort, and feel the gentle ocean breeze.
We could actually see the chefs preparing our meals through the see-through, open kitchen design. We tried dishes like Tom Yum Seafood Soup, Prawn in Curry Sauce, Stir fried Beef in basil, Green Curry Chicken and Crab in Curry Sauce.
Summary
Our experience at the Angsana Zhuhai Phoenix Bay Resort was limited because some key facilities like the swimming pool and spa were still non-operational and we spent a fair bit of time outside the resort, exploring the attractions in the city.
Nevertheless we had a nice stay in the brand new hotel and had ample opportunities to interact with the staff, try out the hotel facilities that are operational as well as the food and beverage services.
We really enjoy the rooms. They are luxuriously fitted with comfortable beds and pillows that ensured a good night’s sleep after a day out exploring the city or a day chilling out in the resort.
We had very good interactions with all of the staff during our stay. The English speaking staff speaks good English and are extremely customer focused and helpful.
The service and operations was generally good but there were still teething problems and areas for improvements for a luxury hotel known for its service excellence. My wife and I fed that back to the hotel via email when we returned home.
I was happy to receive a reply a few days later from their Front Office Manager that they took our feedback and suggestions very seriously and are very committed to service excellence. She told us that our feedback was shared during their briefing with their management team and some real-life examples of procedural shortcomings and areas for improvement that we highlighted was shared during staff trainings as well.
I believe the Angsana Zhuhai Phoenix Bay would be an excellent resort for a relaxing getaway when the spa and pool are ready for use. I look forward to staying at this resort again when it is fully operational.
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