The Astor Hotel Tianjin

This trip to Tianjin, staying at the Astor Hotel, was truly wonderful! Employee Li Zirui picked me up from Tianjin Station. Her warm demeanor and the clean vehicle instantly gave me a great impression of Tianjin. Upon arrival at the hotel, Lobby Manager Joanne and Indian employee Naveet welcomed me. I was amazed that Naveet, who's from Mumbai, spoke excellent English and fluent Chinese! He also efficiently brought my luggage to the room. I'm thankful to the hotel for upgrading me to the Mei Lanfang Suite. With a record player and books and paintings by the legendary master Mei, I could feel the musical beauty in the room. The attention to detail was impressive. Despite being a century-old hotel, the facilities are quite new, and the rooms even feature comfortable and cozy King Koil mattresses. I also visited the Astor Hotel Museum, with nearly 3,000 exhibits. It felt like stepping right into Tianjin's vibrant history! I saw the famous old elevator, the historic staircase, and the vintage revolving wooden doors. If you come to Tianjin, you absolutely must see the night view along the Hai River. The Astor Hotel's location is excellent, right by the Hai River. That night, I walked to Daguangming Bridge to photograph the night scenery. Even though it was cold, the scene was unforgettable. I enjoyed the buffet breakfast at the second-floor restaurant, and later had coffee and pastries in the afternoon. Overall, the Astor's food was delicious, and the service was very friendly – even southerners like me found it palatable!

This hotel itself is a national AAA-rated scenic area, and it even has a museum dedicated to its history. It was a very interesting and charming stay! The facilities aren't old at all, and the service was excellent! Great!

Came to Tianjin again and still wanted to stay by the Haihe River for a night, so I chose the historic Astor Hotel. Guests can visit the Astor Museum, which is located in the basement of the old building. The hotel truly has a lot of history; it was Tianjin's first foreign-related hotel, and many famous people have stayed here. We stayed in the new building. The room was spacious, but the amenities were a bit old; the bathroom handle even fell off. I couldn't find the exhaust fan in the bathroom, but other than that, it wasn't a big problem. The hotel's atrium is nice, but there aren't many pastry options! The parking lot is a bit small, but for an old hotel in a central location, that's understandable. Overall, it's pretty good!

A 1580-a-night hotel with a musty smell upon entering. The toilets and bathrooms were all moldy. In the middle of the night, someone next door tried to open my room door. The facilities were all so old, and the breakfast was the worst and least hygienic I've ever had at a five-star hotel! No exaggeration, I originally went there based on a recommendation from a certain social media platform, but it was a huge disappointment.

During New Year's Day, I had my first stay at the Astor Hotel in Tianjin, a hotel with a profound sense of history. While it had its commendable aspects, there were also numerous shortcomings that urgently need improvement. I was particularly disappointed with the hotel's facility maintenance and service management, and I am providing this feedback accordingly. First, let's discuss the hotel's advantages and highlights. The hotel boasts an excellent location right by the Haihe River, with a dazzling array of high-rise buildings across the bank. As night falls, the city lights create a vibrant, New York Manhattan-esque urban atmosphere, making for a superb night view. Transportation is also incredibly convenient; you can walk to Tianjin's core cultural and tourism areas like Jiefang North Road and the Five Avenues. The surrounding old buildings are rich in heritage and diverse in style, allowing you to fully experience the city's charm by strolling through them. Furthermore, the interior of the rooms maintains the hotel's historical tone, with a unique vintage design that showcases its heritage in every detail. The immersive experience during my stay was truly impressive. However, compared to its highlights, the problems exposed by the hotel are far more prominent, particularly in service management and facility maintenance. These issues are severely inconsistent with the hotel's historical reputation and positioning, which is unacceptable. In terms of service management, the overall service awareness was extremely weak, lacking the professionalism and etiquette expected of a high-end hotel. Only the front desk staff at check-in showed acceptable attitudes; the service experience in all other areas could be described as perfunctory: the foreign doorman did not proactively offer guidance or greetings, and I never received even a basic greeting from any hotel staff I encountered. Throughout my stay, there was a pervasive sense of coldness and detachment, completely disregarding the guest experience, which is entirely at odds with the hotel's brand character. Even more off-putting were the chaotic service issues in the hotel's museum. As a potentially chargeable ancillary venue, it should be an important place to showcase the hotel's history and culture and enhance guest experience. Yet, there were instances of staff dereliction of duty: two male and one female staff member were clustered together, chatting loudly and heedlessly even with visitors nearby. They even obstructed the projection video playback area for extended periods without proactively moving. Another male staff member was sitting on a museum sofa watching videos with the volume turned up so high that it drowned out the hotel's introductory video, severely disrupting visitors' experience and destroying the venue's tranquil atmosphere and cultural immersion. It's hard to imagine how such a level of service management could befitting of a high-end hotel with historical depth, and even harder to understand why a charged venue would tolerate such lax management and inappropriate service. Regarding facility maintenance, 'vintage' should never be an excuse for 'outdated facilities and lack of maintenance.' Various facilities in my hotel room clearly showed signs of inadequate maintenance, and oversights in detail severely diminished the overall guest experience: the towel rack was loose and wobbly, almost on the verge of falling off, posing a safety hazard; the sink faucet made noticeable abnormal noises when turned on and off, suggesting aging parts that haven't been replaced in time; switching shower head modes was very difficult and inconvenient, affecting daily use. Moreover, the wardrobe's space planning was highly unreasonable. While it's understandable to embed a safe within the wardrobe, it didn't adequately consider practical usage, directly occupying a significant portion of hanging space, making it inconvenient to store clothes. This highlights a perfunctory approach in both design and management—neither considering the practicality of facilities nor making timely adjustments, completely disregarding guest comfort. As a hotel steeped in historical heritage and held in high regard, the Astor Hotel Tianjin should have balanced the preservation of its historical charm with professional service and comprehensive facilities. However, during this stay, the lax service management and lack of facility maintenance not only failed to meet guest expectations but also damaged the hotel's brand reputation. I hope the hotel will address these issues, acknowledge legitimate guest feedback, strengthen staff service training and etiquette standards, improve its service management system, and thoroughly inspect and rectify all facility hazards. It should also carry out regular maintenance, optimize space planning and facility layouts to truly achieve 'a sense of history without feeling old, and historical depth with professional service,' living up to its brand legacy and guests' trust.

This hotel, a chain that even local friends praise, has a lot of history and an excellent location. The room facilities are complete, and the service is top-notch – highly recommended! It added so many wonderful elements to our New Year's trip to Tianjin.