Sheraton Guangzhou Hotel is designed to be a flagship including all the five Sheraton signature experiences. Provided to China Daily

The visit of the Real Madrid soccer team to the Sheraton Guangzhou Hotel confirmed its status as a flagship hotel. Li Wenfang reports.

The hotel market in Guangzhou, Guangdong province is booming after the city hosted the 2010 Asian Games. It has become one of the biggest inbound and outbound tourist cities in China, says James Greig, general manager of the recently unveiled Sheraton Guangzhou Hotel.

"With the tightened relationship with Hong Kong and Macao, Guangzhou's future is promising in the hospitality business. The city will become more and more important in South China, even the whole of China," Greig says.

Sheraton Guangzhou Hotel is one of the four hotels in the Starwood hotel group that operates in Guangzhou, with 1,518 rooms in total. The other three are The Westin Pazhou, Four Points by Sheraton Guangzhou, Dongpu and The Westin Guangzhou.

Greig says three more hotels are in the pipeline: Sheraton Huadu Resort, Aloft Guangzhou University Park and W Guangzhou.

Sheraton Guangzhou, the first Sheraton brand operating in the Guangzhou market, is the newest five star hotel located in Teem Mall, the premium shopping mall and Fortune 500 company office tower complex in the epicenter of the Guangzhou central business district.

Owned by GDH Limited, the hotel is designed to be a flagship Sheraton hotel. It includes all the five Sheraton signature experiences, that is Link@Sheraton, a comfortable place to work, play or simply relax with high-speed Internet access 24 hours, Shine Spa, SweetSleeper Bed, Sheraton Lounge and Sheraton Fitness.

The hotel boasts over 1,300 square meters of meeting space, and state-of-the-art audio and video facilities. It runs four restaurants and a bar, including authentic Cantonese dishes at the YUE Chinese Restaurant and regional home-style Italian fare at Bene Italian Kitchen.

Greig says: "We tried to recruit as many local associates as we could to present local culture. The YUE restaurant, with its traditional Cantonese flavors, fits this market.

"You can feel the Cantonese style in our lobby. We put a feng shui art piece in the lobby, which features water, fire, metal, wood and earth (the five elements). Also, we use ancient gold coins' shape to decorate our window on the third floor."

Greig recalls the exciting moment when the Real Madrid soccer team arrived as the hotel's first VIP group after it was opened in July.

"When Real Madrid was staying at our hotel, we needed to cope with both the team as well as the fans. For the team, we needed to make sure it had the appropriate food, as requested. They all had a comfortable stay in the hotel, which was not disturbed by fans.

"Also, we needed to make sure daily operations were on the right track. On the other hand, we needed to cope with the thousands of fans and ensure their safety in and outside the hotel," he says.

"During those days, although our team worked over 12 hours a day, we felt satisfied that the Real Madrid team gave the hotel a high recommendation and they all had a nice stay in Guangzhou."

The Sheraton hotel chain includes more than 400 hotels in 72 countries and regions. It recently completed a $6 billion global revitalization and is now in the midst of a $5 billion global expansion over the coming three years.

Sheraton is owned by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc, one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with 1,051 properties in 100 countries and regions with 145,000 employees at its owned and managed properties.