We emphasize that seeing is believing when promoting products. Especially for new hotels, it is essential to visit and stay there first. For some overseas locations where it is impossible to visit before promoting, we will arrange for someone to go there and quickly provide a verification report (Jawakara is already writing it).
The main reason for this is that most newly opened hotels are not fully completed. When we visit these hotels, we often find that a significant portion of the rooms are still under renovation, or many public areas are not fully prepared, and staff are not in place. In such cases, we really cannot promote them.
Because of this reason, sometimes our promotional articles are a bit slow. Often, a hotel or product has already been launched for several days, but our article arrives late.
Today’s article is about the Banyan Tree Hotel in Songshan Lake, Dongguan.
I will first post the product details:
1) **Dongguan Songshan Lake Banyan Tree Mountain View Room**: 2 nights with breakfast + 2 dining cash vouchers of 100 yuan each, priced at 1999 yuan. Valid until June 30, 2024. No price increase on weekdays in March-April; a supplement of 200 yuan per night on Fridays and Saturdays, and a supplement of 200 yuan per night on weekdays in May-June, with a supplement of 400 yuan per night on weekends. Not available during May Day (April 30 – May 4), Dragon Boat Festival (June 7-9), and June 20-23.
Comparing with the calendar, this is a solid 50% off deal.
1 Purchase Taobao code: 99￥ ZH4920 5C5uWoZxrpL￥ [link](https://m.tb.cn/h.5Ccbnxg/)
Sales start at 10 AM sharp, with only 1000 in stock. It is recommended that everyone purchase as needed, leaving opportunities for readers who will genuinely use them.
2) **Dongguan Songshan Lake Banyan Tree One-Bedroom Mountain View Villa (Pool Villa)**: 2 nights with breakfast + 60 minutes of individual Banyan Tree SPA + special gift from Banyan Tree + coffee for two at the lobby lounge, priced at 3999 yuan. Valid until June 30, 2024. No price increase on weekdays in March-April; a supplement of 500 yuan per night on Fridays and Saturdays, and a supplement of 500 yuan per night on weekdays in May-June, with a supplement of 800 yuan per night on weekends. Not available during May Day (April 30 – May 4), Dragon Boat Festival (June 7-9), and June 20-23.
Check-in before April 30 can be split into 2 rooms for 1 night.
The weekday calendar price for this room type is 4939 yuan per night, including breakfast, without SPA.
1 Purchase Taobao code: 08￥ CZ3460 U9ywWoZySPL￥ [link](https://m.tb.cn/h.5xXgpqV/)
If you want to stay well, go for this. I stayed in a villa at the Dongguan Songshan Lake Banyan Tree.
These two packages are really worth it. First of all, this is a Banyan Tree. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Banyan brand, and it is a “big year” for all Banyan hotels to shine. Many new hotels will open this year.
The Banyan Group has multiple product lines, including Angsana, Cassia, and Dhara Dhevi… but the pinnacle is only one, which is Banyan Tree. It is hard to imagine a Banyan Tree room selling for less than 1000 a night, as it is a resort hotel.
Since it is a Banyan Tree, there will be some brand commitments. For example, every room must have a soaking pool. A soaking pool is not a bathtub; you will see the difference in the pictures. Although the Dongguan Songshan Lake Banyan Tree does not have hot springs, they extract underground water, heat it with special machines, and add mineral elements, providing a certain hot spring effect.
Banyan Tree must have aromatherapy. You can see and smell the unique aromatherapy of Banyan Tree in almost every public area and room. Every night during turndown service, hotel staff will light essential oil aromatherapy for you, which can instantly calm you down and help with sleep.
Banyan Tree’s breakfast must include sparkling wine. I don’t drink, but having stayed in many hotels, not every luxury hotel can provide sparkling wine for breakfast.
Moreover, Banyan Tree’s SPA insists on self-operation and absolutely does not outsource. This commitment is excellent, as many luxury hotel SPAs are actually outsourced.
Secondly, the hardware at Dongguan Songshan Lake Banyan Tree is excellent. The advanced mountain view room for 1999 for two nights with breakfast is the hotel’s basic room type, with an area of 70-75㎡, and options for a king bed or twin beds. I will show you our actual photos; the room layout is very proper.
The soaking pool is on the balcony, providing privacy.
There is a separate bathroom, makeup mirror, and walk-in closet.
The room’s hardware is impressive; the hairdryer is a purple Dyson, which I like.
The room is equipped with Banyan Tree’s own YTL series bath products, which are very natural and can be taken home upon checkout. Many fans of the Banyan brand choose to buy a set from the hotel’s gift shop.
The sofa in the room feels wider than those in other hotels. I asked, and it is indeed designed for guests to lie down comfortably. Banyan Tree is a resort brand.
There is also pine wood in the room, and behind the pine wood is a light that emits a special fragrance when heated.
This time, I stayed in a villa, and the package for 3999 includes two nights with breakfast, a 60-minute individual Banyan Tree SPA, a special gift from Banyan Tree, and coffee for two at the lobby lounge. This is even more valuable, with an area of 145㎡, including a courtyard, living room, bedroom, and multiple bathrooms.
Each villa has a private swimming pool and an independent mineral soaking pool.
The villa’s hardware is better, with a turntable that also serves as a Bluetooth speaker, which is an added bonus.
Next, I will introduce the Dongguan Songshan Lake Banyan Tree in detail. The hotel is located by the Songshan Lake, surrounded by green mountains and valleys. I personally think the hotel is relatively suitable for nearby trips for students in the Pearl River Delta, as it is quite convenient to drive from Guangzhou or Shenzhen to the hotel. For those not in the Pearl River Delta, I recommend bringing friends from Guangzhou and Shenzhen to play together.
The hotel opened in January 2024, and it has been just over two months. The completion level of Dongguan Songshan Lake Banyan Tree is very high; currently, only the children’s playground is still being furnished and will officially operate in May, while all other public areas are ready. We have visited many newly opened hotels, and this one has a very high completion level.
However, although the outdoor infinity pool is ready, it will also officially operate in May. The indoor heated pool is unaffected.
The indoor heated pool and the hotel’s 24-hour gym are available.
There are also soaking pools and steam rooms; the hardware facilities at this Banyan Tree are truly impressive.
All rooms, public areas, and restaurants at the Dongguan Songshan Lake Banyan Tree are excellent.
In terms of staff-to-room ratio, since I did not obtain the specific number of hotel staff (the hotel HR believes this is internal data that cannot be provided), I can only say that the staff-to-room ratio exceeds 1:1, which is the basic line for luxury hotels. The Dongguan Songshan Lake Banyan Tree has 159 rooms.
The overall design of the hotel follows the design aesthetics of Lingnan architecture, resembling a Lingnan courtyard. GAD is responsible for the architecture, BLINK for interior design, and Kato Shimizu for landscaping. It is indeed a star-studded design team. For guests, it is visually appealing, photogenic, and comfortable to stay in. I will post some pictures.
The hotel features many designs common in Lingnan architecture, such as hollow brick designs, which look beautiful in the light and shadow. Unfortunately, the days I stayed were mostly overcast, so I couldn’t capture the beauty of the hotel’s light and shadow. It would look even better in bright sunlight.
There is a lake running through the hotel, where you can row a boat. Rooms with two bedrooms or more come with a dock for boat check-in. Of course, the lake at the hotel is not large.
In the hotel courtyard, there is a twin tree (two trees growing intertwined on a rock), and any casual shot here looks stunning. This spot is also the most photographed place at this Banyan Tree.
Dongguan Songshan Lake Banyan Tree has many artworks, and each piece usually has a label explaining the creator and the name of the artwork.
Additionally, the hotel’s night view is beautiful.
Now, let’s talk about dining. The Banyan Tree restaurant has two locations; the Chinese restaurant is called Baiyun, which is the name of all Banyan Tree Chinese restaurants. It mainly serves Cantonese and Jiangsu-Zhejiang cuisine.
The truffle crispy chicken is delicious, and the soup is also very tasty. Being in Guangdong, it is truly a blessing to eat well.
The other restaurant is called Mi Yan, where breakfast is served, and in the evening it transforms into a Southeast Asian cuisine restaurant. The Songshan Lake Banyan Tree offers traditional Cantonese “one bowl and two pieces.”
The most extravagant part is that in the morning, you can also eat roast goose and char siu, which are typically main course items. One day for breakfast, I had Dongguan’s local specialty roast goose rice noodles, and another day I had char siu rice rolls.
The Southeast Asian cuisine in the evening is also quite good, with flavors of tiger prawns, bak kut teh, tom yum soup, and curry chicken being very authentic. Moreover, Mi Yan offers great value for money in the evening! Dishes like tom yum soup and bak kut teh are under 100 yuan each.
The lobby lounge also serves coffee and afternoon tea. The coffee at Dongguan Songshan Lake Banyan Tree uses Julius Meinl’s Little Red Riding Hood. I have always had a fondness for hotels that use semi-automatic coffee machines or pour-over methods; machines that just press a button to dispense coffee lack technical skill.
The barista at the lobby lounge also does latte art.
**Activities at Dongguan Songshan Lake Banyan Tree**: Every evening, there is a sunset ceremony where you can experience the hotel’s unique rhythmic meditation course, which helps to calm your emotions.
This ceremony is open to everyone and offers free drinks.
Other hotels also offer activities like cycling, rhythmic meditation, and boat rides on the inner lake.
