After a busy first five days in China working on Matt's exciting project - all to be revealed soon, (read about our first five days in Guangzhou, China here if you missed it), we decided to move across the city for a relaxing and romantic weekend. Naturally, I scoped out the nearest W hotel, as you all know by now, W hotels are my absolute favourites; modern, classy and luxurious. I knew I was in for a treat when we arrived...
Our room was huge, modern and comfortable, complete with a walk in wardrobe room, mood-lighting and as much tech as you can imagine. W hotels are always super luxurious but this one was next level modern and sleek. I'm a sucker for blinds that go down at the touch of a button, mood lights around the room and a good iPod docking system so the W is definitely for me. They think of everything and even put hair straighteners, face wipes and a mixology bar in your room. I've never come across a hotel chain like the W and cannot recommend them enough. We immediately felt relaxed when we arrived and actually didn't even want to leave the hotel room once we'd got into our cosy bed. The W Guangzhou is more within the business district of Guangzhou I'd say, so we were away from the authentic hustle and bustle but now, with all the business men, surrounded by fancy bars and the best eateries. This was actually quite a nice change as we'd pretty much explored the other side of Guangzhou and it was nice to see the lux side of Guangzhou, we all know I'm a sucker for lux. 
We had the most spectacular view from our window, which is so hard to capture on photographs but trust me, it was pretty epic. Our desk space was covered in beautiful, personalised treats for me including chocolate necklaces and chocolate rings. These kind of touches make me want to continue staying in W's all around the world. 
As soon as we got into our room we were greeted by a lovely staff member who brought us up an invite to a party that evening complete with macaroons shaped like headphones and the most delicious chocolates. It's little touches like this that really set the W aside from other hotels. The hotel oozes luxury and they'll do anything they can to go above and beyond and give you amazing, unforgettable service and experiences. W hotels are kind of like a community and they always invite you to get involved with their fun events.
We headed downstairs for dinner to the Japanese restaurant inside the hotel, By Inagiku. The hotel is huge and boasts some of the best restaurants in Guangzhou inside it so it would be rude not to check them out. I finally got to wear a dress so opted for my favourite Missguided number, it matches my Nails Inc gel nails too which I got done at their champagne nail bar in Harvey Nichols before I left the UK. I look thoroughly exhausted, we completely burnt the candle at both ends so a few days of relaxation was much needed.
I found so many incredible Japanese restaurants whilst travelling around Asia. I'm such a sucker for a good Japanese and even though I was in China, I felt I'd tried so much Chinese food on my first 5 days, that it was okay to have Japanese on this particular evening! The sushi was probably some of the best sushi I've ever tried, super fresh and so satisfying. Sushi is quickly becoming my favourite thing to eat.
We had tempura sweet potatoes too which were pretty incredible.
After, we headed down to the seriously cool WOO bar. Imagine the biggest walls and ceilings, glittering away as smooth beats play. Their cocktail list is incredible too. It's kind of like a plush lounge area, we sat on a gorgeous sofa and just chatted the night away. After so much rushing around for the first five days, it was really nice to just relax and have a nice date night in such a gorgeous setting.
The following morning, we headed up to the penthouse gym and pool area. Working out is much easier when the view is like this. If you know me, you'll know I'm massively into my health and fitness and whilst away, I do try to work out before breakfast. I was away for around 4 weeks so didn't want to have a full 4 weeks off! You can read my fitness section here for my tips, tricks and more!
A very early, murky, smoggy morning (China pollution for you) meant we could spend a little more time by the pool area. Swimming is one of my favourite things to do, it's so relaxing but it's so good for toning the whole body, I'm always on the lookout for good swimming pools in hotels and the W Guangzhou has one of the best I've seen.
After a quick refresh, it was time to grab some lunch before we headed to see some pandas! Yep, pandas! We ate at The Kitchen Table inside the W and honestly, I have never had such a good buffet meal in my entire life.
When pizza is involved you know you're onto something good...
We were brought fresh watermelon and fresh orange juice,
along with the most succulent, mouth watering beef you've ever tried. The W always blow me away with their restaurants, they always have top chefs which is why if you're a foodie, you definitely need to try them because their food is to simply exquisite.
The fish counter (help yourself) was epic and oh, they even had a delicious sushi counter too with chefs who'd make it for you.
The wide range of food at the W Guangzhou is crazy, with chefs ready to cook up anything for you at every station, you could honestly stay here all day.
Let's just say I ate a lot of the pesto butter
I also spotted the chocolate foundation at the end...
we had delicious hot noodle broths
and I made it my mission to try every dessert on the menu. Eating at The Kitchen Table was an experience in itself. The food was delicious, the staff were incredible and the chefs were even better. I didn't know buffets existed that were as good as this one; fresh, high quality, delicious food but of course, I was at the W and at the W, everything blows me away every single time.
After lunch, the lovely staff at the W booked us a car (I told you nothing is too much trouble for them) and the driver took us to Chimelong Safari park.
The car was plush and even matched my new Aspinal bag. It had wifi in it, face wipes, fresh water, even chocolate bars. This was a seriously well equipped car and much better than your average taxi. The W really do go all out but it means you always feel safe, comfortable and luxurious.
We arrived at Chimelong safari park. It ranks as one of the best things to do in Guangzhou. Now I feel very weird about zoos/safari parks but I was assured when I went to visit the places where they breed the animals here, some of whom would be endangered without the work of places like Chimelong so I tried to focus on the positives; how big the areas for them to play in were etc rather than the negatives. I've dreamt of seeing a real life orangutang for pretty much my whole life and there he was, swinging around freely, right in-front of me. I actually almost cried, it hurt my heart a little bit.
I even watched a baby monkey get fed out of a water bottle. Honestly, walking around Chimelong was hands down one of the best days of my life. I've never felt so much love, I was like the happiest big kid in there. 
Then the ice creams came out and well, I was in heaven.
Chimelong is home to rare pandas which was my main reason for wanting to visit. It's safe to say I almost cried when I saw these beautiful animals too. 
After an emotional day for an animal lover like me, we ate in one of the best restaurants in Guangzhou that evening for our final meal in Guangzhou. YAN YU restaurant was decorated beautifully and the service was exceptional. We'd tried traditional Chinese food but now we wanted to try this incredible, higher end restaurant. 
When we made our reservation, our favourite, watermelon and orange juice were already at the table freshly squeezed and waiting for us.
We had lots of Chinese tea
and started with some delicious nibbles, probably the best nibbles I've ever had. I didn't want them to end.
The starter came out and was simply delicious, I couldn't tell you exactly what it was as we trusted in the chef and let him bring us anything he fancied. The purple sweet potato was cooked succulently and was so melt-in-your-mouth perfect.
The fish dish which came next was pretty delicious, in fact, probably one of the most delicious dishes I've ever tasted. Soft fish which was covered in almost a mango curry. Ive never tasted flavours like it.
Next, an edible basket filled with chicken and a delicious broth. Again, one of the best main dishes I have ever tried and great to try a nice twist on traditional Chinese food from such a highly acclaimed chef too.
Dessert was pretty special.
we even had room for this little treat...
Straight after, it was Earth hour. One hour where all the lights go off. In true W style, they hired the most incredible dancers who lit up the whole lobby with their glow paint. It was a pretty epic performance and great to see the whole of the hotel lit only by natural light or glow paint. A really nice touch.
A few cocktails later and a stroll around the bars outside, we headed to bed.
Our final few hours in China were spent relaxing by the pool. How can you not when it's this perfect?
I wore my brand new Seafolly bikini from Simply Beach. If you're getting in the Summer mood, I just made a wishlist and added some incredible new Summer clothes to it which are slowly getting added to my holiday basket. You need to check that out here.
And in a blink, our China adventure was over. Luckily, our next stop was Hong Kong so we were back up in the air. More on Hong Kong coming your way. Guangzhou was an incredible city, I can't wait to venture back there when there's better weather, I'd love to see it in Summer which I think is when we'll go back! You can watch my vlog about my time in Guangzhou below, I'd LOVE it if you could click here and subscribe to my YouTube channel! Don't forget to read China part 1 here!
Have you ever visited China? Would you like to? Have you ever stayed in a W hotel? Do you like the look of this? Do you like swimming too? Do you work out whilst you're away? Do you love animals?
Lots of love, Em x
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