Guangde, Xuancheng: A Great Staycation Option in a Small City

Guangde is located between the two major resort areas of Yixing and Anji, and is close to Huzhou and Hangzhou, making it easily accessible. Last weekend, before returning to Shanghai from a trip to Xuancheng, I passed through this small city and stayed overnight at the Grand New Century Hotel in the city center. The hotel opened in 2024 and has new hardware and software, making it the leading luxury hotel in the area. Entering from the main road, the hotel lobby features floral decorations in the atrium, and the soft, eye-pleasing beige furniture in the seating area eliminates the rigid business feel. A wall-mounted atomizing fireplace is set up in the wall area of the lobby bar, which humidifies the air while the warm "firelight" illuminates the entire space. The buffet restaurant cleverly uses columns as space dividers and as a source of main lighting, with chandeliers hanging from the ceiling to supplement the decoration and aesthetics. This design and lighting aesthetic is used in the second-floor Chinese restaurant lobby, with crystal chandeliers along the stairs complementing the green trees and red flowers outside the window, and private rooms ensuring privacy and stability. Passing by the grandly laid out banquet hall, the hotel's fitness floor offers a temperature-controlled swimming pool and a gym with separate aerobic and anaerobic areas, as well as a huge terrace garden. This time, I stayed in the hotel's Executive River View King Room. The open bathroom area frees up the room area, with double sinks corresponding to an independent bathtub, a dry and wet separation design with a smart toilet and small bottles of amenities, the king-size bed offers a choice of soft and hard pillows, and the bedside is equipped with full-house smart controls and glass tube lights. From the sofa and desk by the window, you can see the tower and river view of Wuliangxi Park outside the window, and the standard landscape makes the stay experience more vivid. In the evening, I experienced the hotel's Southeast Asian-themed buffet dinner, and after tasting the baked durian and lamb chops, I also drank a fresh coconut with the hotel logo printed on it. After a full meal, I embarked on the road back to Shanghai the next day.