Hospitality
Located in the heart of Dongguan’s Dong Cheng district, the Pullman Dongguan Forum is tucked away at the Northern edge of a lovely park, which I discovered by accident when I left the hotel in search of a mini mart.
Set amid beautifully landscaped grounds, Pullman Dongguan Forum has 260 guest rooms and suites, five restaurants, three bars, a spa, a karaoke lounge, full conference and meeting facilities, and a museum.
Well Equipped Fitness Centre
Pullman Dongguan Forum is located on Zhong Cheng Middle Road, a tree-lined boulevard. Sports facilities include both indoor and outdoor swimming pools, tennis courts, badminton courts, and one of the best equipped hotel fitness centres I’ve come across.
The outdoor swimming pool at the Pullman Dongguan Forum hotel in Dongguan, China. Photo Credit: Accidental Travel Writer.
Even at some of the best five star hotels, I’m used to having to do what I think of as an abbreviated “hotel” workout.
This wasn’t necessary at the fitness centre at the Pullman Dongguan Forum.
There were enough stations to do a full upper body workout. I could even do bench presses on one of those contraptions that you usually only find at gyms – rarely at hotel fitness centres!
The hotel wing of the sprawling complex is set amid beautifully landscaped grounds behind the parking lot far from the street and nestled against a tree covered hillside, creating a sense of privacy and solitude. My room had a balcony with a lovely view of the free form outdoor swimming pool.
Hassle Free Internet Connection
One of my personal pet peeves when staying at five start hotels is the drama that usually accompanies trying to go on line.
Desks in guest rooms at the Pullman Dongguan Forum hotel are well equipped. Even an extension cord with four universal electrical outlets is provided. Photo Credit: Accidental Travel Writer.
I don’t like having to register, and I don’t like having to negotiate advertisements and special promotions when all I want to do is see if I’ve received any emails.
It was a very pleasant surprise, therefore, when I plugged in my laptop and got an immediate connection – without any of those petty annoyances that have sometimes taken me as long as two and one half hours to sort out. And believe me,
I am NOT exaggerating. On more than one occasion, I have had to call for technical support, and even with their “help” it has taken me nearly three hours to get a connection!
Attention to Detail
On the wall next to my desk were two electrical outlets, one for Chinese plugs, the other for Hong Kong plugs. In the drawer was an extension cord with four universal electrical outlets – enough to accommodate my mobile phone and camera and still have two left over for extra measure.
Better yet, I discovered – quite by accident – that I had access to Facebook! For those of you that don’t travel frequently in China, this is definitely NOT the norm, even at the swankiest of five star hotels.