-Asia.China.Chongqing-
I have to admit – searching for a Hotel in Chongqing proved to be quite a challenge before I settled on Hotel Rigel. I booked (and cancelled) no less than 7 hotels before deciding on Rigel. I was still unsure what we will be getting but as we arrive before 6am – I wanted to get a hotel with breakfast that we can directly check-in upon arrival and have breakfast before going to sleep to recover from Jetlag.
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Table of Contents
Arrival and Check-In to Hotel Rigel
As mentioned above, our arrival time was pretty ungodly – 5am touch down and we arrived before 7am in Hotel Rigel. Read about how we got from the Airport to Chongqing here
The Lobby of Hotel is on the 44th Floor. When the doors to the elevator opened, there was no one in sight. As we walked up to the empty lobby, the Reception lady suddenly appeared as if we triggered some kind of sensor. (not that surprising in China) . We soon saw that she does not speak English and we used the translate app in Alipay to communicate. Check out the guide on which apps I downloaded and use in China.
The check in process went smoothly as everything was paid upfront and obviously no other guests were in sight. There were bottles of water at the reception which we grabbed but it was not necessary as the water was available in the room.
Hotel Rigel Room
I am used to European hotel rooms that are pretty compact usually – so as we stepped in to the room in Hotel Rigel , the space was big! Large enough to accomodate comfortably one double bed and one large single bed.
This was one of the most comfortable beds , the softness was just right for me and the blankets were comfortably cocooning me at nights.
The temperature was also just right and it was really easy to adjust the temperature as well. All other control buttons are placed by the bedside (super convenient!) One of them can control the curtains electronically – which had 2 layers. The blackout worked perfectly to keep the light out.
The wash area had a separate shower close to the basin – which made a lot of sense. The shower pressure was good – the only complaint I had was the lack of hanging places for towels , clothes.
The toilet was a real highlight – if I could bring one thing home : it would have been the comfortable Japanese toilet. The heated seats , I appreciated a lot , as with the integrated bidet and self-cleaning functions.
There was not so much space for keeping our clothing, which was quite a shame since the room is large and so we kept our clothing in our luggage.
We made use of the mini refrigerator provided to cool down the free bottles of water provided. A water cooker for coffee and tea making were provided but we didn’t use it throughout our stay.
Hotel Rigel Facilities
Buffet Breakfast in Hotel Rigel
I wanted to have breakfast included at the Hotel and luckily we were not disappointed and looked forward to the buffet offerings in the mornings. The food offered is more leaning towards Asian Chinese fare but there are western things as well. Fried rice, stir fried vegetables, Freshly made wonton with noodles, porridge, warm soya bean and fruits were just some of the highlights for us.
The restaurant is not very large but the service clearing the table was fast. However the dishes, cutleries and cups were sometimes not replenished very fast.
The tables had nice views to admire too. They sure made use of the advantage of being in a high-rise.
Other Facilities in Hotel Rigel
Gym – The gym is outfitted with modern cardio machines, including treadmills and stationary bikes, as well as weight-lifting equipment for resistance training.
Pool – There is no pool in the Hotel .
Parking – No private parking as far as I know. Only public parking available.
Laundry – What I found really useful is the self-service laundry facility in the Hotel. There are instructions on how to use the machines in the laundry room.
Services in Hotel Rigel
The reception staff is helpful and supportive on all sorts of matters. They helped us with finding where to buy some things, booking some attractions etc. I used WeChat to communicate with them from the room and it worked very well.
Robot Services – The little cute robot makes room deliveries, including the deliveries you make from Mei Tuan.
Luggage Storage – We used the luggage storage service after checkout as we had a late night flight out from Chongqing.
The Verdict on Hotel Rigel
Hotel Rigel comes with a 4-star rating and when I was searching for Hotels in Chongqing , hotels with great reviews are so prevalent all over the city making it a rather difficult decision to pick one. Having said that, I was super happy with my choice of staying here.
It was a very comfortable stay – from the helpful staff to the good buffet breakfast in the mornings to the extremely nice room and especially to its location close to the Chaotianmen metro station a short walk away. We were close to Raffles City Mall and restaurants were abundant close by. Luckin coffee was around the corner for our usual morning coffee run.
All in all very satisfactory and I would definitely stay here again, if I am back in town. Cherry on top: these views from our room!!
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