Stay here: The Ritz-Carlton, Suzhou review

Suzhou: the city of serene canals, immaculate classical Chinese gardens and Marco Polo’s famed moniker of “The Venice of the East” – this is what this city in Jiangsu Province is famed for.  

High-rise, modern luxury isn’t necessarily part of this traditional conceptualisation. But this is what the Ritz-Carlton, Suzhou brings to the city – the best of both worlds, right in the heart of the famed Gusu district and as a centrepiece of the new China Central Place commercial complex.  

What’s the deal?  

While it might be high-rise, this is an elegant hotel that chooses intimacy over ostentatiousness in a very Suzhou way. There’s no grand lobby or shouty centrepiece. Instead, there’s a meticulously shaped penjing tree in the entrance way, whose design gives a subtle nod to the classical courtyards and residences of the city, with a series of rooms branching off the lobby into the various public spaces of the hotel. 

It’s an approach that sets the tone for the rest of your stay, and you find this classical-modern thread running throughout the hotel, from the artwork to the room design to the dining outlets.  

In short: the Ritz-Carlton is a modern homage to Suzhou – and an ideal hub for exploring this fascinating city.  

Why stay?

The 190 rooms and suites are in keeping with the property’s modern Suzhou aesthetic – white walls and black lines, softened by curved furnishings. Combined with the expansive floor-to-ceiling windows, it’s a simple, minimal and sophisticated canvas that brings the rooms a light and natural air. 

The Club Rooms are well worth the upgrade, allowing you access to the exceptional Club Lounge. Here, you’ll be treated to five culinary presentations throughout the day, including cooked-to-order dinner and a proper – and very Instagrammable – afternoon tea. The lounge also overlooks what is arguably the hotel’s most photogenic spot: an interior courtyard inspired by a traditional Chinese garden, complete with wooden walkways, mossy banks, and ornamental rocks and trees. 

There are plenty of other dining venues throughout the hotel. You can savour high-end Jiangnan flavours at Biao Xia, where fresh seafood is the star. International bistro Alkanna houses a charming bakery throughout the day and a cocktail-focused bar at night. But the culinary highlight, however, is Feng Pan Ting, the hotel’s beautifully adorned tea lounge, where tea rituals are held daily.  

The Ritz-Carlton, Suzhou’s location within the new China Central Place also brings with it a richer blend of experiences compared to other hotels in Suzhou: high-end shopping at the MixC mall; art and cultural exploration at the impressive, Tadao Ando-designed H+ Art Museum ; with the famed gardens and canals of Gusu district still only a stone’s throw away. For business travellers, the property sits right in the heart of Suzhou’s new CBD, a property befitting of the city’s ever-growing economic heft.  

This is a hotel that’s perfectly set up for a contemporary taste of Suzhou: part-classical canal inspiration, part-high-end leisure, part-art and culture.  

Cathay editors say…

“Don’t miss out on enjoying a quiet moment in The Violet Garden, the hotel’s own private classical garden – Suzhou may be replete with others, but they’re rarely this peaceful.”