Holiday Inn Nanjing Aqua City

We close the Nanjing list with the international-chain pick wired straight into a mall — the Holiday Inn Nanjing Aqua City, a 4-star IHG hotel on Jiankang Road in the same building as the Aqua City shopping centre, a 500-metre hop from the Confucius Temple. It is built for a family of four who want a wide room and everything handled under one roof.

Rooms and decor

The Executive King runs about 38 sqm, wider than you would expect from a 4-star in China. It is done in beige and soft brown over full parquet floors — real wood, not laminate — with a big real-wood bed on a Simmons mattress, 300-thread cotton sheets, and four pillows to pick your firmness. The near-full-wall windows pull in Qinhuai River views from the 18th floor up. The marble bathroom keeps the rain shower separate from the toilet, the amenities are This Works in lavender, and Wi-Fi runs at 150 Mbps. Real guests rate the rooms around 9.4.

Food and amenities

This is the most familiar IHG brand for travelers in China, and it shows: friendly service, English-speaking staff at a communication level, a 5-minute check-in, and a welcome drink of hot apple juice. IHG One Rewards earns points and Gold members get an upgrade when a room is free. The lobby is high and airy in coffee-brown tones, with a 24-hour café serving sweets and Lavazza coffee. There is a small free Kids Corner and a 24-hour gym with full Life Fitness kit — but no pool, a small letdown if you are traveling with children.

Location and getting there

The selling point is that everything sits in one building. Take the lift down and you are inside the Aqua City mall — Uniqlo, MUJI, H&M, KFC, Starbucks, a salted-duck shop, and a big B1 food court where you can pick from 30 places to eat. It is a 6-minute walk to the Confucius Temple and 9 minutes to the Qinhuai ferry pier. Sanshanjie metro on Line 3 is a 5-minute walk: 4 stops to Xinjiekou, 3 stops to the Presidential Palace, and 6 stops to Lukou airport. The whole family gets around without calling a Didi.

Things to know before booking

It prices above the typical 3-star in the same neighborhood, so you are paying for the chain standard and the mall-under-one-roof convenience. The mall side gets busy through the day, the trade-off for having shops and food a lift ride away. And there is no pool — the 24-hour Life Fitness gym is there, but swimming is off the table, worth knowing if you have kids. In high season rooms fill fast, so book ahead.

Our take

The Holiday Inn Nanjing Aqua City fits families with kids, shoppers who like to do everything in one building, and older travelers who would rather not walk far. What wins reviewers over is the 38-sqm room — wider than expected — and the lift that drops you straight into the mall. At $69 for a room this size with this location and standard IHG service, the value is strong. It closes the Nanjing list with a pick that leaves nothing to complain about.