Best Hotels in Chongqing 2026 — Mountain Megacity Views

We open the Chongqing list with the most polished stay of the bunch — DoubleTree by Hilton Chongqing - Nan'an, a five-star Hilton in the commercial-and-cultural pocket of Nan'an District, on the south bank of the Yangtze. The 42-square-metre Deluxe King rooms sit high enough that floor 28 looks straight across at Chaotianmen Bridge, its orange lights smearing across the water after dark. Downstairs you get a 20-metre indoor pool on level 5, a 24-hour TechnoGym fitness room, The Spa with Sichuan massage from around $80, and a Tea Garden breakfast buffet that real guests rate 9.4. Rates start near $90 a night and run to about $185 for the river-view suites. We'd point couples, families and business travellers here without hesitation — it earns the brand name rather than just wearing it.

Our number-two pick is the surprise of the trip: Bloom Boutique Hotel Chongqing, a 4-star boutique built into the Times Paradise Walk mall in the Daping district of Yuzhong. Step out of the lift and you are surrounded by Uniqlo, MUJI, a Starbucks Reserve and a dozen hotpot joints within 100 metres. It sits about 3 minutes on foot from Shiyoulu station on metro Line 1, so you can reach Jiefangbei, the Liziba train-through-a-building stop and old Ciqikou without ever flagging a taxi. Rooms run a roomy 32 square metres, the breakfast pulls a 9.4 guest score, and real-traveller ratings sit near 9.5. Rates open around $50 a night. We recommend it for couples and solo travellers who want a sharp downtown base without paying Jiefangbei prices.

Ranked #3, Hilton Chongqing is the international-brand luxury play here — a 5-star tower sitting right on the bank of the Yangtze River in Yuzhong District, the dense downtown core. It's a short walk to the Jiefangbei pedestrian street and the neon riverside warren of Hongyadong, with Caiyuanba railway station close by for high-speed trains. Most of the 35 floors are angled at the water, so a good chunk of rooms look straight out at the river and the city skyline. Downstairs you get a spa, a 25-metre indoor pool, a Life Fitness gym, and restaurants running international, Cantonese and serious Sichuan menus. Real guests score it around 9.2, and rates open near $115 a night, climbing past $230 for the better river suites. We'd send couples and business travellers here who want a global-brand room with the Yangtze as a backdrop.

Our #4 pick is the hotel for travelers who want to sleep at the very top of the busiest part of Chongqing. Glenview ITC Plaza Chongqing is a 5-star property occupying the upper floors of a 40-storey tower in the Jiefangbei area of Yuzhong District — the dense, neon downtown core. The sky lobby sits on floor 23, so the skyline view starts the second you walk in. Room types run from Deluxe up to suites, and the higher floors look straight out over the Yangtze River and the surrounding skyscrapers. It's about a 5-minute walk to Linjiangmen metro station, and you can stroll to the Jiefangbei pedestrian street and the Hongyadong cliffside stilt houses in roughly 8 minutes. There's an indoor infinity-edge pool, a Sichuan restaurant, and a breakfast that guests rate highly. Real guest scores sit around 9.4, and rates start near $100 a night. We'd point couples and families here when the goal is a high-floor view plus everything downtown on foot.

Coming in at #5 is the pick we'd grab for a family trip or any stay past four nights: Somerset Yangtze River Chongqing, a 4-star serviced apartment under Singapore's Ascott group. The building runs 32 floors up a curve of the Yangtze River, a 10-minute walk from Jiefangbei and the riverside lanterns of Hongyadong. Units are roomy — the 1-bedroom Deluxe River View measures 55 sqm with a separate living room, a full kitchen (two-burner induction, microwave, fridge, pots and plates), and a washer-dryer in the unit. There's a 20-metre indoor pool heated year-round on the 6th floor and a 24-hour gym. The metro at Jiaochangkou is a 4-minute walk. Real guests rate it around 9.3, and rooms start near $69 a night. We'd send families and anyone who wants space to cook here.

Sixth on our list is the value pick that punches like a 4-star — Holiday Inn Express Chongqing Guanyinqiao by IHG. This 3-star Holiday Inn Express sits in Chongqing's Liangjiang district, a flat 300-metre walk from Paradise Walk Guanyinqiao mall and roughly 4 km (10 minutes by taxi, about ¥18) from Chongqing North Railway Station. Rooms were refreshed in 2023 and run clean and modern, with 100 Mbps Wi-Fi thrown in. There's a small indoor pool on the 4th floor and a free IHG Express Start breakfast — congee, fried eggs to order, fruit — built into the rate. Real guests score it around 9.3, with value rated 9.3/10, and rooms open from about $40 a night. We'd book it for travellers who want a reliable international-chain room near the shops without paying downtown prices. Note: the original article called this hotel "Jinxiucheng" — same property, later renamed "Guanyinqiao."

Ranked #7 for sheer convenience next to the bullet-train hub, JI Hotel Chongqing North Railway Station is a 3-star property in the JI Hotel line run by Huazhu, China's largest hotel group. It sits just 1 km from Chongqing North Railway Station and a 700-metre walk from the North Station South Square metro stop, where lines 10 and 3 reach the Jiefangbei downtown core in about 25 minutes. The rooms are roomy and quietly styled in beige and pale pine, all renovated in 2023, and the place runs as a favourite among business travellers and rail commuters. Real guests rate it around 9.3, helped by a value score of 9.3, and doubles open at roughly $34 a night. We'd book it for anyone catching an early high-speed train who wants design and silence on a budget.

Our #8 pick is SSAW Boutique Hotel Chongqing Jiefangbei Hongyadong, a design-led boutique that sits right in the middle of the Jiefangbei district in Yuzhong, an 18-floor building on Cangbai Road. From the front door it's a 5-minute walk to the entrance of Hongya Cave (Hongyadong) and about 7 minutes to the Liberation Monument, with Xiaoshizi metro on Line 1 just 400 metres off. Rooms run an Industrial-Chinois look — black metal, dark pine, one wall of raw brick — and real guests rate it around 9.3, with a standout 9.5 for location. Doubles start near $43 a night, which buys you a five-star address at three-star boutique money. We'd send couples, photographers and design hotel fans here. It replaces the former #8, Nordic Forest Boutique Hotel, which no longer has a working booking page; this is a comparable design boutique.

Our #9 pick is the budget room that travelers keep raving about — Desti Youth Park Chongqing Jiefangbei, a design hostel from the Chengdu-born Desti chain that took over after the old #9, Chongqing Travelling With Hostel, stopped taking bookings. It sits on the 8th floor of a commercial block right on the Jiefangbei pedestrian street in Yuzhong District — a 5-minute walk from the Liberation Monument and 8 minutes from Hongyadong (the cliff-side wooden houses that lit up the internet). You get both mixed dorms and private twin/king rooms, plus an open lounge with a vinyl player, board games and a wall of books where a rotating mix of Western, Korean and Japanese travelers swap hotpot tips every evening. Real guest scores land around 9.6, with value rated 9.5, and dorm beds start near $17 a night. We'd send any backpacker or solo traveler here without hesitation.

We close the list with the most distinctive and cheapest stay in town: Only Cafe and Backpacker Chongqing, a small design hostel in an old building in Jiefangbei, Yuzhong District, right in the city centre. It is a 2-minute walk (100 m) to Jiaochangkou metro, putting Lines 1 and 2 at your door. A young Chinese couple runs the place and decorated every corner by hand — there's a third-floor cafe with drip coffee and homemade bread, a compact shared kitchen, and a 6th-floor rooftop terrace with views over the Jiefangbei towers, Qiansimen Bridge and the Jialing River. Beds start around $14 a night and the owner hands every guest a free 12-page English trip guide. Real guests rate it 9.6, which says plenty for a bunk under $20. We'd send solo travellers and budget backpackers here without hesitation.