Ever Joint

Ever Joint (aka Pan Tower International Hotel)

Kaiping is not a major city, and if it weren't for the diaolou outside of town, I doubt many foreign travelers would have cause to visit the place.

The Ever Joint Hotel (renamed the "Pan Tower International Hotel") is on a spit of land at a fork in the Tanjing River. The grounds are well-maintained, and there's a walkway along the riverside that is a nice place to go in the evenings.

The hotel itself doesn't deserve its five-star rating, but it is a fairly grand place for such a backwater of a town. The lobby is typical of a Chinese hotel: gleaming with polished wood, brass and marble. Most of the staff do not speak English. There was one woman, however -- possibly an asst. manager -- who spoke quite well and helped us arrange a taxi tour of some of the diaolou in the surrounding countryside.

There's also a bakery on the first floor, just off the lobby, that sells delicious pastries for between 50 cents to a dollar each.

When we stepped off the elevator onto our floor, one of the cleaning staff was laying wet sheets on the floor in front of the elevator and seemed surprised to see us (possibly because we weren't Chinese, or maybe because there weren't any other guests on that floor). Our room was small, not very well-lit and not particularly attractive; and the carpet was stained. The window, set into a corner of the room, showed a good view of the river, though. The outdoor pool was good for a night-time swim, and the gym was okay.

The room cost us only 430 RMB (or $59) for one night, and the room and hotel weren't bad for a place like Kaiping. Most important of all, in my opinion, was that it was well-situated for a tour of the diaolou, which was our sole reason for going to Kaiping in the first place.

Also, from the Kaiping ferry port, there's a shuttle bus to Zhuhai (a trip of almost two hours), where one can take a jetfoil ferry to Hong Kong.

All in all, I'd say that, given the affordable price and the location, the hotel is a pretty good place to stay for people wishing to tour the diaolou.

• Opinion of Price: N/A
• Related to: Historical Travel, Castles and Palaces, Architecture

Ever Joint Photo: Ever joint (Pan Tower Intl Hotel) from Outside

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