Ascott Raffles City Chongqing — Apartments with a Kitchen + Washer Inside the Crystal, Confluence Views
Picture staying inside the Raffles City Crystal — Moshe Safdie's iconic horizontal-glass complex at the tip of the Yuzhong peninsula, right where the Jialing flows into the Yangtze (Chaotianmen 朝天门). Except instead of an ordinary hotel room, your home here is a serviced apartment with a full kitchen, a washer/dryer and a separate living area. That's Ascott Raffles City Chongqing (重庆雅诗阁来福士服务公寓), part of The Ascott, scoring a high 9.6/10 from around 4,024 real guest reviews. Honestly, if you're in Chongqing for several nights, travelling as a family, or you just want a "second home" where you can cook your own meals and do your own laundry — with great river views and a lift straight down to the mall — this is a hard combination to find anywhere else at this address.
Here's what sets Ascott Raffles City Chongqing apart from the city's other luxury stays most clearly — it's a serviced apartment, not a hotel room. Every unit comes with a full kitchen (hob, oven, microwave, fridge and a proper set of cookware), a washer/dryer, a drying rack, an iron and a separate living area; many also have a walk-in closet and a safe. Guests say it genuinely feels like home — you can pop out for fresh groceries and cook your own meals, or knock out a big load of laundry mid-trip without a thought. That makes it a fit for families with young kids, longer stays, or anyone tired of eating out for every meal. And the address is no ordinary one: it sits inside the Raffles City Crystal, Moshe Safdie's horizontal-glass complex, the same towers that house the InterContinental hotel.
One guest recalls: "A long stay here with the family was so easy. The apartment was like a luxury condo, with a kitchen to cook our own meals and an in-room washer that helped a lot. There's a 24-hour supermarket in the complex with a robot that delivers to your door, the river view from the high floors was beautiful, and you take the lift straight down to the mall. The staff looked after us well and breakfast was lovely — superb value for several nights."
There's one thing about the location to understand before you book — Ascott sits in the Raffles City complex at Chaotianmen (朝天门), the very tip of the Yuzhong peninsula, where the two rivers meet, rather than dead-centre in the Jiefangbei shopping district. That said, it's within walking distance of the Jiefangbei CBD, and it shares the complex with the Raffles City Mall and a supermarket — take the lift down to shops, restaurants and food of every kind. Hongyadong (洪崖洞), the gold-lit cliffside stilt houses, is about a 14–15 minute walk away. The headline draw, and what many guests come for, is the view of the Yangtze–Jialing confluence, which the high-floor river-facing units take in full, along with the Crystal Skybridge / Exploration Deck, the glass bridge across the tops of the towers that gives a sweeping panorama of the rivers and the whole city.
Getting around is easy for a mountain city like Chongqing — Chaotianmen station (Line 1) is right below the Raffles City Mall, so you can take the lifts and escalators down from the complex straight to the metro, with quick links to Jiefangbei, the railway stations and other sights. Chongqing is the famous 8D city, where roads stack over roads and a "1st floor" can be many storeys above street level, which trips up first-timers. This complex has several levels of its own too — the lobby entrance, the mall entrance and the metro level are all on different floors — so it's worth asking a staff member or checking the signs for which way to go up or down. The first time round you may wander a little, but once you get the hang of it, it's simple.
On shared facilities and service, Ascott delivers the full upper-tier residence package — there's an indoor pool, a gym and a sauna, plus that 24-hour in-complex supermarket with a robot that delivers to your door (a detail guests mention again and again as both charming and genuinely handy). Daily housekeeping is included, with free Wi-Fi in every unit, a Smart TV, a work desk and a safe. Breakfast earns praise as one of the better spreads in the area. Many guests note that the beds are comfortable with just-right mattresses, and the bathrooms are spacious, marble-tiled and stocked with quality toiletries. The overall effect is a real sense of "home" paired with five-star hotel service in one place.
A score of 9.6/10 from around 4,024 real reviews shows how consistently guests come away pleased — the recurring praise is for the kitchen and washer that make longer stays so easy, the high-floor river views, the cleanliness, the supermarket-and-robot, and the friendly service. The criticisms are real and worth knowing first. The main one: this is a serviced apartment built for longer stays, not a full-service hotel, so things like multiple restaurants, a rooftop bar and a full spa come at residence scale rather than grand-hotel scale, and a few reviews note the lobby furniture looks a touch dated (though still comfortable). The second: the complex is enormous and multi-level, so finding the right lift or lobby can be confusing at first, and rates climb in high season with the prime location.
Standard rates start at around ~¥650 (฿3,250) per night for a studio, with a typical range of ฿3,250–7,000 depending on season and unit size (studio < one-bedroom < two-bedroom); the longer you stay, the better the weekly and monthly rates work out. China's long holidays — Golden Week (October 1–7), Chinese New Year, and Labour Day (May 1–5) — are when rates spike and units fill fast, so book several weeks ahead and take a free-cancellation rate to be safe. As an international Ascott residence, it accepts foreign passports as standard.
The honest summary, friend to friend: Ascott Raffles City Chongqing is for travellers who want a roomy, home-style apartment with a kitchen and washer, lovely river views, and an address inside the iconic Crystal with a lift down to the mall — families and longer stays in particular get superb value. If you'd rather have the full "hotel" experience, with a grand lobby and full-service amenities in this same complex, look at the InterContinental Chongqing Raffles City; or if you want a kitchen-equipped riverside serviced apartment for a little less, compare the Somerset Yangtze River Chongqing in our list first.
Summary from Booking & Agoda
- ✓ Full kitchen + washer/dryer in every unit, like a luxury condo — ideal for longer stays
- ✓ Inside the Raffles City Crystal — lift down to the mall + a 24h supermarket
- ✓ High-floor units take in the Yangtze–Jialing confluence in full
- ✓ Apartments are spotless and spacious, in a polished residence style, with comfy beds
- ! A serviced apartment built for longer stays, not a full-service hotel
- ! A large, multi-level complex — finding the right lift or lobby can confuse at first
- ✓ 24-hour in-complex supermarket with a robot that delivers to your door
- ✓ Indoor pool, gym and sauna, plus daily housekeeping
- ✓ Walking distance to Jiefangbei and about 14–15 min to Hongyadong
- ✓ Breakfast rated one of the better spreads in the area
- ! Rates spike and units fill fast during China's long holidays
- ! Some of the lobby furniture looks a touch dated (though still comfortable)
- 💡If you want a full "hotel" with complete service and a grand lobby in this same complex · Ascott is a longer-stay serviced apartment · Fix → look at the InterContinental Chongqing Raffles City in the same Crystal towers, with a 42F sky lobby + Crystal Skybridge
- 💡If you're staying just 1–2 nights and want to sleep dead-centre in the Jiefangbei shopping heart · Ascott is at the tip of the peninsula at Chaotianmen — walking distance to Jiefangbei, but not right in it · Fix → look at the JW Marriott or Westin in central Jiefangbei, or Atour S, a 5-minute walk to Hongyadong, in our Chongqing hotels list
- 💡If budget is tight but you still want a kitchen-equipped riverside apartment · Rates run ¥650+/night and climb over holidays · Fix → compare the Somerset Yangtze River Chongqing, another Ascott-group serviced apartment with a kitchen that often costs less — see our Chongqing hotels list