Luxury in Chongqing
6 8D-Skyline Five-Stars Real Guests Rate 9.1–9.6

If you're choosing the most luxurious place to stay in a city of two rivers — the InterContinental Chongqing Raffles City sits inside the 'Crystal' of Raffles City, Moshe Safdie's horizontal-skyscraper complex planted at the very tip of the Yuzhong peninsula, where the Yangtze meets the Jialing at Chaotianmen. It has 380 rooms and suites and scores 9.6/10 on Trip.com from around 9,810 reviews — the highest score in this article. The draw is the 42nd-floor sky lobby and the glass skybridge that links the towers, giving a near-270° panorama of the rivers and skyline. Guests say it with one voice: the view of the two rivers meeting is unforgettable, the service is warm and attentive — many were upgraded without asking — and you ride the lift straight down to the mall and Line 1. The thing to know: Raffles City is a vast complex of mall, offices and hotel, and first-timers often get lost finding the right lift up to the lobby — ask staff on arrival and it's much easier — and rates run premium, especially river-view rooms. But for the full Chaotianmen view, this is the answer.

Open the curtains in the morning and the Yangtze and the point where two rivers meet stretch out below you — Niccolo Chongqing occupies floors 52 to 62 of Chongqing IFS Tower 1, in the heart of Jiangbeizui, the new financial district on the Jiangbei side, so the rooms and restaurants all float above the city. It has 252 rooms and suites and scores 9.5/10 on Trip.com from around 10,666 reviews — the most reviews of any hotel in this article. The draw is the 360° view, taking in the Yangtze, the Chaotianmen confluence and the golden stilt-houses of Hongyadong across the river, plus The Cabinet bar and an indoor pool looking out over the city from up high. Guests say the rooms feel new and spotless and stay quiet despite being in the city centre, with polished, multilingual service. The thing to know: Niccolo is on the Jiangbei side, not the old-town Jiefangbei side, so to walk around Hongyadong and Jiefangbei you take the metro or a taxi across the river (not far, but not on the doorstep), and it's a glossy modern tower, not a heritage stay — but if the view and modern luxury come first, it's hard to beat.

If you want to stay in Chongqing's liveliest district but have the room fall silent the moment you close the door — the JW Marriott Hotel Chongqing is a five-star brand hotel that opened in late 2014 on Minquan Road, in the heart of Jiefangbei CBD on the Yuzhong side, a few minutes' walk to Linjiangmen (Lines 1/2) and an easy walk to Hongyadong. It scores 9.2/10 on Trip.com from around 4,817 reviews. What guests mention most is how well the rooms are soundproofed — you're right in the centre but it's like someone hit mute on the whole city — plus polished, attentive service, comfortable beds, an indoor pool, a gym, an executive lounge and a generous buffet breakfast. Guests say they came for the location and the comfort and weren't disappointed. The thing to know: this is a city-centre business hotel, so most rooms look out over city towers rather than the two-rivers confluence, and Jiefangbei is busy with traffic in the evening — but for a walk-everywhere location and comfort in the room, it does it all.

Chongqing is an 8D city where a building's 'first floor' can sit many storeys above the street, and The Westin Chongqing Liberation Square plays that to the hilt, putting its lobby and breakfast room on the 50th floor. From the moment you check in, you look out over the Yuzhong peninsula in every direction — the Yangtze, the Jialing and the dense, cyberpunk wall of towers. It's right on Jiefangbei Square, the heart of the CBD, a few minutes' walk to Hongyadong and the snack streets. It scores 9.1/10 on Trip.com from around 4,220 reviews, with 403 rooms, floor-to-ceiling windows, Westin Heavenly Beds, an indoor pool and a WestinWORKOUT gym. Guests say the view from the 50th-floor lobby at check-in is what they remember, and that you can walk to the sights, shopping and food without taking a car. The thing to know: this is a city-centre business hotel, so the view is a city-from-up-high view rather than the full two-rivers confluence shot the Chaotianmen towers get, and a few reviews flag extra-service fees here and there — but for a central stay where you wake up to a view from up high, it does it all.

If you want to stay on the quieter bank and look back at the whole-city skyline — the Kempinski Hotel Chongqing is a European-classic five-star in the heart of Nan'an, on Nanbin Road, the riverside strip where locals come to walk and eat by the water, looking across the Yangtze at the Yuzhong peninsula, its towers lined up like a wall of light at night. It scores 9.1/10 on Trip.com from around 4,241 reviews. The draw is larger-than-average rooms (from about 42 sqm), the across-river view, an indoor pool and spa, and a location 3–6 minutes' walk from Gongmao (Line 3), about 6 minutes across to Jiefangbei and Hongyadong. Guests say the service is warm and easy-going, the staff speak good English, and the mood is calmer than the always-packed city side. The thing to know: staying in Nan'an means crossing the river to the Jiefangbei side for the main sights (not far, but not walkable), and some find the European-classic style a touch more old-school than the city's newest towers — but at a ¥700 starting rate that undercuts the city-side hotels, it's a great-value across-river view.

We close the luxury group with the easiest-to-spot waterfront landmark on the south bank — the Sheraton Chongqing Hotel is a pair of gold twin towers on the Yangtze, on Nanbin Road (南滨路) in Nan'an, the riverside strip where locals come to stroll and take in the city across the water. It's highly rated by thousands of real reviews on Trip.com (compiled from real guest reviews). The draw is the riverside location, where water-facing rooms look across to the city skyline, plus a swimming pool, a gym and several restaurants, and those gold twin towers that have become a Nanbin-Road landmark. Guests say they get a calm riverside mood, with the Nanbin Road waterfront good for an evening meal. The thing to know: like the Kempinski, the Sheraton is in Nan'an (the south bank), so reaching Jiefangbei and Hongyadong means a ride across the river (about 20 minutes, not walkable), and it sits a little out from the metro, so allow for a taxi or hotel shuttle — but for a riverside view and a calm mood at a reachable rate, it's a tempting waterfront pick.