FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - Commune by The Great Wall, Beijing (Unbound Collection) REVIEW - MASTER THREAD
Old Jun 24, 2021 | 9:43 am
  #9  
YariGuy
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Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: HNL
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I just got back from a stay. Here's a review I wrote on Tripadvisor (with a few tweaks):

This place has great potential, but as it currently stands, seriously falls short.

Pluses:

+ Great location. The proximity to a less-visited section of the great wall, and the ability to hike to a section (you can just get to it but can't climb it as it's fenced off) makes this place very special
+ Unique rooms. We stayed in a basic room (Bamboo 3) and it was unique - with a tatami section. However some people may not like the "commune" concept as there was nowhere to hang out in the room - you have to go to the common living room area.
+ The Peking Duck in the restaurant was delicious. Roasted to perfection. Also, it was reasonably priced, comparable to decent restaurants in the city (~350 RMB range).

Minuses

The minuses greatly outweigh the positives at this point, and I would suggest not staying here until these issues are worked out. I understand the hotel only converted to a Hyatt in April, 2021. Perhaps this is why brand standards are not met, but again, I would not stay here again until issues are resolved.

- A big reason we came here was the pool (came with kids). Also for the adults, we were looking forward to the cafe and bar by the pool. It was only upon check-in that we were told that the pool was closed, and would "maybe" open in August. Same with the poolside restaurant. I showed them the Hyatt app and it showed the poolside restaurant as a dining option, and nowhere is it mentioned that the pool was closed. To be fair, it was indicated on the website, but for more and more people the Hyatt app is where we go to book.

- Service. We were a family of 3. The kid was sleeping on the tatami, with bedding from housekeeping. Housekeeping brought a blanket, and we asked for extra pillows. Housekeeping staff said to us, "why? You already have 4 pillows." Whoa. I should have asked them whether I should sleep on my side or my belly. Or maybe asked them to take back a pillow because 4 pillows was clearly too many, as we only had 3 people. This was an emblematic example of service issues that I attribute to attaching personal norms to what guests want. While some might find this charming, I do not. To be fair, these issues didn't arise from a place of malice, but rather from misinformed and inappropriate assumptions about what a guest really wants. Proper training should rectify this.

Also, you really need a car here. While idyllic, the location is quite remote. If you want to get anywhere off property a car is essential. We didn't try Didi or other car services, but the hotel will not drive you to off-location restaurants, nor will restaurants come and pick you up.

There were other minor issues (we tried to use the kids' commune, but it was unstaffed during hours it was supposed to be open) but overall, the conclusion is that this could be a great property, but sorely falls short currently.
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