Sheraton Jiuzhaigou Resort
Sep 21, 2007, 5:32 pm
#31
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: KIX, ITM, UKB, YVR
Programs: Star Alliance - AC
Posts: 2,355
Just spent a couple of days last week at Jiuzhaigou.
One of the best hotels in the area, not that there is much choice to choose from. There is a Holiday Inn up the street a ways and a plethora of Chinese hotels.
It is not a North American 5-star as it advertises but is a solid 4 star. They have started to do some renovations because some areas are becoming dated.
If you are coming from North American, you probably would feel that the food is ok to above average but we were coming from too many months in Asia and my wife and I felt like we were in heaven. Food was fantastic. They include in the room rate a breakfast buffet, which is great because there is no other breakfast options in the area. Only area of concern with a critical eye would be the server training. The server that was eating food at the buffet line, servers congregating at one station talking, cleaning the table meant scraping the crumbs onto the carpet. All things that are very commonly seen in China. We are use to it now but it would have turned me off if I was back home in Canada.
Kudos to the hotel, recognized my SPG status.
If you do go to Jiuzhaigou, make sure you bring a jacket. It was nippy in the early morning and evenings. Almost a 30 degree drop in tempurature if you come in from Shanghai or Beijing.
Most visually stunning scenery we have ever seen. The cascading water falls, the intense intermingling of colors in the still water. My wife and I were moved to silence at times. Make sure you bring your walking shoes because you end up walking and walking miles. Even if you use the transport shuttles to full advantage, it is still a lot of walking.
This was one of our highlights to our trip.
One of the best hotels in the area, not that there is much choice to choose from. There is a Holiday Inn up the street a ways and a plethora of Chinese hotels.
It is not a North American 5-star as it advertises but is a solid 4 star. They have started to do some renovations because some areas are becoming dated.
If you are coming from North American, you probably would feel that the food is ok to above average but we were coming from too many months in Asia and my wife and I felt like we were in heaven. Food was fantastic. They include in the room rate a breakfast buffet, which is great because there is no other breakfast options in the area. Only area of concern with a critical eye would be the server training. The server that was eating food at the buffet line, servers congregating at one station talking, cleaning the table meant scraping the crumbs onto the carpet. All things that are very commonly seen in China. We are use to it now but it would have turned me off if I was back home in Canada.
Kudos to the hotel, recognized my SPG status.
If you do go to Jiuzhaigou, make sure you bring a jacket. It was nippy in the early morning and evenings. Almost a 30 degree drop in tempurature if you come in from Shanghai or Beijing.
Most visually stunning scenery we have ever seen. The cascading water falls, the intense intermingling of colors in the still water. My wife and I were moved to silence at times. Make sure you bring your walking shoes because you end up walking and walking miles. Even if you use the transport shuttles to full advantage, it is still a lot of walking.
This was one of our highlights to our trip.
Sep 21, 2007, 10:25 pm
#33
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: KIX, ITM, UKB, YVR
Programs: Star Alliance - AC
Posts: 2,355
No - none what so ever.
But was breathless more than usual after a long hike down the path.
But was breathless more than usual after a long hike down the path.
Jan 18, 2008, 12:52 pm
#34
Original Poster
Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Europe & Middle East
Programs: BA GGL (LTG), Marriott LT Titanium, EK Plat, Amex Cent
Posts: 899
But Alt sickness can affect people randomly, so individual responses should not be an indicator that you won't have a problem. However I was never left breathless like I have been in, say, Quito or la Paz! So probably this is a low risk area in that respect.
Jul 21, 2009, 11:08 am
#35
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Chicago, IL
Programs: United Premier Exec, SPG Platinum, Hyatt Diamond
Posts: 25
Had a great 2 night stay here a few weeks ago. Used my points (only 4000/night) and they were very excited to have a platinum...someone from customer service came out to personally greet me and escort me to my room. The hotel and Jiuzhaigou in general seems to have 99% asian tourists.
They upgraded me to a nice corner suite with 1.5 bathrooms, a nice size living room, and large master bath with tub & separate shower. Also gave me 2 stuffed pandas a nice fruit plate and cookie plate, which was cool. There is free wifi in the lobby, no exec lounge.
Also, I got free breakfast as platinum, and the breakfast buffet was pretty good. Wide selection, especially considering how remote this location is...I don't think I'd pay the full ~$20 price for it, but was very happy to get it for free.
If you're looking to explore a bit, there is a small town about a 5min walk down the main road where there are a few small chinese restaurants. The hotel restaurants are pretty expensive, so we went down there (I'm sure none of them speak english or have english menus though). There is also a bar/disco in the town, which was a really unusual scene to say the least.
Staff was incredibly helpful and friendly, immediately knew my name and remembered it every time I walked in or out.
They upgraded me to a nice corner suite with 1.5 bathrooms, a nice size living room, and large master bath with tub & separate shower. Also gave me 2 stuffed pandas a nice fruit plate and cookie plate, which was cool. There is free wifi in the lobby, no exec lounge.
Also, I got free breakfast as platinum, and the breakfast buffet was pretty good. Wide selection, especially considering how remote this location is...I don't think I'd pay the full ~$20 price for it, but was very happy to get it for free.
If you're looking to explore a bit, there is a small town about a 5min walk down the main road where there are a few small chinese restaurants. The hotel restaurants are pretty expensive, so we went down there (I'm sure none of them speak english or have english menus though). There is also a bar/disco in the town, which was a really unusual scene to say the least.
Staff was incredibly helpful and friendly, immediately knew my name and remembered it every time I walked in or out.
Apr 27, 2011, 10:09 am
#36
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: AMS, BRU
Programs: Cathay Marco Polo, AF/KLM, HH Diamond, SPG Gold, others
Posts: 4,481
Planning a trip to Sichuan this summer? Any recent experiences regarding the Sheraton Jiuzhaigou (since the last reports are really dated...)
Apr 28, 2011, 3:28 am
#37
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Shanghai
Posts: 41,991
One of colleagues went out there last month and he ended up switching to the Intercontinental at the last minute because he claimed it was much nicer than the Sheraton. I've never been myself.
Apr 28, 2011, 2:44 pm
#38
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: AMS, BRU
Programs: Cathay Marco Polo, AF/KLM, HH Diamond, SPG Gold, others
Posts: 4,481
Jun 20, 2011, 12:37 pm
#39
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Body in Downtown YYZ, heart and mind elsewhere
Programs: UA 50K, refugee from AC E50K, Marriott Lifetime Plat
Posts: 5,132
I'm just back from 3 nights at the Sheraton Jiuzhaigou. In short, I was underwhelmed.
The Sheraton is about 1.5h from the airport. The highway is reasonably modern and quite well-paved. It's a mountain road for much of the way though so the twists and turns take time to navigate.
The only reason for tourists to go to Jiuzhaigou is to visit the national park that's there. To this end, the Sheraton is probably the best-located hotel as it's only 1.5 km from the park entrance. There are other Chinese hotels that are a bit closer but I can't comment on their quality. From the outside, most of the Chinese hotels there look the same. The Holiday Inn is quite a bit further from the park entrance and the IC is in the middle of nowhere. I think from the park entrance to the IC is 30 min or so. If you want peace and quiet and getting away from it all - choose the IC. If you want easy access to the park, choose the Sheraton.
My biggest complaint with this Sheraton is service. To me, it ranged from adequate to inept. The nametags worn by employees all have their name and their position. For whatever reason(s) most of the employees I came across were Trainees. It was hard to find a non-trainee. Most staff did not speak English which I found a bit odd for a Starwood property.
At check-in, the SPG line was neatly marked and manned by a trainee. Over at the non-SPG positions I saw a couple of non-trainees working. But too late - I was already being processed by the trainee who had trouble finding my reservation even though I gave her printouts with the reservation numbers on them. I had 2 rooms reserved and when I asked for 2 keys per room she was reluctant to give them to me. I had to gently ask again for 2 keys per room before she gave them to me.
The room was adequate if a little worn out. My room was at the very back of the hotel and faced what I think are the living quarters for the workers. Not much of a view but it was quiet enough. The room was reasonably spacious (probably about 30 sq.m or so) and had the usual amenities you find in any Chinese hotel. The bathroom was a bit small but quite useable. At turndown the room was replenished. Though I did find it wasteful to change the towels I had used (and hung back on the rack), I did appreciate having extra bottled water, Chinese tea etc to replenish the room. A nice added touch was the stuffed animal they gave at turndown. I ended up with a bunny rabbit and 2 panda bears.
The desk area lacked power outlets. I ended up unplugging the fridge and crawling under the desk so I could have a couple of extra plugs to use. The internet was slow but useable. I got a room rate that included internet. I shouldn't have bothered though as max charge for internet is only 60 Yuan per day.
My air conditioning wasn't working properly. There was cool air blowing from the vent but the room just wouldn't cool down even with the thermostat set to less than 10C. Compare this with the room next door which was quite comfortable with the thermostat set to 20 C. I complained to front desk and to their credit they immediately sent a fellow in to check. He climbed a small ladder and noted there was cool air blowing so therefore everything was fine. I noted the thermostat setting (less than 10 C) and commented that the room was clearly not less than 10 C. He insisted that cool air was blowing therefore everything was fine.
I ended up running the air conditioning with the thermostat set to less than 10 C and opening the window. That worked, but I wonder how much electricity I burned / wasted that way?
The Sheraton is a fairly large hotel. The East Wing seems to be the main wing as it features 2 restaurants (a Chinese restaurant and a mixed Western / Chinese / buffet place), a cafe, a spa, a gym (pool was being renovated) and a bizarre slot machine / arcade room. The West Wing has one restaurant that I could see. In between the 2 wings is a large theatre that offers a show seemingly every night.
The food (dinner) at the Chinese restaurant disappointed. Food presentation was good but food quality was lacking. The taste just wasn't there. Service (from my trainee server) was a little off. Sometimes she was just there, hovering rather obtrusively. Other times she was nowhere to be found. I also found this restaurant to be rather pricey.
The buffet restaurant on the other hand was much better. The food quality here was better than the Chinese place and the variety was good. The dinner buffet was 188 Yuan per person.
Breakfast was also in the buffet restaurant. I would have liked more fruit selection (watermelon + honeydew melon; some oranges & bananas would have been nice) but overall it was OK. There were scrambled eggs in the buffet and I only noticed the cooked egg station much later on. As you enter the restaurant, the egg station is to the far right whereas the buffet selections are to the far left.
My biggest problem occured at checkout. The trainee was working solo and was probably the slowest person I have ever encounterd at a Starwood property. She was unable to find the paperwork which had been processed at check-in and spent a long time looking through the exact same piles of paper. Eventually I convinced her to look elsewhere and lo and behold, there was my paperwork.
My final bill came to 6630 Yuan but at check-in my card had been pre-auth charged for 6500 RMB. The trainee was completely unable to reconcile this. I told her to just charge my card the 6630 RMB but she couldn't reason that this was OK. Eventually, with the help of my guide who spoke fluent Mandarin, she insisted that my card could only be charged 6500 RMB but the bill was 6630 RMB so I therefore couldn't check out.
I had a plane to catch. Time was running short.
I told her to charge my card 6500 RMB and I'd pay the rest in cash. She didn't want to do this.
I had a plane to catch. Time was running short.
She asked my guide to ask me if I had another credit card. I did and offered it to her. But then she didn't know what to do with the card.
I had a plane to catch. Time was running short.
I told her (through my guide) to charge 6500 RMB to card #1 and the rest to card #2. She didn't want to / know how to.
I told her again to charge card #1 6500 RMB and I'd pay the rest in cash. She didn't want to / know how to.
I had a plane to catch. Time was running short.
I actually yelled at her. I'm not proud of this. I'm a very patient guy - too patient many times - and it takes a lot to get me over the edge. This silly trainee actually managed to accomplish this.
I pulled out the cash (exact change of course), waved it at her and demanded she charge card #1 6500 Yuan and take the rest in cash. My guide (also an incredibly calm fellow) had his voice raised and told her the same in Mandarin.
She wavered. She delayed. She looked at pieces of paper. She looked at the computer screen. She stood still.
At long last, she charged card #1 6500 RMB and took the rest in cash. But she wouldn't / couldn't provide a receipt that said "paid in full".
I had a plane to carch. Time was running short. So I just decided to frak it and left. I'm half expecting an extra charge on my card for the extra 130 RMB that I paid in cash.
In summary:
- Good location. Probably the best location for park access.
- Public areas (lobby etc) are in decent shape but much of the hotel (hallways, rooms) is starting to show wear.
- Most of the staff does not speak English.
- How does a hotel run almost exclusively on Trainees? Where are the vets? Is the GM (Mr. Roger Ding) trying to save on expenses by working only Trainees?
- Food quality of restaurants ranges from not bad to poor.
- Overall I'm left with the impression that this property is more of a 4 Points than a full Sheraton
The Sheraton is about 1.5h from the airport. The highway is reasonably modern and quite well-paved. It's a mountain road for much of the way though so the twists and turns take time to navigate.
The only reason for tourists to go to Jiuzhaigou is to visit the national park that's there. To this end, the Sheraton is probably the best-located hotel as it's only 1.5 km from the park entrance. There are other Chinese hotels that are a bit closer but I can't comment on their quality. From the outside, most of the Chinese hotels there look the same. The Holiday Inn is quite a bit further from the park entrance and the IC is in the middle of nowhere. I think from the park entrance to the IC is 30 min or so. If you want peace and quiet and getting away from it all - choose the IC. If you want easy access to the park, choose the Sheraton.
My biggest complaint with this Sheraton is service. To me, it ranged from adequate to inept. The nametags worn by employees all have their name and their position. For whatever reason(s) most of the employees I came across were Trainees. It was hard to find a non-trainee. Most staff did not speak English which I found a bit odd for a Starwood property.
At check-in, the SPG line was neatly marked and manned by a trainee. Over at the non-SPG positions I saw a couple of non-trainees working. But too late - I was already being processed by the trainee who had trouble finding my reservation even though I gave her printouts with the reservation numbers on them. I had 2 rooms reserved and when I asked for 2 keys per room she was reluctant to give them to me. I had to gently ask again for 2 keys per room before she gave them to me.
The room was adequate if a little worn out. My room was at the very back of the hotel and faced what I think are the living quarters for the workers. Not much of a view but it was quiet enough. The room was reasonably spacious (probably about 30 sq.m or so) and had the usual amenities you find in any Chinese hotel. The bathroom was a bit small but quite useable. At turndown the room was replenished. Though I did find it wasteful to change the towels I had used (and hung back on the rack), I did appreciate having extra bottled water, Chinese tea etc to replenish the room. A nice added touch was the stuffed animal they gave at turndown. I ended up with a bunny rabbit and 2 panda bears.
The desk area lacked power outlets. I ended up unplugging the fridge and crawling under the desk so I could have a couple of extra plugs to use. The internet was slow but useable. I got a room rate that included internet. I shouldn't have bothered though as max charge for internet is only 60 Yuan per day.
My air conditioning wasn't working properly. There was cool air blowing from the vent but the room just wouldn't cool down even with the thermostat set to less than 10C. Compare this with the room next door which was quite comfortable with the thermostat set to 20 C. I complained to front desk and to their credit they immediately sent a fellow in to check. He climbed a small ladder and noted there was cool air blowing so therefore everything was fine. I noted the thermostat setting (less than 10 C) and commented that the room was clearly not less than 10 C. He insisted that cool air was blowing therefore everything was fine.
I ended up running the air conditioning with the thermostat set to less than 10 C and opening the window. That worked, but I wonder how much electricity I burned / wasted that way?
The Sheraton is a fairly large hotel. The East Wing seems to be the main wing as it features 2 restaurants (a Chinese restaurant and a mixed Western / Chinese / buffet place), a cafe, a spa, a gym (pool was being renovated) and a bizarre slot machine / arcade room. The West Wing has one restaurant that I could see. In between the 2 wings is a large theatre that offers a show seemingly every night.
The food (dinner) at the Chinese restaurant disappointed. Food presentation was good but food quality was lacking. The taste just wasn't there. Service (from my trainee server) was a little off. Sometimes she was just there, hovering rather obtrusively. Other times she was nowhere to be found. I also found this restaurant to be rather pricey.
The buffet restaurant on the other hand was much better. The food quality here was better than the Chinese place and the variety was good. The dinner buffet was 188 Yuan per person.
Breakfast was also in the buffet restaurant. I would have liked more fruit selection (watermelon + honeydew melon; some oranges & bananas would have been nice) but overall it was OK. There were scrambled eggs in the buffet and I only noticed the cooked egg station much later on. As you enter the restaurant, the egg station is to the far right whereas the buffet selections are to the far left.
My biggest problem occured at checkout. The trainee was working solo and was probably the slowest person I have ever encounterd at a Starwood property. She was unable to find the paperwork which had been processed at check-in and spent a long time looking through the exact same piles of paper. Eventually I convinced her to look elsewhere and lo and behold, there was my paperwork.
My final bill came to 6630 Yuan but at check-in my card had been pre-auth charged for 6500 RMB. The trainee was completely unable to reconcile this. I told her to just charge my card the 6630 RMB but she couldn't reason that this was OK. Eventually, with the help of my guide who spoke fluent Mandarin, she insisted that my card could only be charged 6500 RMB but the bill was 6630 RMB so I therefore couldn't check out.
I had a plane to catch. Time was running short.
I told her to charge my card 6500 RMB and I'd pay the rest in cash. She didn't want to do this.
I had a plane to catch. Time was running short.
She asked my guide to ask me if I had another credit card. I did and offered it to her. But then she didn't know what to do with the card.
I had a plane to catch. Time was running short.
I told her (through my guide) to charge 6500 RMB to card #1 and the rest to card #2. She didn't want to / know how to.
I told her again to charge card #1 6500 RMB and I'd pay the rest in cash. She didn't want to / know how to.
I had a plane to catch. Time was running short.
I actually yelled at her. I'm not proud of this. I'm a very patient guy - too patient many times - and it takes a lot to get me over the edge. This silly trainee actually managed to accomplish this.
I pulled out the cash (exact change of course), waved it at her and demanded she charge card #1 6500 Yuan and take the rest in cash. My guide (also an incredibly calm fellow) had his voice raised and told her the same in Mandarin.
She wavered. She delayed. She looked at pieces of paper. She looked at the computer screen. She stood still.
At long last, she charged card #1 6500 RMB and took the rest in cash. But she wouldn't / couldn't provide a receipt that said "paid in full".I had a plane to carch. Time was running short. So I just decided to frak it and left. I'm half expecting an extra charge on my card for the extra 130 RMB that I paid in cash.
In summary:
- Good location. Probably the best location for park access.
- Public areas (lobby etc) are in decent shape but much of the hotel (hallways, rooms) is starting to show wear.
- Most of the staff does not speak English.
- How does a hotel run almost exclusively on Trainees? Where are the vets? Is the GM (Mr. Roger Ding) trying to save on expenses by working only Trainees?
- Food quality of restaurants ranges from not bad to poor.
- Overall I'm left with the impression that this property is more of a 4 Points than a full Sheraton
Oct 12, 2011, 2:59 am
#40
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Kuala Lumpur
Programs: hh Diamond,Marriott plat, ihg spire
Posts: 57
Update on Sheraton Jiuzhaigou
Am staying here now. Just thought I'd update this thread seeing that there hasn't been all that much activity
As a plat
- 2 free breakfasts
- No more lounge access - apparently its under renovation/closed
- Front desk is adequate in english
- happy hour at the main lobby bar from 5-7pm
Location
- pretty good, close to entrance to the park. Just turn left from the gates of the hotel and walk about 10mins
- a few restaurants along the way and some souvenir shops
Transport
- much cheaper to book a taxi service/driver from the airport if you know some mandarin
- price was 800 rmb for airport-huanglong-jiuzhaigou-airport ( negotiated down from 900 ),
Hotel
- from first appearance, nothing spectacular, in fact I would say disappointing
- rooms are more then adequate, got a suite upgrade without asking on a resort night booking. Pretty big, but colors are a bit dull and felt empty for want of a better word
- breakfast was merely functional
Thats all for now. As an aside, the suite upgrade hit rate for travel in china this year as a plat has been 18/20 stays. All without asking.
As a plat
- 2 free breakfasts
- No more lounge access - apparently its under renovation/closed
- Front desk is adequate in english
- happy hour at the main lobby bar from 5-7pm
Location
- pretty good, close to entrance to the park. Just turn left from the gates of the hotel and walk about 10mins
- a few restaurants along the way and some souvenir shops
Transport
- much cheaper to book a taxi service/driver from the airport if you know some mandarin
- price was 800 rmb for airport-huanglong-jiuzhaigou-airport ( negotiated down from 900 ),
Hotel
- from first appearance, nothing spectacular, in fact I would say disappointing
- rooms are more then adequate, got a suite upgrade without asking on a resort night booking. Pretty big, but colors are a bit dull and felt empty for want of a better word
- breakfast was merely functional
Thats all for now. As an aside, the suite upgrade hit rate for travel in china this year as a plat has been 18/20 stays. All without asking.
Jul 4, 2013, 2:27 pm
#41
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: SAN
Programs: UA Premier Gold, SPG Platinum, Hyatt Platinum, PC Platinum
Posts: 95
anyone has recent experience at this place? I am planning to go in October..
Mar 31, 2015, 3:09 am
#42
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: AMS, BRU
Programs: Cathay Marco Polo, AF/KLM, HH Diamond, SPG Gold, others
Posts: 4,481
Planning to stay at the Sheraton Jiuzhaigou next month. Any recent experiences? There was talk about the rooms being renovated; Completed or will we be in the middle of a renovation?
Jul 21, 2019, 10:48 am
#43
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 1999
Location: New York, NY, USA
Posts: 12,475
Any plan to reopen this resort? 