Villa Qinran is a stunning, hidden gem located approximately one mile from the shuttle buses and ticket office of the Mutianyu Great Wall. The staff are on call all day to help and help they do, especially Yue.
The villa has a shared kitchen dining and lounge area. As I travelled in the off season neither the pool or hot springs were full.
Additionally as I planned a sunrise hike of the wall and subsequently missed breakfast the staff went above and beyond to package up my breakfast so it was waiting still warm upon my return!
We stayed 3 nights in a family room at Qihu Hotel. The room was very spacious and came with thoughtful kids’ amenities, which was a nice touch. Since it was the low-peak season, the hotel felt quiet and serene - we practically had the swimming pool and indoor playground all to ourselves.
Service was generally excellent, with special mention to Toby, the restaurant manager, who was extremely helpful and friendly. The only letdown was the breakfast. The spread was mediocre, and the selection remained almost the same throughout our stay. This was disappointing, especially since we were looking forward to a good breakfast experience, given that the nightly rates are comparable to some 5-star international hotels chains in Beijing.
The hotel’s environment is beautiful, with stunning views of Yanqi Lake. Overall, I’d still recommend Qihu Hotel, especially if you’re planning to stay in the Huairou area.
The hotel has a nice concept or safari theme but somewhat under delivered. The pictures were nice but I think these are old pictures as it definitely needs upkeep or we think due for renovation and cleanliness of the surrounding needs more manpower. Pool is questionable and not inviting.
Plus side: Very close to the great wall you can literally walk about 1km away to the gate. And the nearby grocery is a cheap way to buy local gifts to bring home. However you are far from the main Beijing City as in more than 1 hour by taxi and 2 hours if you get caught in the rush hour of beijing cost which cost about US$20 one way.
The room is clean, big and decent for the price but really needs repair and I really question the security of the door as it was no secondary lock. The hot water is plenty, aircon is nice, internet is ok, soap is great.
Service: They are family run I think 3 or 4 people, they try to accommodate but unlike other hotels in China, they don't try to utilize tech to translate. I understand they are kinda old.
They don't automatically make up the room even though we stayed for 3 nights. so our garbage filed up. But we are ok with it.
They were waiting even though we arrived at 2am which we appreciated. And the iced coffee is nice.
Bad: Food maybe it is not our preferred taste. It is definitely not a buffet and we only eat once. You have alternative restaurants across the street or in the Great Wall commercial area but it is expensive.
So will we recommend it, maybe.
Yes, if you want a quiet place to unwind and want to explore the great wall for more than a day.
no, if you want to explore beijing, it is far from the city and conscious of cleanliness and upkeep.