2/10
Arrived at the hotel to be told they had no knowledge of our reservation and even if they did they would not allow us to stay there as they have “never accepted foreign guests, even before COVID”.
Day 1 - Thanks to one of our friends who was able to speak Chinese fluently and after several calls to Hotels.com, we were eventually allowed to check-in. Reception took a picture of every single page in our passports (even the unused ones), our travel codes and our 48H negative COVID test results – standard procedure for hotel check-in right now. I have no idea what the initial issue was.
Day 2 - Hotel staff came to our room at 11pm demanding to see our passports again and asking for a COVID test from that very day. A new COVID test was something they had not asked us to do so I did not have this which they were unhappy about. Generally, it’s required for check-in and that’s it unless otherwise communicated. At that time of night, this was not a pleasant experience.
The rooms were clean enough and warm given the temperatures outside. Shower was cold for the first day and a half, it also leaked from the bottom making the bathmat redundant and the bathroom a giant puddle. Paper cups for tea and coffee (due to the pandemic I assume) which is fine, but they weren’t replaced after the second day. FYI - thin walls, could very clearly hear neighbors, um, being intimate.
I’ve had a few questionable Ibis experiences in the past and this sealed the deal – I’ll never use Ibis again.
Roberto
Estada de 4 nits (gen. 2022)