Commune by the Great Wall

Stayed 2 nights at the Commune by the Great Wall, an Unbound Collection by Hyatt. The resort is spread over a big acres of land within the Shuiguan area, also a short proximity to the renowned Badaling Great Wall. You have to reach there by car or by DiDi as there is no public transport to reach the Commune. This is a resort for those who wish to spend quality time, to seek refuge and to relax. The resort was designed by 12 individual renowned architects, each reflecting their own taste and styles, clearly demonstrated in the Communal Home you are staying. Each Communal Home consists of 5-6 rooms where you share common spaces such as Living, Dining, Kitchen and Courtyard with other fellow travellers. You will still have your own room and private bathroom similar to any other hotels or resorts. With the Communal Home, you can access these public area / communal area where often it is under utilised which is great for us. The room is immaculately adorned with the furniture styles of the Communal Home you have selected. There is Cantilever House (Red House), Terrace House, Suitcase House, Bamboo Wall, Forest House etc. My Bamboo Wall room is a little small in my opinion. The bedding is on a Tatami Platform. Bathroom is too big and it takes up too much space for the bedroom. There are limited spaces for the suitcase as we travel from afar. There is also no hook for clothing in the bathroom, no hook for the hand towel which is quite strange given that it is quite luxurious. We bought the package which includes daily breakfast for 2 with Shuiguan Great Wall Ticket and a High Tea. There is an outdoor swimming pool within the hotel and a gym. The pool is only open for 3 months during the summer months, not sure why the restrictions even though it is not a heated pool. During my visit, day time was hot and the air temperature was around 26-28 degrees. Though the water temperature may be way cooler, but if the pool is opened, we will probably take a dip. The breakfast is either a la carte or buffet depending on the hotel's occupancy rate. We had lunch and dinner at the hotel as well and the food is very good though it is on the pricey side. To move around the resort, you will either walk (depending on the location of your accommodation), it can be far away from the restaurant or the reception. You can call them for a car pick up. The driver 小宋 is a great asset to the property, so as our Housekeeper 小李(李鸿建), he was very attentive and observatory. He saw we have many medicine and supplements in the room and he gave us extra water and left us a note. Great initiative! In short, it is a very memorable stay and a very good hideaway.

We stayed at this hotel with our whole family and friends to celebrate my birthday, and we had a wonderful experience. The service was excellent and very responsive. We asked for packed breakfasts to take on an early morning hike before breakfast time, and they gladly prepared them for us — a very thoughtful touch. The food overall was delicious, and the price for our villa stay was quite reasonable. Li, the hotel staff member who looked after us, was especially attentive and responded to all our requests quickly. The children’s area is great, with plenty to do, especially for kids over 3 or 4 years old, though there were still activities for younger children as well. The kids’ pool was nice, though we didn’t get a chance to try the adult pool. One downside was that the photographer included in our package wasn’t available during our stay — perhaps due to the holiday season — which was disappointing. In future, we would definitely book this service in advance. While booking, we also requested early check-in and late check-out since we were traveling with small children who needed a nap. Although the early check-in at 12 wasn’t possible, we appreciated that our room was ready at 1 instead of the usual 3 pm, which was very helpful. Overall, everything was very clean and new. We were very happy with our stay and would definitely come back!

Very enjoyable stay at Commune. Guest service was excellent from all the staff, especially attentive and great service from Olivier, Chen Yang, Kathy and Irene. Facility is well maintained.