The first impression is a 8th wonder of the world. The whole place is just exclusive, at anytime there can only be 100 guests in the resort. The Great Wall is like 10 min walk away and u literally r staying next to it. Going up the Wall, standing out alone overlooking the great plain is so humbling. It is so so serene that U r not jostling with ppl or U get to hear the rumbling of car sound.

But the service is a pure letdown. They ran out of TsingTao beer for 2 nights and only 1 Chinese menu to go round the whole restaurant. We later found out that.the waitress was just too lazy to go down to get more menus.

The place is really secluded from town, so dun hope for shopping or any night life. The food is totally uninteresting and below the std of a 3 star Beijing hotel.

The reviews on tripadvisor are very mixed - this is a "love it or loathe it" kind of place. I loved it.

The drive from Beijing airport at 11pm was extraordinary. Three lanes of trucks travelling at 20kmh the whole way! I was too tired to be tired, just stunned at a traffic jam of trucks at midnight.... On the way back, by the way, the driver took a regular road, not the expressway, which was much faster. I suggest you ask the concierge to discuss your route with the driver first.

Check in was minimal, and my colleagues and I were driven to our villa.

The hotel consists of a collection of villas dotted around a valley, in open woodland. Each is different. And you'll spend a lot of time walking up or down slopes (or calling for a shuttle ride), as the "clubhouse" with restaurants, bar, etc, isn't necessarily that close. The villas are all architect-designed, and memorable, if not beautiful.

My room was a suite, well decorated, with a comfortable bed and linen, wireless internet that was free and worked quite well (the speed seemed to vary considerably though - I suspect the hotel's out of bandwidth), although no work desk. The bathroom was particularly good, large and well appointed, with a very comfortable bath for soaking. There was a kettle and tea, but only 3-in-1 coffee. Each day the plates of cookies and fruits were restocked, a classy touch.

The food ranged from good (the western menu) to excellent (the Chinese menu), and my wine-drinking friends were happy enough about the wine list. I was less impressed with the limited range of factory beers on offer.

The staff were very good. Some did not have good English, but always quickly found a colleague who did. Requests for business services were well handled. Service in the restaurants was good, and for most of the time a young American manager looked after us personally.

There are a few trails that lead off the roads within the estate, one of which leads to the Great Wall, which is... great! Obviously that's a box you need to check if you're here. There's little else to, though. Bring your own friends or family, and enjoy the mountains and forest.

I got the impression that the target market is very much wealthy Beijing families and expatriate weekenders; services for international visitors are less well thought through. You can't change money, for example (which led to a minor panic in the middle of the night when I needed renminbi to pay the taxi driver). There's no room service for jetlagged stomachs. And my office had called the concierge in advance to ask them to book a domestic train ticket for me, a fairly normal request for a good hotel, but they refused to help, and just introduced us to a local travel agent; we got the ticket, but with a great deal of hassle and unnecessary expense - would have been much better handled locally.

But overall, this is a unique hotel, well packaged, with pretty good service, and would be a welcome respite from Beijing life, or an interesting stop on a tourist itinerary.

Stayed here October 18 - 22 inclusive as part of a regional meeting.
Pros - The concept is brilliant, and the access to a remotely visited part of the Great Wall is a bonus.
The Cons - Service.
- 30 minute check in ...I was the only person there. It was already evident from here that language was going to be a problem. Very unusual for this to happen in expensive properties in China nowadays.
- 1am first morning (1.5 hours after getting to my room) a work gang arrived to repair water pipes.. screaming, banging and crashing next door to my room as they went about their job. 1.30am they left ( supposedly job done) but I had no water. 1.45am the hotel decides to move me to a new room 15 minutes by car from where I was originally (shows you the size of the place) and from our conference meeting room.
- Lack of English understanding by most levels of staff. As an example I was put through 4 different people to get an iron and ironing board. When it finally arrived the ironing surface had to be wiped down as it was covered in dirt.
- 36 hour laundry service although same day service advertised - two shirts put in for pressing only, came back 36 hours later after many phone calls. They did offer me a t-shirt to wear for my business meeting though! Even getting the staff to understand that my shirts were missing was a laborious task as their English was so poor.
- Two small bottles (200ml) of drinking water were provided initially.... although never replaced. I had to find the storage area myself.
- bathroom poorly cleaned.
- Fire doors ... bolted shut (illegal in most countries I presume).
- Conference equipment that did not work
- Food ...exactly the same courses in the Chinese buffet were served three days in a row had all in the group laughing - it had become a joke

This sounds like a rough review. As I mention the concept is brilliant - architecturally designed houses converted into units and rooms in a beautiful spot nearby the Great Wall.
I'm sure when Kempinsky managed the property it would have been wonderful ... as it would be if any professional hotel group managed it.
Unfortunately, the current management have let the property run down, and the staff, although meaning well, in most cases do not have a clue. A real shame as it offers so much.

I stayed one night here with 4 other friends. All of us were disappointed...

Since the location is quite remote (120km from town), we asked about airport transfer. The quotation: 2800 Yuan 2 limos oneway (1 for passengers, 1 for luggage). Taxi would cost about 200 Yuan (i.e. 400 Yuan for the same trip)! Rip off!

We had an entire house "Forest House" for our own. The rooms are small for a 5-star hotel. The living/dining area is huge, but if you are not with a bigger group as we are, you have to share it with strangers.

The architecture is nice but the construction is poor - cheap materials and poor maintenance. The wash basin of my bathroom was broken. The blinds didn't work properly. Floor was worn down....

The worst part was probably the service. Chamber maids came in to clean our house while we were still there. Only after our request they agreed to come later. Another time a gardener wanted to get water from our kitchen.

The restaurants are average with a high price tag.

The only positive thing is the Great Wall. But you don't have to spend 2000 Yuan a night to get access to it.