Grateful for a Wonderful Trip to China
China
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Sep 7 - Sep 20, 2025
We thoroughly enjoyed our trip and would confidently rate it an 8 out of 10—truly amazing. It exceeded our expectations and left us with many wonderful memories. Below, we’ve outlined both the highlights and constructive suggestions, organized by location:
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🌍 Overall
Positives:
- The activities were engaging and well-suited to our interests.
- The itinerary offered a great balance—enough planned experiences during the day while still allowing time to explore independently.
- Almost all guides sent us a welcome message before meeting us, including a few key details that made us feel reassured and well-prepared.
Constructive:
- The agency could have provided a list of optional activities for our free time or instructed the guides to offer suggestions. We were the ones initiating questions about recommended places, shows, or things to do.
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🏯 Beijing
Positives:
- Our guide respected our personal space, allowing us to enjoy meals alone. He even gave us a small gift at the end of our time together, which was a thoughtful touch.
Constructive:
- We felt the guide could have shared more explanations and interesting facts during the visits. His English was limited, and although we initially gave him a good score, in comparison to other guides, we realized we may have missed out on important information.
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🏮 Xi’an
Positives:
- We had a wonderful experience with our guide, Susan. From the moment we met her, she greeted us with contagious positive energy and genuine warmth. Her passion for the job was evident in the way she shared fascinating and unique historical facts throughout the tour. Susan consistently found the best vantage points for us to view each site, ensuring we were always perfectly positioned to take in the beauty and significance of every location. She also offered us a goodbye present, which was a very kind gesture.
Constructive:
- We were disappointed with the hotel and its service. The staff didn’t speak English and made no effort to communicate. Thankfully, our guide was there to assist; otherwise, we would have struggled.
- For example, when I asked about the laundry service, a receptionist pointed me to another guest, who, despite not speaking English, kindly walked me to the laundry area.
- The room had a strong tobacco smell, even though it was supposed to be a non-smoking hotel.
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🐼 Chengdu
Positives:
- Our guide was extremely efficient. When, apparently, the hotel had only one night booked and we had an issue with the car, she immediately took action—even though it was already late in the evening. Her english was impressive.
- The hotel was amazing and very well located. The breakfast was immense and of extremely good quality.
Constructive:
- The car provided did not meet the luxury standards promised in our package. However, this issue was also handled efficiently.
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🏞️ Guilin & Yangshuo
Positives:
- The hotel was outstanding—breathtaking views, incredibly friendly staff, well-thought-out amenities, delicious food, and a warm farewell gift of fruit and biscuits. Truly 5-star service. We loved it and hold it very dearly.
- Our guide was very passionate about his job. He constantly shared insights about the places we visited and offered local treats like fruits and juices. He also introduced us to an amazing coffee shop, which we loved—especially since we’re coffee enthusiasts. We appreciated the agency’s thoughtful gesture of offering us coffee, which truly felt like home.
Constructive:
- During the river cruise, we were not placed in the premium area despite having selected a luxury package. We were left wondering why our tickets didn’t reflect that.
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🏙️ Shanghai
Positives:
- The hotel room was comfortable, with a good bed and a spacious bathroom.
Constructive:
- Upon arrival at the airport, we were greeted by someone other than our assigned guide. While this person was very friendly and engaging, we would have appreciated being informed in advance that our guide wouldn’t be meeting us.
- We were told by this person about the meeting time for the following day. Had we been in contact with our guide earlier, we might have opted to start the day sooner.
- I tried to contact our guide via WeChat, but he didn’t accept the invitation until we actually met.
- We didn’t feel the hotel met 5-star luxury standards. The breakfast staff seemed disengaged, and the food on the first morning appeared stale and lacked quality.
- The location wasn’t ideal—we had to walk about 30 minutes to reach the Bund.
That being said, although we’re pointing out a few less positive aspects, we absolutely loved visiting China — it truly surpassed our expectations, and everything ran so smoothly. The way the platform works made us feel reassured throughout, and Carol’s responsiveness was outstanding. We are seriously considering using KimKim for all our future travels.
Thank you again!
Hotel Reviews
Four Seasons Hotel Beijing was our favorite. The service was outstanding, the facilities were top-notch, and the staff was incredibly kind. Overall, everything about the hotel stood out, and it was a fantastic start to our trip.
The Yangshuo Jora Luxury Hotel was amazing. It had excellent amenities, and the view from our room was breathtaking. The pool was great, and the staff was attentive. However, for breakfast, there could have been more European options; it mostly featured local Chinese breakfast, which was good but limited in variety.
Wyndham Grand Xian South did not live up to our expectations. The language barrier was a significant issue as most staff did not speak English, making communication very difficult. Additionally, there was an unpleasant smoky smell in the room, which was quite off-putting.
The Yangtze Boutique Shanghai didn't quite meet our expectations. While the staff was pleasant, there was a noticeable lack of attentiveness, especially during breakfast, where the staff seemed a bit disengaged. The location wasn't ideal for our plans, which was somewhat inconvenient, especially towards the end of our trip.
