MIXED REVIEW — PLEASE READ IN FULL.
First, the positives: the location and price are excellent. It is a boutique-style hotel with a distinctive colour scheme and aesthetic, which is what initially attracted me from the photos. In person, some parts of the corridors, carpet and lift area looked a little faded, but nothing terrible. The hotel is inside a multi-purpose building and located on an upper floor. There is no food provided, which was completely fine for me because there are plenty of restaurants and convenience stores nearby. I stayed for two nights.
I initially had some trouble getting the air conditioning to work. One staff member was very kind and helpful. When I had trouble with it again later, another staff member came down to assist, which I appreciated, although her tone felt slightly condescending. The room decor itself was decent, but the rug was a little dusty and the room did not smell especially fresh. It was not bad, just not particularly fresh.
On my second day I joined a day tour offered through the hotel. I understand this was operated by a third party, but the tour itself was genuinely excellent. I had a fantastic time and would happily recommend that experience.
Unfortunately, the most serious issue happened at checkout.
One staff member had previously helped take some photos of me, which I genuinely appreciated, and she actually took them quite well. At checkout, she gave me a small gift bag and asked whether I would leave a positive review. I said yes, because at that point I was genuinely planning to write a positive and detailed review myself, including many photos.
However, while I had my phone open, she took the phone from me. Within a matter of seconds, she selected five stars across all categories, typed a very short positive review herself, and submitted it before I had approved or even properly seen what she had written.
I was extremely shocked.
The review said something along the lines of “intelligent lobby thoughtfully laid out,” which did not reflect what I personally wanted to write and did not meaningfully describe my stay.
What made this especially frustrating was that I had already told her I wanted to write a detailed review and upload photos. After she submitted it, I said I wanted to add many photos. Another staff member tried to help, but the main review had already been submitted. The first staff member also appeared to know that Trip.com generally does not allow guests simply to rewrite a submitted review.
This entire interaction happened in under ten seconds while she had my phone.
My issue is not that the hotel asked me to leave a positive review. I had already agreed to do that. My issue is that a staff member took control of my phone, selected the ratings herself, wrote the review herself, and submitted it in my name without my approval.
I contacted Trip.com immediately. Their customer service took the issue seriously, contacted the hotel, and the hotel subsequently apologised and acknowledged that a staff mistake had occurred. Trip.com also helped restore my ability to leave my own review, which I greatly appreciated.
I want to be fair: without this incident, I probably would have left a generally positive review with photos. The location is excellent, the price is very good, the hotel has a distinctive style, and the tour experience was fantastic.
But hotels should never take control of a guest’s review.
If a hotel provides genuinely good service, guests will naturally leave good reviews. A positive review written by the actual guest, in their own words, is far more valuable than a generic review submitted on their behalf.
So this was a mixed experience overall. There were things I genuinely liked, but the review incident left a very bad impression and undermined my trust in the hotel.
