In January, I stayed at the Wanjia International Hotel for over a week, then extended my visit because I was enjoying the accommodations so much. At the time, I was making it my go-to hotel whenever I visited Xiamen. However, this most recent visit was dramatically different from my previous experience, and unfortunately, not for the better.
The service had seriously declined. While I was in the middle of checking in, the clerk abruptly stopped assisting me to help another man who had simply walked up and started speaking Chinese over what I was saying. Rather than politely asking the man to wait until he finished helping me, the clerk immediately shifted his attention to the new guest. It wasn't until I spoke up and explained that I had arrived first and didn't want to wait — especially after just getting off a 10-hour train ride — that he acknowledged me again. Since no one on staff spoke English, I had to rely on a translation app to communicate throughout the exchange. This experience felt biased and unprofessional, particularly since there was another staff member present who could have stepped in to help the second guest instead. To make matters worse, my room wasn't even ready at that point, though I was eventually upgraded to another room.
The frustrations didn't end there. Although the hotel does have delivery robots for room service, there was a delay of almost an hour after my meal had already been delivered to the front desk. Instead of stepping in to help resolve the issue, one staff member simply laughed at the situation. Meanwhile, my food sat at the desk getting cold, and he apparently found the whole thing amusing rather than treating it as a legitimate service failure.
I've since found a better, more hospitable hotel to be my go-to choice for future Xiamen visits. I am done with the Wanjia International Hotel.
It's also worth noting that despite branding itself as an "international" hotel, no staff members I encountered spoke any language other than Chinese — a significant shortcoming for a property marketing itself to international travelers.
