Commune by the Great Wall Kempinski, Beijing, China?

[cruisinred]

Is anyone familiar with this hotel outside of Beijing? Commune by the Great Wall Kempinski

It looks very unique and the LL auction package seems to be a great deal, but the hotel gets mixed reviews on tripadvisor. I'd love to hear some firsthand feedback from anyone who has been. Thanks

[jashermd]

Hi Cruisinred,

I haven't visited Commune myself but a friend who has done says that the experience depends a lot on which villa you end up in -- some are lovely and some suffer from an excess of form over function. She said that the See and Seen House had some issues with leaking and that the Airport House was cold and damp, but that she liked the peacefulness of the Bamboo Wall and enjoyed her stay in the Cantilever House. Here's the Commune website with more info on the different villas:

http://www.commune.com.cn/en

Cheers,
Julian

[claassenam]

This sounds like such an interesting experience, but I wonder how it plays out in real life? It sounds like, unless you rent an entire 4-6 bedroom villa to yourself, you run the risk of having to share a "private" villa with other guests, overlapping the living spaces and even the kitchen. This could be very awkward! However, the location and architecture appear to be fantastic. Having traveled to Beijing myself and seen the Great Wall from only the most touristed, overly-done location (Badaling) I would love to be able to explore the Wall from such a remote and private location. Although I would not recommend traveling to China for an extended stay at this location, this seems to be a good 2-3 night add-on to any trip to Beijing.