Haizhou Hotel in Tianjin

Is this a five-star hotel?

I stayed for less than 20 hours, and this is the first time I've ever had an argument with a hotel over food.

The room I booked through Ctrip included four business set meals. When I checked in, the hotel asked when I wanted to use them, and I made a dinner reservation.

I went downstairs for dinner at 5:30 PM, and entered the Chinese restaurant at 5:40 PM. They first told me about the business set meals, which arrived quickly, all in less than 10 minutes.

Since I'm on vacation, I figured I should spend money, so I ordered five stir-fried dishes. The staff didn't seem to care about the customers, asking if five dishes were too many, and if the restaurant had other banquets that day, like graduation celebrations or baby showers, which might delay the service.

The final menu receipt showed a serving time of 5:55 PM. After the five of us finished the four business set meals, we waited until 6:30 PM to contact the waiter about when the food would arrive, only to be told it was already in the pot.

Coincidentally, it turned out that the kitchen was only a short walk from the table, but with at least three chefs, they couldn't even make a stir-fried lettuce in 40 minutes. The question was about side dishes. Does preparing lettuce take 40 minutes?

Of the five dishes ordered, only three were served. The front desk said the manager wasn't there. When I went into the kitchen, the manager appeared. Instead of resolving the issue, the manager called out the vice president (whose position I only learned the next day when I was asked). The vice president touched the bowl I handed him and said, "Let me heat it up for you." In the end, almost an hour passed and only three of the five dishes were served; the other two were cancelled. The front desk paid 100 yuan (original price 28 + 68 + 48).

---------------------- The next morning, the child and elders went downstairs for breakfast around 7 am. The Western restaurant front desk insisted that only two people could enter with one room card. After the elders tried to reason with them, the front desk reluctantly allowed them to go in first. The child was too scared to go in and had to ask their parents for help. When the parents arrived at the front desk, they used a different card. The front desk staff still argued and allowed them to go in first. Although the child went in, they had no appetite (I asked them later, and they said the breakfast was a mess and they didn't want to eat). When the parents asked the duty manager at the front desk to come out and explain, a staff member named Yin*bo jumped out, claiming to be the duty manager (later identified as the security manager), and yelled "Mancha!" with a menacing face. The parents refused to communicate with him, but he kept pestering them. After communicating with the front desk, they were told that the manager wouldn't arrive at the hotel until 8:30. So the parents went back to their room to wait, but by 8:37, no staff member had contacted them. The parents went to the front desk again, only to be told that the manager hadn't arrived yet and they didn't know when. Only after the parents insisted on a specific time (because they needed to check out around 9:00) did they learn that the manager would arrive in 5 minutes. Then, a so-called vice president came out and made excuses, saying he had never stayed in a hotel with such service before, especially a five-star hotel. (The front desk staff couldn't even speak basic English.)


---------------------- This hotel might have guests just because of its location. A hotel advertised as five-star can only charge 300-500 RMB per night. Shouldn't they reflect on themselves? In an environment where service is paramount, are all mistakes really the fault of the hotel guests? Is that reasonable? Yes, it is. You don't deserve to be a five-star hotel.