Blossom House Beijing Houhai

We thoroughly enjoyed our stay. We were in Beijing for a 10 days family vacation. I took a chance and booked us a location that was off the touristy spot where all the big hotels were - so glad I did - VUE is a hidden gem. We took to walking around the Hutong neighborhoods right away, my father loved his morning walks in Houhai Park which was right behind the hotel. Beijing is big and hectic, being able to return to tranquil and peaceful hotel after a days outing was very enjoyable. The rooms were roomy, clean and unique in design, I especially loved our big bathroom. We loved our breakfast buffet every morning at the Pink Rabbit which served western and eastern flavors. Car service was easily arranged with front desk in advance. Any questions about getting in or around the city was efficiently answered. VUE is very well managed property, where paying attention to their guest is a top priority. Thank you for taking care of us. PS - your staff was outstanding.

Hotel staff was very helpful especially mister Melo. Hotel breakfast can be improved.

This property is close to the center of actions. It is somewhat hard to get to during the peak hours of the day when the street is packed with tourists and the streets are narrow. It is nice that it is adjacent to the Houhai park. It is difficult to call a taxi.

Three stars is an average but don’t be fooled into thinking this place might be average, it’s not...

We spent the first three of our five days at The Vue feeling a weird disconnect with the place before realising why.

The pluses - this is a very well-designed place with lots of trendy tech touches. The light and sound proofing means one could sleep for days without realising there was an outside world, let alone that it might be sunny. L’Occitane is the bathroom brand of choice, the towels are luxuriously thick, the bedding is like sleeping on clouds and the two free daily bottles of water are from a Tibetan spring. All very very nice indeed.

The negatives - our irritation at the girl who checked us in whilst giving 49% of her attention to her phone, the very pricey Pink Rabbit Restaurant and Moon Bar where the service is of a tremendous effort but doesn’t quite ‘hit the spot’ and the cafe staff who leave the place (and customers) unattended to go out for a cigarette break. Normal life in the surrounding peaceful Hutong is an uncomfortably jarring million miles away from the £3 croissants and piped chilled-club tunes of The Vue.

And that’s the disconnect with the place - touring westerners are probably not the target market. I think thye target market here is the Chinese nouveaux-riches. Would I stay here again - as a western tourist traveller, probably not. It is a fantastic hotel but sticks out like a sore thumb in its locality and is comparatively poorly connected

The Check in was easy, once we found the lobby. When you enter go just past the café and turn right, its at the end of the hall. Some of the staff spoke English, all were really friendly. I made the mistake of going the first two weeks of March. This is when China has its two sessions government conference. Traffic was crazy, it takes twice as long to get anywhere in Beijing. The local area of the VUE is truly amazing, The hutong is well worth the time to wander. Out the front and down the road to the left is a little corner fruit stand. The owners are really nice and the fruit was delicious. If you are into walking, there are many small eateries in the area. From the front door turn right and walk about 5-7 minutes there are several places to eat. If you talk to the security guy in the front lobby, he can show you how to weave through the buildings and come out the back of the hotel right on Houhai Lake. It is a nice lake with a concrete sidewalk around the perimeter. The pedal boats were closed when I was there because it was still too cold. I have heard that this is a fun expedition to undertake. The people around the hotel were extremely friendly and cheerful. Very laid back atmosphere and quite different from the hustle and bustle that I normally see in Beijing.