Element Chongli

We spent four nights here over Christmas. The bed was comfortable and the room was fine, though it didn't feel as luxurious as other Westin Hotels. The gym and warm pool on the ground floor were good enough, but I couldn't find any staff or lifeguard in the swimming area on either of the two nights I went. I had to walk all the way to the main entrance reception for a locker key, which was a cold trek through the hotel. The pool runs from 0700 to 2200, despite the Marriott app and website saying it was open 24 hours. Getting around was easy if you're headed to the Ski Park, just a three-minute walk away, but Thaiwoo town is far from Chongli town. A taxi takes about 30 minutes and costs around CNY50 for the 25km trip. There was no shuttle or bus for guests. The shuttle was for staff only, and guests weren't allowed on it. At reception there was no welcome drink or coffee, even though the website and app mentioned lobby coffee. They wouldn't even give us a cup of hot water. It was -10C outside, and we arrived wearing just one layer, so waiting to check in was really cold. Food options were limited. The restaurant, where breakfast is served, had only eight choices at reasonable prices, and lunch closed at 2pm. If you arrive late, there's no 24-hour food. Breakfast was okay, with basic things like noodles, eggs, bread, salad and congee, but not much variety and the selection stayed the same each day. The other food option was the lobby bar. There was no food room service, so you had to go down to the ground-floor restaurant. Housekeeping was very careless. I got a sanitation bag on the first night but none for the remaining three. Tea bags weren't replaced on nights two and four, and bottled water wasn't replenished on night three. The shower towel wasn't changed on night two even though we left it on the table, and there was no shower towel at all on night three. Hotel guests get 40% off gear rental. We rented a snowboard at the hotel but had to return it at the Ski Park, and nobody told us. We left the gear in a locker at the park and asked staff if they could call the park, but she said she didn't have its phone number and didn't even try to look it up online. We had to walk back to return the gear in -20C weather.

The location was convenient and the price was pretty good. My breakfast was simple, but fine for a casual meal. As a Marriott Titanium Elite member, I was upgraded to a suite, but it had no balcony, so I chose a basic room with one instead. It was spacious enough and had a microwave and refrigerator.