Standard 5-bedroom hotel for rent in Yixing Bamboo Sea/Taozu Sacred Realm Scenic Area | Yixing Bamboo Sea Memory Boutique Homestay

Location: Not the best, but acceptable; 20-minute walk to the entrance of the Bamboo Sea Scenic Area. Room Service: Terrible. Disposable slippers, bottled water, towels for showering and washing, and non-slip mats were all missing. The standards for guesthouses were extremely poor. Service: The landlady was very friendly, but the owner had a stern and unfriendly demeanor. Regarding many unlisted charges: Room rates are clearly marked, but other charges are not and are not disclosed in advance. We ate three meals without being allowed to order; the landlady said it was farm-style food and we had to choose our own. One lunch cost 700 yuan, with almost no meat, just a small braised chicken and mostly vegetarian dishes. We asked for 1.2-liter Coke and Sprite, which the landlady gave us, but the final charge was 50 yuan for two drinks – shocking! The second day's meal cost 600 yuan, and the dishes were more normal, including the chicken soup, braised fish, and beef that a farm-style restaurant should have – none of these were available yesterday… I don't know how they set such a price. Oh, and we brought our own food for one meal. Before checking in, we asked the landlady if we could use the kitchen, and she said yes. We used the kitchen to cook two vegetarian dishes; the rest of the meat dishes were brought by ourselves. We also ordered a special black glutinous rice dish. The landlady charged us 140 yuan at checkout: 100 yuan for the kitchen use and 40 yuan for the black glutinous rice. These prices were clearly marked for everyone, because the landlady calculated these prices separately from me when I paid afterwards; she hadn't mentioned the prices beforehand. Breakfast was clearly priced and mentioned in advance by the landlady; it was 10 yuan per person, including a solid steamed bun, an egg, white porridge, pickled vegetables, and fermented bean curd. All expenses were settled at checkout. Apart from breakfast, which the landlady clearly stated in advance, there were no other prices displayed. Overall, a very poor experience. We were originally planning to come back to the guesthouse next spring to dig for bamboo shoots, but now, even if we do come next year, we'll definitely find another place. It was such a rip-off.