Jardin Secret

The rooms in this hotel aren't fantastic, but they're not bad either. Breakfast is OK, but quickly becomes boring. It was a tossup whether there would be hot water in the shower. Regardless, the place is not ready for international guests. What little English they provide is sloppy and amateurish, and when there are discrepancies between it and the Chinese, they don't take responsibility for their English and insist that what the Chinese says is correct. That's fine for a domestic hotel, but not if you are dealing with international guests. In English, for example, the in-room oxygen machine costs RMB150 for a 24 hour period from 12:00 to 12:00. I used it twice during a 24-hour period from 12:00 AM to 12:00 AM, but was presented with a bill for RMB180. When I pointed out the discrepancy, I was told that the Chinese says 12:00 noon to 12:00 noon, and charges are calculated according to the Chinese. The woman behind the counter did not care that the English was misleading or admit any fault in the misunderstanding; she insisted on the extra RMB30. (I was speaking through an interpreter, so there was no misunderstanding in the conversation.) It was a minor amount, and my bus was waiting, so I paid and left, but it still rankles me, first, because management refused to take responsibility for the misunderstanding or even admit there was a problem, and second, because they decided an extra RMB30 was more valuable than goodwill and reputation. Sloppy is bad enough, and combined with pigheadedness and pettiness...well, who needs that kind of attitude? There are better, more competent and more professional places to stay, where they won't trade your future business for the price of a beer.

A group of 15 of us stayed at Lhasa Jardin Hotel for two nights on 5th and 6th June and again on 8th June 2018. On arrival around 1230 hrs on the 5th, we were welcomed by young ladies who garlanded us with silky white shawls around our necks as is the Tibetan custom of welcome. We sat in the well decorated lobby and enjoyed its ambience while our tour guide checked us in. Our luggage was brought to our rooms on the second floor. The room was pleasant, clean and large, with a king size bed, a small writing desk and a sofa, TV, kettle and complimentary tea/coffee and two bottles of water. The bathroom was sparkling white and clean with a shower and a bathtub. The towels were white and clean too. I saw my first oxygen machine that caters to those who found it difficult to breathe due to the 12000 ft high altitude in Lhasa. There is a little supermarket about 30 metres down the road where you could get your basic requirements including beer and spirits. Since nobody at the reception could speak English, we could only communicate with gestures and a few words. The staff, even with this limitation, were very accommodating and tried hard to please and assist their guests. They would at times ask you to type your needs into their mobile phones. Their app would then translate your requirements! Quite ingenious!! Perhaps the management could consider providing at least one person who could speak some English to the reception team so that the guests would feel more welcome! The breakfast was very good with a wide spread of Asian and western dishes. We could get omelettes, fried or boiled eggs, cold cuts, a wide variety of fruits, pastries and breads, toasts, bacon, sausages as well as a spread of Chinese / Tibetan veggies and dishes. Breakfast was good!! All in all, our stay at Lhasa Jardin Hotel was pleasant and enjoyable.

We were hampered by the hotel staff's complete ignorance of English. Even a question such as "How many rooms in this hotel?" was not understood. My guess is 125. A city hotel with no view or swimming pool or anything of the sort. Large public areas. Spacious rooms. Bottled water and tea-bags complimentary, but no spoons or sugar ! A fairly good breakfast spread. With so many non-Chinese tourists visiting Lhasa, the hotel star-rating should take into account some knowledge of English or any other European language on the part of the front-line staff. Travellers should well remember that one has to carry his bags for about half a kilo-meter or more without any porter assistance or baggage trolley in order to enter the train station. This is a common disadvantage at all the train stations in China. Excessive security consciousness. At the Lhasa station, a toilet spray that I had carried in two Chinese flights was confiscated !