Ethnic Garden International Hotel

If you're coming to Hunchun, you absolutely *must* stay at the Minzu Garden International Hotel. It's incredibly beautiful and perfect for taking photos. Guests staying on the first floor can rent traditional costumes for free, and each one is clean and stunning. From check-in to check-out, the (domestic) staff were incredibly enthusiastic, helping us with our luggage. The breakfast spread was fantastic, with lots of Korean ethnic dishes like doenjang jjigae, tteok, and dolsot bibimbap. We stayed for two days, and the menu was different each day. The back of the hotel has a large garden villa area, which is the best spot for photos. The rooms are spacious, and they provide complimentary fruit, VC drinks, and snacks daily. They even gave us steam eye masks. They really think of everything to cater to guests' needs. We were originally very satisfied, but there was a minor incident. We didn't realize that some of the reception staff were from North Korea. My family saw a staff member wearing traditional clothing and thought she looked lovely, so they went up to take a photo. She immediately gave a cold glare and walked away, which startled us and made us feel very awkward. Later, a domestic staff member explained that they aren't allowed to be photographed. However, in the service industry, it's hard to avoid guests wanting to take pictures, especially since they perform in various places – piano, guzheng. This made us hesitant to even take out our phones to record anything later on, making us feel quite on edge. When you're on vacation and looking to relax and have fun, the presence of North Korean staff made the whole atmosphere less relaxed. We're not sure what the reasoning is, but as tourists, our experience wasn't great. Because of this, I can't give a perfect score. If they are always there, then we can only not understand but respect it.

The environment is great, parking is convenient, and the breakfast is especially good. There are many traditional Korean snacks like bibimbap, kimchi, and gimbap, all of which are incredibly delicious. Overall, it's fantastic!

The facilities are excellent and well-maintained, and the room layout is very practical! I even noticed some famous paintings and a beautiful mother-of-pearl lacquer cabinet in the lobby, all exquisite pieces! The service was also great; the front desk staff helped me call a taxi since the location is a bit out of the way. Although there weren't many guests, the breakfast spread was surprisingly generous, which I really appreciate!

The hotel is absolutely beautiful, especially the night view – it's stunning! The room was very spacious and large, and the bed was huge, a two-meter king-size, easily accommodating a family of three. We also received a welcome fruit platter and breakfast was included. We had a very comfortable stay.

I won't go into the positives. Now for the downsides: 1. The front desk staff seemed not to understand Chinese. My questions went unanswered, so I stopped asking. 2. This is a pretty significant issue: the water pressure is incredibly low. The bathtub is a good size, but the water flow is so weak that it takes a lot of patience to fill it high enough for a bath. The shower's water pressure is equally bad. To make matters worse, there's only one fixed showerhead high on the wall in a tiny shower stall. When it sprays, it douses the entire shower area. There's no circulation pipe, so it takes a long time for hot water to come out. Waiting inside for hot water is freezing. If you wait outside, the water sprays out when you open the door. The design is truly awful.

The environment feels clean and the location is excellent. The security and front desk service were great, with very helpful staff who assisted with luggage. The North Korean staff were very diligent. It's a pity I didn't get to try authentic North Korean cuisine, nor did I see any song and dance performances; they didn't seem to promote them. The villa room was super spacious and the price was very good. The only downside was that carrying large luggage was a bit tiring due to the many steps. Also, the light switch in the room was only by the entrance, with no parallel switch by the bed, which I found a bit odd. I had to get out of bed to turn off the lights by the door and then grope my way back to bed.