My Nexus Holiday - 1

Have you seen one of those ultra-cheap tour packages for Beijing and wondered what you really get for $99?
TL;DR? Although the trip is supported by excessively-long shopping sections, you can still be a winner in terms of value. The shopping sections can be a waste of time for some depending on how you value your time abroad.
Day 1
The hotel was a total pain to find. Beijing addresses still have a long way to go. It's rather inappropriate to have an address on the ring road when that chunk of land has been subdivided into little neighbourhoods, and the taxi drivers are themselves unsure of how to get there. Something like suburbs might also be useful, rather than huge districts that only give you a feel for which side of town you should be looking at.
Protip: look it up on Google Maps first. Leave the page open on your laptop in case you want to refer to it while underway.

The Maya Island Hotel
I have a few thoughts about this place. Mainly that it's a good try. Why is it a good try and not a success?

• Poor location in being in the middle of a business park with no metro station nearby.
• Poor build with some strange decisions made.
• Trying too hard with the theme rather than making the hotel work.

The staff were good. There was a lot of 'stuff' in the room for keeping - but I think some of these were replaced too often. One does not need new soap or slippers everyday. Bath lotion, shampoo, conditioner, moisturiser and a two-blade disposable razor with tube of shaving cream were notable extras. The shower/bath had some design flaws which meant that water pooled on the ledge and could not drain properly, making the floor wet.
Protip: sacrifice a small towel to act as a plug.
There's mention of saving the environment by indicating that you don't need towels replaced. To do this one is supposed to hang the towels on the towel rack. A towel rack is notably absent from the bathroom fitout. Black tea bags are absent from the table. There are only enough ingredients to make (sweet) black coffee.
The rest of the hotel seems under-utilised. The gym was not in use at the times I walked past. There's also some massage parlour and spa that seemed rather quiet. A restaurant on level two provided breakfast each day. Differences from day-to-day seemed to be on what was unavailable rather than what other dishes were added. Management seemed to be learning how best to fry eggs during the week and shifted from cooked-to-order to undercooked in a tray.

Still, not a bad deal when bundled in that package. Normally there'd be no reason to live in a hotel out that way though.