"I booked this tent because I wanted my child to be able to play in the sand right outside.
First, the positives:
The room was unexpectedly spacious and clean, with new and tasteful furniture. Even though it's a tent, it felt very stable during windy nights.
The room's location was truly excellent. We stayed in room 1019, which was at the very end, with sand dunes right outside our door. Adults could sit at their tent entrance and watch their children dig and slide in the sand – it was very convenient and felt like a real vacation.
Although meals aren't provided, there's a BBQ and hotpot restaurant just over a small dune, open from 6-10 pm, which was good enough.
However, there were a few minor downsides:
There was no hot water at the sink. While I understand that conditions are limited in the desert, it was very uncomfortable to wash hands and face with icy cold water when the temperature was low, especially since my child needed to wash their hands frequently after playing in the sand. I suggest the hotel's vending machines sell some wet wipes.
When checking in, I asked the front desk if we needed to wear sand-proof shoe covers on the way to the tent, and the staff said no. This was completely misleading. There were many sections on the way where we had to walk through sand. Without shoe covers, sand definitely got into our shoes by the time we reached the tent.
Checking in required purchasing a ticket package for Yuesha Island. We didn't actually use any of the facilities on Yuesha Island. It would have been better if this cost was included in the room rate. Otherwise, if you don't look closely at the booking, you might not notice this fee. Ultimately, the value for money wasn't as good as Fusha. However, being able to play in the sand right outside was my core requirement, so I didn't fuss about the price. Frankly, with these conditions in the desert, I would have been fine paying over a thousand yuan a night. Splitting it into a room fee and a package fee just made the package feel not worth it.
Finally, when we returned to the tent at around 9 pm, we found the air conditioner was broken. With temperatures around 5-6 degrees Celsius, and my child having just returned from playing in the sand outside, the need for warmth was immense. We reported the AC issue to the housekeeper. Although they dealt with it immediately, it wasn't resolved until close to 10 or 11 pm. My child took a hot shower before the AC repair person arrived, and we were very nervous while drying him off, fearing he might get sick. After sleeping through the night, it still felt very cold in the tent in the morning. While the tent experience was fun, we really didn't dare to stay a second night. And the fact that the camp didn't offer any form of apology or comfort for the broken AC was disappointing. The next day, it was as if nothing had happened. In Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Shanghai, something like this would at least warrant a complimentary afternoon tea or something similar. Of course, later, when I slipped and fell at the Lotus Hotel and they also offered no acknowledgment, this incident with the AC seemed less significant in comparison. Perhaps this is just the level of service here.
Overall, without the AC issue, I would have given it five stars."