Here is a much tighter version that keeps the strongest facts and emotional impact while removing repetition:
★ 1/5 — We came for a holiday. We spent three days feeling watched and unwanted.
We chose DoubleTree by Hilton because we trusted the Hilton name and wanted to spend our limited holiday somewhere memorable and genuinely pet-friendly. Instead, we spent three days stressed, watched and made to feel that our dogs — and therefore we — were not welcome. We left genuinely sad that precious holiday time had been exchanged for stress and unhappiness.
Before booking, we called twice to confirm the pet policy. First, we were told we could choose any room and pay a RMB 300 pet cleaning fee. On the second call, another employee contradicted this. After calls were hung up on us twice while trying to communicate in English, a staff member eventually contacted us through WeChat and confirmed in writing that we could book and pay the RMB 300 fee.
When we arrived, the rules changed again. Only after showing staff their own WeChat messages and watching them argue among themselves did they finally proceed.
We provided vaccination and registration documents, signed the pet agreement, paid the fee and even allowed staff to photograph our dogs.
We then completed check-in, left our belongings and went out for dinner.
While we were already away from the hotel, they called saying they wanted to refuse our stay because of our dogs.
First they were supposedly “aggressive.” When we explained they had shown zero aggression, we were told they “looked aggressive.” Then they were supposedly too large. Their own definition was over 30 kg, while our documentation showed 28 kg.
Our dogs are professionally trained, have training certificates and regularly work as models for pet products. Most importantly, there was not one aggressive incident during the entire stay. Nobody even tried to observe their real temperament before judging them.
Even the employee carrying our luggage wanted to photograph them again to report them as aggressive dogs. We refused. They were simply being judged because they were Dobermans.
After a long argument, the hotel finally allowed us to remain. We tried to forget the situation and enjoy our holiday.
Instead, the constant surveillance began.
We followed the hotel’s rules and used the isolated designated pet grass area, far away from other guests. Yet staff who spotted us from a long distance would walk over, follow us, film or photograph us, report us to management and trigger further phone calls about our supposedly “aggressive” dogs.
This happened repeatedly with different employees. We felt constantly monitored, as if staff were waiting for an excuse to complain about us.
The hotel’s attitude toward animals also contradicted its pet-friendly image. On a very hot day, we noticed animals in the hotel area exposed to the heat without water and appearing overheated. We contacted the hotel. Two hours later, nothing had been done. We had to call and message repeatedly before anyone even agreed to check.
General service was equally disappointing. Basic requests required repeated calls and long waits. Our first room remained around 21°C even with the AC switched off or set as high as 30°C. I woke around 2 a.m. because I was so cold and we eventually had to change rooms.
The replacement was supposedly another pet-friendly room, directly next door, yet its garden access was locked and it lacked the protective pet sofa cover provided in the previous room. We called three times over more than two hours asking for one because we did not want our dogs dirtying the furniture. Eventually someone arrived — with a sofa pillow.
The Western breakfast was also disappointing for this level of hotel. The Chinese selection was reasonable, but the bread and pastries were poor quality.
Eventually I had enough and confronted the manager.
Instead of addressing his staff’s behavior, he defended it because our dogs are Dobermans. Whe
