Everything about this place is perfect. Food, nature, hiking are three big highlights. The host is lovely and makes some great food at a great price. Everything feels easy and seamless. Would 10/10 reccomend to anyone looking to explore the great wall in quieter but stunning sections and who wants a true authentic experience. Simatai, Gubeikou and Jinshanling are all unique and additional bonus of being close to the beautiful Gubei water town.

“Lovely Great Wall experience”

Convenient location, Japanese toilets and showers with amazing water pressure . The host provides you with clear hiking instructions and real time WeChat support, as well as coordinates all the transportation for you

friendly owner location close to the wall bathroom with heated toilet seat breakfast is nice comfortable beds

Best way to see the Great Wall of China. And best place to stay when doing so! Even from before arriving, we got some guidance and help to ensure that our stay was as good as possible. It felt so much like home and authentic stay as we’ve tried anywhere. Amazing effort from the lady running the hotel itself as well, with everything from guiding us but also the food she cooked! Wow! Highly recommend! Further, the owner even helped us plan drivers for both seeing the wall, but also our transport back to Beijing. Incredibly convenient, helpful and professional!

The host was friendly and the stay felt like home. Meals were delicious yet healthy. The environment was very lovely.

It was very nice as usual, the Host lady is very friendly and helps with everything you need! We had a great time and will definitely come back!

The manager of the hostel (Xiao Wei) is so so friendly it's unbelievable! I stayed here two years ago, and have now brought my partner and friend here because it's such a nice place to stay. She even remembered me and was extra friendly. Sadly, my friend had caught a stomach bug (not from here) and we couldn't go hiking the 2nd day - so she let us stay the whole day after we were meant to check out for free! The food she/ the cook makes is very filling and tasty traditional Chinese food (all vegetarian, but tasty). She gives you several choices of hikes, offers great advice, and sends you detailed photos of where to go to make sure you don't get lost. The place itself is just so nicely decorated, it's such a vibe and so clean and frankly spot-on. There's beautiful friendly cats to play with, but they don't go into the living spaces, kitchen, or dorms so no worries if you're allergic.

Friendly staff helping you with hiking the wall

Right next to the north gate entrance of the wall (5 minute walk), as well as a nearby small town with tasty restaurants and supermarkets, this hostel and our stay here was just absolutely perfect. Extremely friendly and attentive host lady who cooked us fabulous and very filling dinners and who was always happy to help and answer questions, organize transports etc. 3 lovely cuddly cats, great chats with fellow travelers at the dinner table and community area. It was a brilliant stay, everything was clean and the facilities in great condition and our private room very spacious and warm. Water pressure was great and its temperature boiling hot for those who enjoy a good burn :D Don’t do the mistake of only booking one night and arriving here late in the evening, then doing the wall bit the next day after checking out and then having to rush in order to get back to the hostel in time to pick up your stuff and to make the last train back to Beijing at 5.20pm, it’s just not worth the stress and this particular stretch of wall + the relaxed laid back vibe in the hostel are just too good to be rushed through. It really isn’t just a box ticking exercise. Book it, book at least 2 nights, lean back, have travel memories that will last you forever. Beijing is going to wait for you that extra night, don’t worry. We stayed here for four nights, hiked different bits of the wall and could have easily stayed longer if time would have allowed us to. Thank you box house, would stay here always and always again with absolute pleasure.

The host was so helpful and very resourceful. We had a great time with our children in this place. The food was also great. The location is the best. Thank you

“The perfect location to start one of the best hike I've ever done!”

Perfectly located hostel, very quiet and comfortable. You can get vegetarian dinner for 65¥, breakfast for 45¥ and it costs 20¥ to get there by cab from the train station. Free tap water but make sure to bring some snacks from Beijing. Very helpful staff who translates everything. The hike takes 4-6 hours and is absolutely stunning - would highly recommend it!

“Awesome place to stay next to Great Wall, staff is super friendly and helpful”

Everything

“The stay has been great: nice environment , warm stuff!”

Very cosy environment

“Feeling at home, in the country side of China”

The staff was amazing and super attentive. They spent hours helping me plan my transportation to the hotel, and also to the Great Wall in Jinshanling. They cooked delicious homemade food for me, which was nicely combined with the comfort of the house (and the nice cats). I hope I can stay there again! -- Since the information on the internet is limited for non-Chinese speakers, I have a bit of an advice here below. If you want a true hiking experience, I would recommend you to follow the Great Wall from Gubeikou all the way to Jinshanling, which can take several hours. The section is Gubeikou is a bit older and less preserved, but from Jinshanling, it gets high up in the mountains and impressively beautiful. If you want a less intense hike, I would recommend just taking a taxi to the Jinshanling Wall so that you can go straight to the well-preserved parts (it still requires climbing a couple of dozen meters + following the wall up and down). Jinshanling is still far from any crowds, so overall it's a peaceful experience with stunning views.

Super friendly and helpful staff!!! Very clean facilities! Only stayed for one night, which was a little rushed, slight mistake on my part.. Definitely recommend two or more nights here if you have time and want to explore that wall more. The sections of the wall this place is close to are amazing!!!!

“Incredible hospitality and a fatstatic little getaway for the perfect Great Wall hiking experience!”

I’ve travelled for 18 months and this is one of my best experiences. The whole place is like a little oasis nestled in a beautiful little village away from an other tourist spots. The lady there cooked the most incredible dinners for us each night and gave us perfect instructions to hike the Great Wall. The beds and facilities are top notch (including the amazing Japanese toilets and the cute cats). I can’t speak more highly of this place!! They are extremely helpful in giving directions to the property and organising a ride to the train station. 10/10.

The family style dining at dinner time- abundance of amazing home cooked food. Location- 5min walk to the great wall. 14km route over the wall and taxi back to hostel. Loved it. The staff- kind and friendly. Our kids felt comfortable and welcome. The room - warm comfortable and clean.

“We had a perfect stay to here to trek the Great Wall. The owners/staff were lovely and gave great tips. The food was”

Everything, the location, the owners, the cats, the food

“Amazing from A to Z”

The location is prefect for exploring the wall, the staff was beyond friendly and helpful, the dinner was incredibly fresh and tasty. I'll definitely go back in the future!

“The best place in china”

Absolutely perfect. Emaculately maintained, amazing staff and the most friendly cats. In a perfect location to explore the Great Wall away from crowds.