Gnopps

We are three persons arriving in Beijing on the 7:th of October, where we will spend four nights. Having read a lot at both Tripadvisor and Virtualtourist, and searched many sites, we've now booked a triple room at The China People's Palace Hotel for $82 per night.

We didn't find any reviews about this hotel though, so I thought perhaps FT can help?
Would anyone of you have a recommendation for the nicest hotel, with somewhat easy transportation to the tourist sites, where three people can share a room (two beds are enough) for less than $90 per night?

Any suggestions are most welcome! Thanks!

travelinmanS

Check out the Novotel near the forbidden city or the Holiday Inn near the Temple of Heaven or even the Nikko Jinglun on the Jianguomen avenue. These sometimes are all under $90.00.

I have never heard of the China People's Palace Hotel but I have been in China long enough to know that a hotel with a name like the "China People's Palace Hotel" is going to disappoint and will not be worth $90.00.

If you care to risk it the best way to get cheap rooms is just to show up at the airport and try and book a room from the Hotel's counter at the airport. It's risky and October is high season for Beijing but you might want to consider it.

moondog

I recommend the Hilton, the Rennaisance, and the newly renovated Kunlun. Regarding the latter, it is managed by Chinese (the Jinjiang Group, I think) so many people have a low opinion of it, but my colleagues are staying there right now I've had a chance to rate it myself and it really is a nice place now and is marginally better located (just inside 3rd ring rather than just outside) than the other two. None of these properties are near Tiananmen, but they are on 3rd ring, which I think is a big plus in terms of mobility (if you have any desire to visit points north or west, you will see what I mean). Furthermore, there are much better restaurants in the area.

Another decent option would be the Trader's, one of three Shangri-La properties that are clustered together in the CBD. It is also on 3rd ring, but has subway access.

Rack rate at all four of these hotels is well over $100, but all can be had in the $80 to $90 range if you can talk a good game and/or have access to corporate hook-ups (IBM, Goldman, Motorola, Cisco, UPS, etc.).

moondog

This is one of the most insightful comments I've read on FT in the past several months and I find it spot on.

I have nothing against hotels with names like that, in principle, but only when the rooms go for less than y400 a night.

I forgot to mention the Landmark, which is another property that gets my stamp (as long as I can get you my y480 rate). It is on the same plot as the Great Wall Sheraton. The rooms are small, but are also very comfortable.

Of the properties you mentioned, the Nikko is the only one I would seriously recommend to persons that have aspirations of seeing more of Beijing than the stuff in the middle of the city.

As you may have gleaned from my posts here and elsewhere, I have a strong locational bias, which should be taken into account. If you stay at any of the properties I mentioned aside from the Traders, you will need 30+ minutes to get to Tiananmen, Forbidden City, TOH, etc.

On that note, allow me to add one more hotel that is halfway in between, the Swissotel.

Gnopps

Thanks for all of the answers. I didn't manage to find any rates below $90 for any of the above mentioned hotels though. But I can probably get a triple room at the Novotel Xinqiao for CNY 830 per night. Or the New World Courtyard for CNY 550 per night.
Would there happen to be any good hotels perhaps a bit further away from the centre, but with good subway/taxi connections?

bobbrownson

http://www.asiahotels.com/ I would recommend the Beijing New World and the Beijing Landmark - both less than $90 and well located. The new World are actually apartments that would give you lots of room and comfort. Check it out on the AsiaHotels website and see guest comments.

bb

moondog

I would feel compelled to kick to the OP in the backside if he booked the Landmark for anywhere close to $90.

To the OP, the subway situation is terrible so take it off your radar.

Gnopps

I've cancelled my first reservation, thanks!

Instead I'm looking at the Red Wall hotel. A standard suite for three persons is $85 per night, or a deluxe room for all of us for $78. The location seems to be very good, not many reviews to be found. Would this hotel be ok with you ?

moondog

Well, it looks like a better find than the place you cancelled (I like the price, anyway). If not too much hassel, you might consider splitting your stay between there and someplace else, once you get your fill of the Forbidden City, the lakes, and TOH.

Gnopps

I even managed to find their homepage! Booked the standard suite with an extra bed for $85 per night, though we might change it to a deluxe room to save some money. Thanks for your advice!

http://www.redwallhotel.com/introuduce.html

Gnopps

We arrived at the Red Wall hotel and were checked in. I asked what kind of room was reserved for us and was told it was a suite (which was what we had booked).
The room we got was pretty small, not what I had expected from a suite (and I didn't have my hopes up). I checked the emergency plan on the door and saw that there were at least 8 rooms like mine on that floor. But according to the hotel brouchure in the room the hotel only had 3 suites! So I went down and asked another receptionist what room type my room was, suite was the answer. She could very little english, and my chinese was even worse, but eventually I managed to explain that I didn't think I had been given what I paid for and that I wanted a bigger room. Finally we got a bigger room, which simply was a pretty big room, nothing more. We stayed there three nights and then had a chinese friend negotiate a lower rate for a smaller room for us the last night since we didn't think the big room was worth any extra money.

Besides the feeling that we were decieved, the hotel was ok but I won't book it again. Has anyone else ahd similair experiences?

moondog

yeah, the experience you describe is fairly typical. but, i've had just as many good experiences with sight-unseen hotels as bad.

Bowgie

My wife and I are happy with Moondog's previous recommendations. We stayed one night at the Rosedale when we wanted a place very near the airtport. About $85, but there is really no reason to stay there unless one is arriving late and flying back out early.

When we had three consecutive days, we stayed at the Marco Polo in central Beijing. Unfortunately, it is beyond the $90 price range, but is still nice for its price, and convenient (two blocks aways) to a subway station.

Bowgie