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Beijing General Discussion Thread (Where should I stay? Which hotel is better? etc.)

Beijing General Discussion Thread (Where should I stay? Which hotel is better? etc.)

 
Old Jul 31, 2006, 5:20 am
  #61  
 
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Originally Posted by Fly Me To The Moon
Views?? You must be talking about the Towers Lounge. The Executive Lounge for Platinum members at the Sheraton Hong Kong doesn't even have windows, I think.
you are right.I here the regular lounge is awful but have never been in it.
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Old Sep 11, 2006, 5:06 pm
  #62  
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Originally Posted by Fly Me To The Moon
Just stayed at the St. Regis Beijing for 1 night. Got a cheapo rate of RMB 1,300/night for an "accessible room" whereas the prevailing rate was closer to RMB 2,000/night. Upon arrival, got upgraded to a suite because of my Platinum status. I was informed that the Executive Lounge is only open from 10am - 10pm (so no breakfast). And, breakfast is not comped for Platinums in the restaurant. I'm not sure whether this is only the "summer hours" during the slow season, or whether it is always like this.
How did you get such a good rate? Directly through Starwood or from some discount hotel site? And if the latter, did you still get Starwood points?
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Old Sep 11, 2006, 6:34 pm
  #63  
 
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Originally Posted by Thunderroad
How did you get such a good rate? Directly through Starwood or from some discount hotel site? And if the latter, did you still get Starwood points?
I got this rate directly through www.spg.com. Sometimes it shows up, sometimes it doesn't. You will have sort through the rates from lowest to highest, and if you see this rate, then book it! Yes, still got StarPoints, Platinum amenity, upgrade, etc.
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Old Mar 21, 2007, 12:59 pm
  #64  
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Arrow Beijing: Westin Financial St. vs. Great Wall Sheraton (Master Thread)

I've done a search and haven't found a direct comparison of the Westin and the Sheraton Great Wall in Beijing. I know the St. Regis is a better "tourist" location, but I can't justify the difference in cost. How off the beaten path is the Westin in the Financial district? I've read that once the Westin worked out the opening kinks it's a nice place to stay but I've also read that Beijing traffic is a killer. Any suggestions, comments, reviews would be appreciated. Thanks

Last edited by wma; Mar 22, 2007 at 6:16 am
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Old Mar 21, 2007, 7:55 pm
  #65  
 
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From my experience last week I would say the Westin is in a better location for tourists as you can walk to either subway stop and for less than .50 cents get anywhere within central Beijing.. including the bus stop that takes you out to the great wall of China. It is however not within walking distance of any of the major sites unless you think a few miles is walking distance The great wall location however is a taxi drive to everything except for the few bars that many of the expats and tourists visit such as Hard Rock and Durty Nellie's.. so if fun bars are your goal of touring then great wall is better..

Let me know if you have any other questions I can try to help you with as I was just in Beijing last week and definitely enjoyed my room and the lounge at the Westin.. The spa is also supposed to open on the 22nd which will be a great addition to this hotel.
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Old Mar 21, 2007, 8:19 pm
  #66  
 
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Originally Posted by wma
I've done a search and haven't found a direct comparison of the Westin and the Sheraton Great Wall in Beijing. I know the St. Regis is a better "tourist" location, but I can't justify the difference in cost. How bad is the Westin in the Financial district. I've read that once the Westin worked out the opening kinks it's a nice place to stay but I've also read that Beijing traffic is a killer. Any suggestions, comments, reviews would be appreciated. Thanks
Westin!!!!!!

Sheraton is a very old hotel
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Old Mar 21, 2007, 8:37 pm
  #67  
 
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Stayed at Westin last month. The room was nice & the lounge was excellent^
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Old Mar 22, 2007, 10:58 pm
  #68  
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How many times do you see yourself going to Beijing?

When looking at prices, I saw the difference between the Westin and St. Regis only about $20.00...

If this was a one time deal, I would pick the St. Regis. It is within walking distance and shorter cab rides to the places you want to visit.
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Old Mar 23, 2007, 6:43 am
  #69  
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Originally Posted by cxn
How many times do you see yourself going to Beijing?

When looking at prices, I saw the difference between the Westin and St. Regis only about $20.00...

If this was a one time deal, I would pick the St. Regis. It is within walking distance and shorter cab rides to the places you want to visit.
I agree but part of the stay is work for DH and his company won't pay for the difference at the St. Regis and I really don't want to move in the middle. Getting his firm to pay for the Great Wall/Westin is a challenge. His boss likes staying at Chinese hotels which I call "Bed of Rock Hotels", and cost $80.
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Old Mar 23, 2007, 7:55 am
  #70  
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oh, boy! i have to (strongly) disagree with those that think the westin's location is better than the gw. there's just no contest: civilzation and 3rd ring access v. a wannabe san jose nw of xidan. i will concede that the westin is a nicer hotel, but the gw's remodeled rooms are pretty sweet. just close your eyes every time you approach the hotel and you won't realize how ugly it is.
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Old Apr 6, 2007, 4:49 pm
  #71  
 
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I was just looking at the Sheraton Great Wall website, noticed in the photo section there are 2 lounges - "Executive Lounge" & "Elite Lounge". Does anyone know what "elite lounge" is? Is the hotel trying to pack Plats into a small lounge and only allow people who stay at the executive floor to access the regular executive lounge?
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Old Apr 7, 2007, 8:08 am
  #72  
 
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No. The plat lounge is very nice and has a great breakfast + nightly snacks + cocktails. They do I think have another lounge for non-plats staying in a top floor but I think the platinum one is better.

Also at the SGW, you can choose to have the full buffet in the lobby restaurant which has a HUGE selection!

Cash+Points is a great value here and it's also very close to Lufthansa centre for shopping/meetings.
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Old Apr 7, 2007, 11:01 am
  #73  
 
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I too stayed just last month for both.
I'd say, Westin is modern, Sheraton is classic style both in nice way.

Agree with moondog' comment. It's quite accurate. Once you are
on the floor, I didn't feel that I am in the old building. Just don't open
your eyes until you go into the lift.

For a tourism, I really think St. Regis is much better if you can justify, but
if not, Sheraton maybe a good choice.
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Old Apr 7, 2007, 11:22 am
  #74  
 
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Location is always a factor, but in Beijing taxi's are dirt cheap. We found taking a taxi easy enough (had cards with hotel address on one side and on separate cards the locations we were interested in going (with English note for us)) and if driver did not understand us (usually even if he did), we'd hand him a card. Rarely cost more than $1.50 to $2.00 and we never paid more than $3.00 for what seemed like long rides.

So pick a hotel you will enjoy and taxi as needed.
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Old Apr 7, 2007, 1:11 pm
  #75  
 
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It's interesting that no one commented on Beijing's traffic. Yes, taxis are cheap there, but I have on three occasions (at different times of the day) spent two hours on the third ring road not moving at all in a taxi - not fun. Location in Beijing is just as important as price.
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