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Westin Beijing Chaoyang, China [Master Thread]

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Westin Beijing Chaoyang, China [Master Thread]

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Old Mar 6, 2009, 5:18 am
  #16  
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I believe it is on Line number 10.
The station which is just outside the hotel should be Liangmaqiao.
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Old Mar 29, 2009, 10:12 pm
  #17  
 
Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 236
Trip summary

Stayed in the Westin Chaoyang for a one nighter (Sat - Sun).
Booked the 'up to 50% discount' promo rate online for 960CNY +15% tax/charges. Never saw such a low rate for this property. Checked today and future rates are above 1000 CNY per night.

Surrounding
IFC Mall (next to the hotel) is yet to be opened as per time of writing. Metro line is indeed line 10 and right in front of the property. You can see the Hilton Beijing approx 1 block away on the left. The Lufthansa Center and the Kempinski is also very near (across the highway to your right). The Sheraton Great Wall is indeed 3 blocks away.

Check-in
Arrived around 12 noon. They upgraded me (Platinum member) to Renewal Suite (was visible on spg.com several days before). It was not on the Exective Floor area (top of the building) but somewhere around 20th floor.

They did not have an available non-smoking suite at the time of arrival. We checked and considered the smell level acceptable and moved into the 'smoking room' suite.

Room
Description in this thread is identical. We loved the massage chair! Shower could host a big horse inside... 2 complimentary 375ml bottled 'Voss still water' (from Norway if I'm not wrong) is available in all Renewal Rooms and Renewal Suites.
We had the only Renewal Suite on our floor - and it was facing to the (2nd?) 'Ring Road'. Although we were quite high up, we heard the traffic all day/night (not really something bad during the day but nothing for someone with a light sleep). Not sure if there are suites to the other side - it's less impressive view.

Bathologist
The bathologist is not causing hire hazard anymore. She (only 1 person) dropped approx 10 candles at save places within the bath. All very nice and fine. There was no 'smelling' ritual or time pressure

Food outlet review
The lounge is on top floor and provided a grand view on the surrounding area (we had terrific weather on Day 1 and terrible smog on Day 2).

The breakfast was all in all very nice and fine. Make sure you order what you need if it's not visible. Otherwise you might miss things. However, the waffles we received were cold and very dry. We expected them freshly made...

We ate at the Grange steak house on 2/F. My food was very nice and as expected. The food of Ms. Hamurabi 2008 was quite the opposite. We had to return the sirloin and received a new one without any hassle (very good for China!). The new one was OK but nothing terrific. Overall we will not spend 1200 CNY in there anymore...

Peer guests
When we were heading out to the checkout we saw the former German Chancellor Mr. Gerhard Schroeder in the lobby (plus 10-20 hotel executives waiting in the lobby hall). At least two former US presidents and several other heads of state stayed in this property already. Quite a track record given it was only opened in August 2008...

Final Verdict
Overall we think we received a terrific value for money at this property. If I can get a good rate I would always go back (esp. as Platinum).

Peer-comparion
I stayed approx 10 times at the Westin Financial Street and the Chaoyang property is clearly the next generation (Financial Street is also very well and consistantly delivers good value for money as my rate is always below 1000 CNY per night). I also stayed 9 times at the new JW Marriott in HuaMao (further out towards 3rd or 4th ring road) and must say that the Westin is beating the JW in all aspects (by charging the same price). I only stayed 1 time at the new Ritz Carlton Beijing (in HuaMao, next to the JW Marriott) and was underwhelmed by the room (more expensive than the JW/Westin Chaoyang).

Hope this is helpful to someone...

Ham
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Old Apr 4, 2009, 3:49 am
  #18  
 
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: somewhere north of stateside...
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Thanks for this... I guess Gerhard Schroeder is the reason they had the red carpet out a couple of times next weekend. I can echo that this is really a great property. The rooms are extremely comfortable, and the service is mostly very great.

Once I checked in and tried to leave my room, I became stuck inside, as the door would not open. I called downstairs and they soon sent a workman up to fix the handle - just glad there wasn't a fire at that time!

They gym/pool/changerooms are definitely great here, and certainly among the best I've used elsewhere.

I would just make one small suggestion - outside of the sauna/steam/whirlpool, there are no hooks on the wall for towels, so these get draped over the edge of the whirlpool (which is sometimes wet). The hotel should really think about putting up a few hooks, as the lockers are not so close to this part of the changeroom. Also, having some bottles of water in the changeroom would be great.

I will definitely be staying here again - great location for my work in Beijing.
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Old Apr 4, 2009, 10:13 am
  #19  
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Originally Posted by makin'miles
I would just make one small suggestion - outside of the sauna/steam/whirlpool, there are no hooks on the wall for towels,
As a spa enthusiast, I can attest to the fact that the phenomenon you describe is relatively common in China, though less prevalent at Western hotels.
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Old May 22, 2009, 11:41 pm
  #20  
 
Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: LaGrange, GA USA
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Recent Info

Just a few additional notes on this property having stayed a week recently:

It is a very nice hotel with large suites and baths.
The pool is indoor and a bit cool and 4' deep. No way to sunbathe.
The 34th floor Lounge is nice, very attentive staff, good variety of eats (full American/or/Chinese breakfast); Happy Hour M-F 6-8 with decent hors d.)
Free Internet in the Lounge.
Free areas for business meetings in the Lounge.

Fairly poor location for tourists. Other than the Lufthansa Center across the street, there is very little in the neighborhood.
Close to the Airport (~20 mins $25 cab fare)
Would HIGHLY recommend going across the street and getting several of the Hotel Kunlun's locator cards (as very few cabbies know where this new Westin hotel is, but all seem to know the Kunlun!) (~$7-10 fare to most anywhere).
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Old May 28, 2009, 4:50 am
  #21  
 
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: London UK
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Just back from a weeks stay at this hotel.

Standard plat upgrade to Renewal Suite on non exec floor. However, stunning rooms with two bathorooms and amazing view.

One of the best club floor lounges with a great selection of food. Took one breakfast in the main dining area which was fine but the selection was more than adequete in the lounge. Happy hour food also excellent. Staff wonderful very attentive.

All in all a near perfect stay at one of the nicest hotels I've stayed in.

Only complaint was the in-room technoogy...why is it that the more technology you get in a hotel the less anyone knows how it works...we had three great flat screen TVs which were made unwatchable by a lousy picture, no one could fix it so we bought a couple of DVDs and the DVD player wasnt contected to the TV and that took two requests to sort.

Disagree with previous post though. We were on vacation and thought the location perfect. There is a brand new Metro station at the hotel door and taxis cost next to nothing. Beijing is a huge place so most places are a long way away anyway.
douglas99 is offline  
Old Jun 4, 2009, 7:31 am
  #22  
 
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I recently (end of May) had a 3 night reward/points stay at this property. It was really great. As a Platinum, they escorted me to my upgraded room – a Renewal Suite – to complete the check in. Very smooth and efficient. Staff was extremely friendly and helpful.

The Renewal Suite is really cool. Great space and décor. Heavenly bed. Very nice massage chair and a really cool television in the bedroom that raises and lowers the TV at the touch of a button on a remote. As mentioned by others, the shower is very large. Bathroom is very nice and well equipped. I had only two issues with the room – the light switches were a little confusing… hard to tell which switch was for which light, a little trial and error, but still not really intuitive, second item is that there were no drawers in my room, what I mean is that there wasn’t a chest of drawers/bureau or even some drawers in the closet. Upon reflection, it’s possible that the drawer unit was not in my room for a reason, but I just couldn’t find one anywhere… and I did look everywhere. It wasn’t big enough of a deal for me to call or ask for a room change, but just odd. I wonder if the other rooms have this issue? This minor nit was the only thing about my stay that I could really find any issue with… so it was a pretty great stay.

Had drinks in the bar “MIX” every night. Prices are what you’d expect, a little on the high end, but acceptable for me. They were also running a special the second and third night of my stay where your second drink was only 1 RMB, so that was a REALLY good deal. Staff in the bar was FANTASTIC. Very helpful and new me by sight and what I drank by my second visit.

Had breakfast in the lounge a couple of times. What you would expect from a top notch lounge in Asia – WAY beyond anything you’d find in the States. Very nice full breakfast with a good selection of hot western and Chinese choices. Great service from the staff and first class.

Lobby and common areas were very modern in décor and nice. Only comment is that there are no chairs or anyplace to sit in the lobby at all – which is a bit odd if you are waiting to meet someone.

One final comment is that the service culture of the staff is really exceptional. It was like they could not do enough for me... every staffer that I encountered was extraordinarily helpful.

Overall an excellent stay and property. I would definitely stay at this property again in future trips to Beijing.

Last edited by woojink; Jun 4, 2009 at 8:28 am
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Old Jun 4, 2009, 8:27 am
  #23  
 
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One additional point is that I also completely agree with douglas99 that location is not an issue at all on this property. I had absolutely no problems with that and taxi's in China are VERY inexpensive.

Also, the Westin has some very nice and relatively comprehensive "taxi cards" that shows the name and location of the hotel in Chinese along with a list of several popular tourist locations in English and Chinese. Very effective in working with taxi drivers. I didn't need to go to the Kunlun to get a locator cards, the ones from the Westin worked great.
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Old Jun 5, 2009, 1:47 am
  #24  
 
Join Date: May 2008
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Originally Posted by woojink
second item is that there were no drawers in my room, what I mean is that there wasn’t a chest of drawers/bureau or even some drawers in the closet. Upon reflection, it’s possible that the drawer unit was not in my room for a reason, but I just couldn’t find one anywhere… and I did look everywhere. It wasn’t big enough of a deal for me to call or ask for a room change, but just odd. I wonder if the other rooms have this issue?
Good stay report. Thanks!

I my two Renewal Suites so far the drawers were below the 'suitecase drop-off' next to the bathroom door in the bedroom.

Regards

Ham
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Old Jun 16, 2009, 12:03 am
  #25  
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 4
Great Feedback

dear all, thank you so much for your feedback. it is so valuable to we hoteliers.

noted the comments on the hooks on the wall by the jacuzzi and cannot believe we missed it. they will be installed this week.

be well, be westin!

daniel

daniel aylmer
general manager
the westin beijing chaoyang
WestinGM is offline  
Old Jul 22, 2009, 3:36 am
  #26  
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Just had a stay here and wanted to concur with all of the positive reviews above . . . this may be my favorite Westin worldwide (competes with the Westin Sydney for that title).

As a Plat, was offered an upgrade to a Renewal Room, not a Suite, and I'm not the type to haggle at check-in so I took it, and was very happy--very spacious room, with two walls of floor-to-(high)-ceiling windows, plus floor-to-ceiling windows in the bathroom and even in the shower.

There was a Bose Wave Radio in my room, which I haven't seen before and was a very nice touch. There's also lots of other nice little touches, like a drawer in the desk filled with basic business necessities like paperclips, a stapler, etc., and a jack to plug your computer into the TV (I think--I didn't try it), with the necessary cables provided in a felt bag in the desk. A nice improvement might be adding a patch cable to be able to plug iPods into the Bose; I travel with one for just such occasions but I'm pretty sure most people aren't as OCD as I am.

I noticed someone earlier said there was free Voss water; in my room, there was free regular bottled water, but the Voss cost something like CNY700--so read the fine print carefully.

Biggest complaint was that the Internet in the room cost CNY3 per minute (43 US cents), which is just insane in my book--as far as I can tell there's no daily cap rate. But, access is free in the lounge, which is also one of the best Executive Clubs I've been in in general; the biggest problem is that it's so easy to eat a huge breakfast and just about a full dinner in the lounge that it's tempting to skip getting out and eating in the city.

Metro is indeed right outside--take Exit A from the station and you're in the hotel's front lawn. Do note if traveling with lots of luggage that the Beijing Subway can be a bit challenging; there are elevators in most stations though they don't seem to work (I think I may be missing something there), and though there are often escalators, there is usually only one in the "up" direction. Still, the trip to the hotel was not too painful and cost only CNY27, and took all of 45 minutes from boarding the Airport Express at T3 to walking into my room at the Westin.

I thought the location quite good; no, the immediate neighborhood is not great for tourists, but as was noted earlier, the sights of Beijing are pretty far-flung so there's no one right location other than as close as possible to the subway.
bgriff is offline  
Old Jul 23, 2009, 6:57 am
  #27  
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 4
dear all,

thank you so much for the feedback.

in regards to internet access, we provide free internet both through connection and wifi in our club rooms. in the main hotel, we offer a daily rate of Y 120 net only per room for 24 hours or only Y 3 per minute. if you need any additional cables for the ipod/mp3, give service express a call and we will be right up. we are currently putting inplace the possibility of watching your ipod/mp3 videos on the tv's which will be inplace end of this month.

please give us more and what else you would like to see.

be well, be westin!

daniel
WestinGM is offline  
Old Sep 28, 2009, 6:38 am
  #28  
 
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Originally Posted by douglas99
Just back from a weeks stay at this hotel.

Standard plat upgrade to Renewal Suite on non exec floor. However, stunning rooms with two bathorooms and amazing view.

One of the best club floor lounges with a great selection of food. Took one breakfast in the main dining area which was fine but the selection was more than adequete in the lounge. Happy hour food also excellent. Staff wonderful very attentive.

All in all a near perfect stay at one of the nicest hotels I've stayed in.

Only complaint was the in-room technoogy...why is it that the more technology you get in a hotel the less anyone knows how it works...we had three great flat screen TVs which were made unwatchable by a lousy picture, no one could fix it so we bought a couple of DVDs and the DVD player wasnt contected to the TV and that took two requests to sort.

Disagree with previous post though. We were on vacation and thought the location perfect. There is a brand new Metro station at the hotel door and taxis cost next to nothing. Beijing is a huge place so most places are a long way away anyway.
I echo with most of these sentiments. Renewal Suite is amazing. Food in lounge is best I have ever seen. Spicy beef kabobs, were delicious, etc. to me, location is terrible, way out of the was in city with terrible traffic. OK location if you want to take Metro.
nologic is offline  
Old Sep 28, 2009, 7:49 am
  #29  
 
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: somewhere north of stateside...
Posts: 4,153
Originally Posted by WestinGM
dear all, thank you so much for your feedback. it is so valuable to we hoteliers.

noted the comments on the hooks on the wall by the jacuzzi and cannot believe we missed it. they will be installed this week.

be well, be westin!

daniel

daniel aylmer
general manager
the westin beijing chaoyang
Daniel, welcome to FT, and thanks for being open to our feedback (and putting up the hooks - its much appreciated!). Thanks!
makin'miles is offline  
Old Sep 28, 2009, 8:41 pm
  #30  
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 4
thank you for spending the time to give us such great feedback. our apologies for the weak television signal, which has been resolved since your visit.

Location is a key decision when staying in Beijing and traffic continues to cause delays, especially downtown. With the opening of the underground beneath the hotel moving around the city is much faster and more and more people are now using it.

Keep travelling!

Daniel

Daniel Aylmer
General Manager
The Westin Beijing Chaoyang
WestinGM is offline  


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