Grand Hyatt Beijing
King Bed Deluxe Room
Upgraded from King Bed Standard Room
Initially, I'd booked the Grand Hyatt for two nights (24-26 May) to commence on my return from Mongolia. Since I'd booked an advanced purchase discounted rate (and used a BRG voucher), I was unable to make any changes to it. So, while waiting for the Airport Express to arrive, I made a points booking for that night (23 May) using the Hyatt app. I had to transfer some points from my Chase account to top up, but the single night cost 21,000 points versus the $260 + tax paid rate. Not the best value, but good enough. Though I did get Club access for the first night to take advantage of the included breakfast the following day. At a cost of 6,000 points, it seemed worthwhile and certainly helped me get an upper floor room.
I arrived at the Grand Hyatt lobby around 10AM, but my room was not yet ready. I don't hold this against the hotel, as it was still early in the day. After doing some checking, the front desk clerk was able to get me into a room right away. He first tried to upsell me to a suite, but I declined. Then he found a King Deluxe room and upgraded me to it for free for the duration of my stay. So, I ended up with a slightly bigger room on an upper (15th) floor. Not too shabby.
As you can see in the photos, the room was decent and spacious, but a bit outdated. Not terribly outdated, of course, but it seemed due for a face lift. Other than that, really no complaints about the hotel at all. The facilities were nice and it was quite convenient. It's connected to the Wangfujing MRT Station and Oriental Plaza shopping mall with a bunch of shops and, more importantly, dozens of restaurants.
The hotel also has a decent pool, sauna and gym facility that I ended up using a couple times during my stay.
Main Room
Hall Closet
Sitting Area
Bedroom
Bathroom
Bathroom
View from the Room
Not a very good view, unless one likes that ugly Neo Classical monstrosity (the Legendale Hotel) down the road. Just a nondescript office building next door.
Once I'd lightened my bag of clothes, toiletries and iPad, I headed to the Club Lounge to charge my phone and caffeinate. I stayed in the lounge for a little while and enjoyed the view.
View from the Club Lounge
View from the Club Lounge
While relaxing in the lounge, I decided on a plan for the day. My first stop would be the Tower of Heaven. Then, time permitting, I'd go to the Summer Palace. I planned to take the MRT for all transport and decided to leave the hotel around 11 AM.