Beijing Sanlitun

Were you (or for multi-stayers are you generally) happy with the hotel/stay?
Yes, very The hotel is one of the better ICs

Which room did you book and which upgrade did you receive?
Emailed them beforehand and asked for upgrade policy. They responded:

"For the IHG Upgrade Policy, Royal-AMB member will guarantee upgrade two level, but if you book room by IHG Reward Night, that cannot enjoy room upgrade benefit.
1.If you want to get junior Suit you can book a Premier room.
2.If you want to get Superior Suit you can book a Club room."

I Booked club and got suite on high floor.

How are the rooms?
About the size of 2.5 regular rooms. More a junior suite than a real suite. Lost of wasted space (huge hallway, space between sofa and window not accessible etc.
Nice furniture, comfortable bed, well decorated.
Not enough hooks, not enough shelf space in the closet.

How is the exec. lounge?
On top floor, spacious, nice, perfect service. Good selection of food and drinks. Buffet style happy hour. More than 3 warm dishes (changes daily) and lots of cold items.
One of the nicest lounges of any IC.

Did you receive a welcome gift?
A set of Ferragamo shampoo/shower gel/conditioner - the same brand the IC Hong Kong has.

How was the minibar?
Capped at 200 Yuan per day/800 per stay. Not very extensive.

What was good and what was bad?

-Good
- room was ready at 8 am
- staff in general spoke very good English, was very responsive
- nice club lounge with very good personal service, good offerings for breakfast, happy hour and high tea (no etagiere, buffet style which I prefer). Food was tasty, fresh and well prepared
- Lanvin amenities (no Agraria!)
- Toto toilet seat
- Spa, Steam room are nice and clean, large indoor pool
- It is on the PEK airport side of the city, relatively quick to/from the airport

-Bad
- hotel is too dark. They use a lot of spotlights which almost blind older eyes, but the rest of the space is too dark and you cannot see much. Even the chefs in the restaurants sometimes use flashlights.
- next subway station is a good 10 min walk away and one a line which does not take you into the city. But taxis are inexpensive.
- Internet access is behind the chinese firewall. No google, facebook, many manazin/news sites are also blocked. Better use a vpn or some remote access products when there (other hotels in china like the IC Shenzhen seem to be outside of the firewall)

Value for $ or Priority Club Points?
It is not the cheapest 5 star in Beijing, but for what you get the price is ok.

Would you return?[/QUOTE]
Yes