huh? there was a thread about that property about a month ago, but the search function is coming up empty for me. anyway, the location is terrible if you need to spend any time in the cbd (plan on 30 minutes each way most of the day), but is well situated with respect to the major tourist attractions. furthermore, houhai is a nice alternative to sanlitun (which seems a bit tired since they tore down the south bar street several months ago).

i certainly wouldn't pay 2x for the palace, but might be drawn towards the hyatt if you could get it for close to the same price (though there a number of things i don't like about the hyatt). if you do have meetings at kerry/guomao, i would certainly advise you to stay on the 3rd ring though. the st. regis could be ok as well, but --as the premiere hotel in town-- tends to run on the expensive side.