PatongPilot

hey guys,
as my travel plans have spontaneously changed I decided to book a flight home. I found a really cheap air China ticket and will have a layover in Beijing for 1 night.
Arriving at 6:3am in Wednesday and leaving on Friday 2:30am.
So I would like to see something of Beijing, do a trip to the Great Wall as well and visit the forbidden city.
If you have any recommendations they would be more than welcome

I am HHonors Gold and so thought about staying in one of the Hilton Group properties. Which one would you recommend with the above criteria?
Should be in the City Centre as well

ESFLYER95

Although I have been to Beijing a decent few times I am not going to claim to be an expert.

Beijing is a large spread out city with Hilton properties spread from East to West. I would say with your requirements although good value you can rule out the Double tree.

For access to the airport and public transport for the Great Wall you can't go wrong with The Hilton Beijing. Closest Hilton to the airport barring the airport Hilton, 10 minutes to Dongzhimen station which has the bus to the Great Wall and almost beside a metro station which I think is two stops from Forbidden city/Tiananmen square. It is usually reasonable value has a good club lounge and rooms are decent if not slightly dated. This is were I have been staying on most recent trips to Beijing along with Double tree.

I only have limited experience with the Conrad and while a great hotel it would probably be wasted on what sounds like Is going to be a whistle stop tour of the city. Have not stayed at the Hilton Wangfujing but it gets good write ups.

I cannot help regarding gold treatment at the various properties but I know the lounge at The Hilton explicitly has a sign saying Diamond and exec floor guest only. Don't know if that means they do not upgrade golds. For such a short stay though I would not limit yourself to a Hilton. If you are wanting to take public transport everywhere the Holiday Inn express Dongzhimen station might be an option. Can arrive, drops bags, jump on bus to Great Wall and back again and then Dongzhimen is well connected for the tourist sites in th city and also the airport express.

Check out all the relevant property threads on FT as that should give more info regarding gold treatment etc. Hope this helped a little but I know more people will have better information. Enjoy the Great Wall. It really is incredible. I reccomend not going to Badaling and if you are wanting to use public transport go to Mutianyu as it is fairly well connected. Have a great trip!

TomMM

I've stayed at both the DoubleTree and Wangfujing Hilton. The latter being in walking distance to the Forbidden City and the former being near the West Railway Station.

timfountain

Conrad.... One of the best, exec lounge is fantastic.

moondog

I agree with your assessment about the Hilton Beijing, but would like to point out that it is nowhere near Tian'anmen.

The Conrad is my favorite Hilton property in Beijing now, and proximity to Line 6 is nice, but it's usually a lot more expensive than the Hilton.

xooz

Hard to suggest without knowing much about you.. but I might:
- Look at Hilton Wangfujing as a cash+points possibility
- Arriving that early implies overnight, so I would arrive and taxi into Wangfujing, take a nap, then:
- Hire a driver to the Great Wall for the next morning
- Wander the Forbidden City and other local intown sights that interest me. Maybe look at moondog's one day Beijing thread.
- Spend the night, store bags in the morning and head out to the Great Wall.
- Return, have a dinner somewhere near the hotel, head back and pick up my bags and then taxi back to the airport for my flight.
- Be exhausted for my next flight

doglover

The Hilton Beijing Airport is an option as well. Easy shuttle to the train taking you to the city for a day.

One warning -- don't expect Google maps to work. Baidu Maps will work, but don't expect translation.

moondog

I really like that hotel, but in light of its high price point, and the fact that the OP isn't bound to stay near the airport, I'd cross it off the list (though not as quickly as I'd strike the Doubletree).

lixiaojuventus

What's the reason against the DoubleTree? I thought it was very a good value for the money

moondog

It's location isn't good, especially for short trips.

Baze

Wangfujing Hilton is an easy walk to Tienanmen Square and the Forbidden City and a nice park next to the Forbidden City. And if want to get to the Great Wall, about any hotel would be the same as a starting point as it is quite a ways to the Wall. I had a great stay at Wangfujing Hilton on points. Got nice upgrade to Jr Suite and lounge is nice. Workers in the lounge very attentive and food decent. Only strange thing was for alcohol drinks, they pour them even though they are out where you could easily get to them. I was there in October 2015.

sbiddle

I stayed at the Hilton Wangfujing for 3 nights last year. Had an upgrade to a great suite and the service at the hotel was brilliant. Canapes and buffet breakfast were awesome and the lounge included alcohol.

The advantage of the location is you are within walking distance of the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square. The location is a very upmarket part of town with a large mall next to it so you could be mistaken for thinking you are't actually in China! It is around a 10 min walk from the nearest subway station and there are plenty of dining options and some bars nearby.

moondog

It's hard to really categorize anything inside of 2nd Ring as upmarket or downmarket, simply because most of the real estate is government controlled (similar to downtown Washington DC).

submonte

I had a very satisfying two nights business stay with a colleague at Hilton Beijing Wangfujing last Sat-Mon.

After considering Conrad Beijing (3rd Ring Rd opposite Tuanjiehu Park) as my first choice (Conrad fan), the decision in favor of Hilton Beijing Wangfujing hotel was made because of its central location in the Donghuamen district, opposite APM Mall with its many shops and restaurants, some steps to Wangfujing shopping street and a short walk to Tian´anmen square, to be able to get some local impressions evening time after a Sunday with far away factory visits from morning on.

I know Hilton Beijing also which is more peripheric, also like Conrad at 3rd Ring Rd (more North beside US Embassy), from past stays (no complaints about that hotel), but would recommend Hilton Wangfujing for all who come to Beijing for (at least first time) business stays (my colleague) or as tourists. The hotel was rated by our local business partner as "good choice". For us all full service and business luxury aspects were fulfilled, HHonors Diamond treatment was excellent.

The Waldorf-Astoria around the corner of Hilton Wangfujing at busy Jin Yu Hu Tong street (Lee Garden and Peninsula opposite) would have been the more expensive and luxurious choice (no need for this stay - we were out for all day), but the Hilton tops it IMHO concerning location by an eyelash and re cost-benefit ratio anyway.

Will report about the stay in the Hilton Beijing Wangfujing thread in the next days.


Beijing Duck at CHYNNA restaurant Hilton Beijing Wangfujing:

iflyuaaa

if you stay at the hilton wangfujing, the better duck place is a 5 minute walk across the street to the grand hyatt. one of the best duck places in beijing. possibly my favorite.

i'd recommend the conrad overall. sanlitun is the fun place of the city. if you can go outside of hilton, intercontinental is amazing. location and hotel.