Peninsula Beijing vs. Ritz Beijing vs. Four Seasons Beijing vs. JW Marriot Beijing
 

Which hotel is the most ...... in Beijing?

Peninsula is pretty freakin' awesome - my top pick.

Amman is nice - an experience, but not really luxurious - just "neat."

Four Seasons is really nice. Probably 2nd in my book.

Ritz - I dunno, its nice but I think the rooms in Peninsula are nicer.

JW - Really nice but no Peninsula.

I'd give the hat to Peninsula in my opinion.

Thoughts?

I'm sure Adrian will be thrilled to hear that Aman at Summer Palace Beijing is just "neat".

C'mon - you know what i mean. I mean - its an amazing experience - definitely one that I recommend to everyone with cash or who's company has cash - but not one that I typically think of when I think "balla." - nor do I think it markets itself to be.

If you mean The Aman is not a hotel for buisness travellers on a strict budget or leisure travellers who want to be in the heart of beijing then I would say you are right to dismiss it.
To say it is "not really luxurious" is perhaps being a little disengenuous, do you not agree?



The pen Beijing is quite well regarded.

How about Raffles Beijing?
Any experience?

Since when is there a Four Seasons in Beijing? I'm pretty sure it hasn't opened yet...

Completely agree and I think I mispoke.

The Aman is top 3 hotels in Beijing for sure.

To be sure it is luxurious, a wonderful experience and something that is very different than its LUXURY hotel counterparts.

When I think Peninsula - I think Rolls Royce. (and it helps that they have them)

When I think Aman - I think Ferrari.

they're different.

BTW - whoeever was right - there is no 4 seasons in bj, it was in shanghai.

I've never been to the Raffles in BJ. Tell us about it because if you think its nicer, i'd like to go sometime.

I'm hoping i'm not offending anyone.

No, just amusing us like heck!! Thanks for making me smile!

Stayed at Raffles about a year ago.
Lobby is tops and that was about it.
Room unexceptional, service ok no more and executive lounge terrible.
I am probably in the minority here but have always liked the China World.
I know, it is a huge hotel but Shangri La maintains exceptional standards for service, restaurants and exec lounge

So sounds like Raffles is a no go =P

China World and Shangri La ...

I haven't stayed at China World. I've been to the hotel a lot because the shopping center underground and to go ice skating with friends. The concierge there spoke less than ok English when I was asking for a Thatsbeijing magazine.

Shangri La - Definitely awesome. I guess I didn't really think to put Shangri La in the same category. In my opinion, Shangri La is like an S class Benz or a 7 series BMW. By all standards, definitely super super nice - but its not really luxury. I never realy thought to compare Shangri-La to luxury hotels but of the top hotel chains, I'd say Shangri-La is all around solid and probably the strongest out of the non-luxury chains - better than hilton/marriott/starwood. I've never been to bad or even just a "good" Shangri-La. All of them are excellent.

I've been to bad and awful hiltons, marriotts and starwoods.

Last thing, the Shangri-LA I'm referencing is Haidian - not really a wonderful location ...

I think what really differentiated the difference was service/quality/hotness of staff.

At Hilton / Hyatt Beijing etc - you get a LOT of staff. It's like they will zerg you in order to meet your needs. I loved it. Getting 10 people at your side is awesome, but most of them speak less than perfect English with the occassional Chinese American working there too who I typically go to, but again, QUALITY is lacking, but they sorta make up for it in quantity. It's very nice at a restaurant to have 3 people waiting on each person in your party.

I feel that Shangri-La - you won't really find any Chinese Americans working at the hotel at all. Just local Chinese folks with a lot of students that are ex Beijing Foreign Studies University who speak very proficient English, but wouldn't understand Eminem.

At the Pen / Ritz / JW - you find Chinese Americans that speak English and Mandarin that are interested in a career in hospitality and understanding the tastes of western cultures.

I personally think that the service at Pen / Ritz / JW is comparable to the service you'll get at the Conrad / W in Hong Kong. HK service > BJ service. Everyone speaks very good English, they know foreign cultures and can get you reservations pretty much anywhere you want.

How did you manage to say Four Seaons Beiing is 2nd in your book when it does NOT exist at the moment?

Pen Hong Kong is my favourite - but Pen Beijing is a very poor cousin and far from the best in Beijing.

The best Beijing hotels right now are probably Ritz Carlton and Park Hyatt which has nice suites. St. Regis, China World and Shangri-la have seen their best days.

By far the best in service, room and food quality is the Hong Kong Jockey Club, open only to its members.

Do you not consider The Aman in the same league as the RC or PH IncyWincy ?

Have heard good things about it but not been there myself! Cheers, Incy.

If you were thinking of the Four Seasons in Shanghai, I am very surprised you think it is easily the 2nd best.

Much as I am a Four Seasons fan, it is hard to rank this one so high.

Oh, I already mentioend that I was referring to 4 Seasons SH.

Anyway, Park Hyatt - are we talking about the same Hyatt? The one in New Oriental Plaza - if so, c'mon - really? Their staff barely speaks English.

Service at Pen Beijing is > Service at Pen at Ritz. There are hotter staff at Pen and English of two is comparable. I've only been to the hyatt in new oriental - and I personally didn't think it was great - just an assload of staff that rush to every car. Not a lot of hotness.

I've never been to HK Jockey Club - is that the club that has two Rolls at the entrance every night?

I rate my stay at a hotel by the following in no particular order

1. Decor
2. Hotness of staff
3. Room Comfort
4. Staff Ability to make reservations
5. Social ability of staff
6. Amenities available
7. Dress
8. Bed
9. View
10. Overall ball[er]status to show guests

1. Decor - Aman probably takes this, but Pen in luxury.
2. Hotness of staff - I mean, if you're into 40 year old chicks that know their crap - maybe Ritz, but if you like young hotness then Pen for sure. The guys are properly primped too.
3. Room Comfort - Ritz
4. Ability to make reservations - Pen - got reservations to every club every night
5. Pen staff can tell jokes in English and Mandarin. They also will help in the effort of locating hot women.
6. Amenities - Ritz
7. Dress - Toss up - both dress well.
8. Bed - Neither ... there was a hotel that offered temperapedic mattresses i forget - but not those two as of 2007.
9. View - Pen ... maybe Aman - Wangfujing is just a nicer site than CBD.
10. Ball[er] Status - Ritz / Pen are both a toss up here.

Maybe this is the difference for me that I feel that Peninsula you don't get 50 year old cougars, but 20-30 year old gold diggers around the hotel. This I feel like is the difference between St. Regis and W hotels.

I dunno - what do you guys think. I need to go to BJ more.