Renaissance by Marriott Beijing Capital Hotel
Renaissance by Marriott Beijing Capital Hotel
61 Dongsanhuan Middle Road Beijing, CN
Renaissance Beijing Capital Hotel (15 Photos)
Renaissance by Marriott Beijing Capital Hotel
This one night stay at the Renaissance Beijing Capital Hotel was my final night of a long business trip so I wanted to try some different hotels around town (did the Sheraton Great Wall and W Chang'An). I don't regret this choice. It was an easy move from the Sheraton as it was on the same subway line.
Location
The hotel is located in the Shuangjing area, which is South East from the Forbidden City (kinda my point of reference when talking about Beijing orientation) and directly on the 3rd Ring road. It's very near the subway station "Shuangjing" line 10 but line 7 is also supposed to have a stop there, not open at time of visit (April 2017). It's quite a residential area as soon as you walk a block or two away. Near the hotel, you'll find a big mall (Fuli Square) with food options, shops and a cineplex. Out on the street you'll find other restaurants and cafes, massage places (really big ones across the street from the hotel). So location is quite good. As I said earlier, line 7 is supposed to have a stop in Shuangjing but I think it's still under construction. I learned this the hard way when I came back to the hotel on line 7 and realized it skipped that stop. Had to walk from Guanggumenwai station. It's about 20-30min walk of a long uninteresting residential stretch.
Check In
Arrived at the hotel fairly early at around 9AM as I wanted to be out visiting sites that day. The room was not ready but the staff was friendly, pre-checked me in (despite the fact that I used the Marriott app check-in feature) and took my luggage. The Renaissance is "one of those" hotels where the lobby is on a higher floor than the entrance. In this case, the lobby was on level 4. The ground floor is the concierge, a sitting area that looks like a library/lounge and some F&B outlets. There are 6 elevators if my memory is correct. 2 that you can see from the entrance and that lead to floors 1 through 4 and 4 "hidden" behind that can take you directly to your room (requires room key to operate).
The lobby is big and airy but somehow you feel that the reception area is crammed in a small corner.
No upgrades for me (MR Gold matched from my SPG Gold).
Room
The room I booked was a regular Business Room and I was really pleasantly surprised. It was really big and nicely decorated. Big comfortable bed, clean. It has a small couch, a desk, mini bar,
The bathroom is separated by a glass wall. You can close the curtains but you kinda see through or at least "guess" the shapes and movements, especially if you're in the bath tub, which is right along the glass wall. The walk-in shower and the toilets are in the back so it's less of an issue (if any). So again, might not be the ideal hotel room if you're sharing with your mother-in-law haha. Other than that, all the usual amenities are there and the layout is nice.
The view I had was on the main road (3rd Ring), nothing special. Couldn't see the CCTV HQ though, I was hoping for it.
Dining
I didn't use the F&B outlets but since I had breakfast included at the lounge from being Gold, I went up the next morning. It's a nice lounge, not too big nor too small, stretching all along the windows. You're greeted at the desk there by two charming ladies who ask for room numbers and welcome you to the lounge. The food selection is good but seemed a bit small for the size of the hotel. Some made to order dishes (eggs Benedict, noodle soup, the usual egg dishes). Coffee and tea are self-service from the machines. Service was good, they clear your plates as soon as you stand up to go for another round of food. There are only 1 or 2 tables that are on the Northern side of the lounge, with a great view on the Jiangguomen district and the CCTV building. The other tables are along the main road facing East or in the middle with no window view but the floor to ceiling windows allow for great light and you can still enjoy a nice breakfast there.
Overall
Really nice stay and I would recommend it to friends and would stay there again. I'll want to try other Marriott and SPG properties first but this one will stay on my list. Getting taxis for the airport was fairly easy, they call one for you from the front desk and then you walk down to the concierge and give them your room number. Much easier to get taxis here than, for example, at the W Chang'An with its odd access road.
From the hotel to the airport, it took me almost an hour on a Sunday morning at 11AM. They told me there wouldn't be too much traffic but there was up to the 4th Ring. To the point where my driver decided to not take the 4th Ring and continue East until the "new airport highway". From there it was smooth and quick.
Having a hard time choosing between this property and Marriott Hotel City Wall
Sorry, still a noob with MR Gold status, I don't always pay attention to those things.