Four Points by Sheraton Beijing, Haidian [Master Thread]
Aug 28, 2006, 2:19 pm
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: Philadelphia, PA USA
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Posts: 901
Four Points by Sheraton Beijing, Haidian [Master Thread]
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/060828/20060828005704.html?.v=1
Press Release Source: Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.
Four Points by Sheraton Makes Its Debut in Beijing with Signing of Four Points by Sheraton Beijing, Haidian
Monday August 28, 3:28 pm ET
Starwood Continues Rapid Expansion in China with 28 New Hotels Under Construction
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 28, 2006--Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT - News) continues its aggressive expansion momentum in China with the signing of its first Four Points by Sheraton hotel in the capital city of China, Four Points by Sheraton Beijing, Haidian. The new Four Points by Sheraton property is scheduled to open in July 2009 and will be owned by the Beijing Yongtai Real Estate Development Ltd and managed by Starwood Hotels under a long-term management contract.
The Four Points by Sheraton Beijing, Haidian will be part of an integrated mix-use complex with offices, hotel and shopping center. The hotel will be located in Haidian district, near the Western fourth ring road of Beijing and conveniently located near the Zhongguancun Science and Technology Park, a major information technology hub in Beijing, as well as the Haidian government district and major universities and research institutes. The 301-room property will feature 16,800 square feet of meeting space, three restaurants, health club, spa, indoor swimming pool and business center. In addition to its appeal to business travelers, the hotel is expected to be popular with leisure travelers as well given its proximity to famous tourist attractions like Summer Palace and Fragrance Hill.
The signing of Four Points by Sheraton Beijing, Haidian heralds the continued expansion of the Four Points by Sheraton brand in China and Asia Pacific. The brand was first introduced to China with the opening of Four Points by Sheraton Shenzhen in late 2004 and subsequently the opening of the first Four Points in Shanghai this year, Four Points by Sheraton Shanghai, Pudong. Other Four Points by Sheraton hotels in Asia-Pacific are located in Sydney and Geelong in Australia as well as in Chung Ho, Taiwan. New Four Points by Sheraton hotels are set to debut in Dalian, Daning (in Shanghai), Changshu, Tianjin, Hangzhou and now Beijing. Four Points by Sheraton Beijing, Haidian will also be the fifth Starwood property in Beijing, joining St. Regis Hotel, Beijing, The Great Wall Sheraton Beijing Hotel, The Westin Beijing, Financial Street and The Westin Beijing, Chaoyang. The two Westins in Financial Street and Chaoyang are to open in 2006 and 2008 respectively.
"We are very proud to be working with Beijing Yongtai Real Estate Development Ltd to introduce the Four Points by Sheraton brand's unique service culture, and its many innovative and signature services and products to travelers visiting Beijing," commented Miguel Ko, President of Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Asia Pacific. "The Haidian district and the regions information technology (IT) zone have attracted more than 1,000 foreign companies and more than 7,000 IT companies and we look forward to offering travelers to the area a comfortable, fun and fuss-free hotel experience that at the same time provides great value," added Ko.
Recognizing the great potential China offers to both the inbound and outbound travelers, Starwood Hotels & Resorts has expanded its footprint in China aggressively in the past 24 months. The hotel giant now operates 28 hotels in mainland China, Taiwan and Macau, with 28 under construction, and is one of the largest international upscale hotel operators in China.
Source: Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.
Press Release Source: Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.
Four Points by Sheraton Makes Its Debut in Beijing with Signing of Four Points by Sheraton Beijing, Haidian
Monday August 28, 3:28 pm ET
Starwood Continues Rapid Expansion in China with 28 New Hotels Under Construction
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 28, 2006--Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE: HOT - News) continues its aggressive expansion momentum in China with the signing of its first Four Points by Sheraton hotel in the capital city of China, Four Points by Sheraton Beijing, Haidian. The new Four Points by Sheraton property is scheduled to open in July 2009 and will be owned by the Beijing Yongtai Real Estate Development Ltd and managed by Starwood Hotels under a long-term management contract.
The Four Points by Sheraton Beijing, Haidian will be part of an integrated mix-use complex with offices, hotel and shopping center. The hotel will be located in Haidian district, near the Western fourth ring road of Beijing and conveniently located near the Zhongguancun Science and Technology Park, a major information technology hub in Beijing, as well as the Haidian government district and major universities and research institutes. The 301-room property will feature 16,800 square feet of meeting space, three restaurants, health club, spa, indoor swimming pool and business center. In addition to its appeal to business travelers, the hotel is expected to be popular with leisure travelers as well given its proximity to famous tourist attractions like Summer Palace and Fragrance Hill.
The signing of Four Points by Sheraton Beijing, Haidian heralds the continued expansion of the Four Points by Sheraton brand in China and Asia Pacific. The brand was first introduced to China with the opening of Four Points by Sheraton Shenzhen in late 2004 and subsequently the opening of the first Four Points in Shanghai this year, Four Points by Sheraton Shanghai, Pudong. Other Four Points by Sheraton hotels in Asia-Pacific are located in Sydney and Geelong in Australia as well as in Chung Ho, Taiwan. New Four Points by Sheraton hotels are set to debut in Dalian, Daning (in Shanghai), Changshu, Tianjin, Hangzhou and now Beijing. Four Points by Sheraton Beijing, Haidian will also be the fifth Starwood property in Beijing, joining St. Regis Hotel, Beijing, The Great Wall Sheraton Beijing Hotel, The Westin Beijing, Financial Street and The Westin Beijing, Chaoyang. The two Westins in Financial Street and Chaoyang are to open in 2006 and 2008 respectively.
"We are very proud to be working with Beijing Yongtai Real Estate Development Ltd to introduce the Four Points by Sheraton brand's unique service culture, and its many innovative and signature services and products to travelers visiting Beijing," commented Miguel Ko, President of Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Asia Pacific. "The Haidian district and the regions information technology (IT) zone have attracted more than 1,000 foreign companies and more than 7,000 IT companies and we look forward to offering travelers to the area a comfortable, fun and fuss-free hotel experience that at the same time provides great value," added Ko.
Recognizing the great potential China offers to both the inbound and outbound travelers, Starwood Hotels & Resorts has expanded its footprint in China aggressively in the past 24 months. The hotel giant now operates 28 hotels in mainland China, Taiwan and Macau, with 28 under construction, and is one of the largest international upscale hotel operators in China.
Source: Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.
Aug 17, 2008, 9:06 am
#2
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: London
Programs: AA EXP, SPG Plt
Posts: 2,607
Four Points Haidian, Beijing [Master Thread]
Staying here now and rather enjoying it. I had somewhat low expectations as a Cat 3, but it's been suprisingly good so far. The rooms are well decorated - we were upgraded to an executive room, which has a nice 40" LCD on the wall, a rain shower and nice decoration. Not sure if it's platinum treatment, but I received free breakfast at their rather sizeable buffet as well as free (wired) internet in the room. Free lounge happy hour also from 5PM, which has been nice too. Some of this may be olympic fever, but the staff has been superb and tripping over themselves to help us. I tried to get a platinum suite upgrade and they acknowledged that they normally would have but their suites are fully booked.
It's not easy to tell on the website, but the location is a few hundred feet down Yuanda Road, just past the Golden Resources mall on the north side of the road. It's slightly inside the 4th Ring Road. Transport is pretty decent taxi-wise - we got one always within 2-3 mins. Subway is non-existant though until they open one of the new north/south lines in 2009.
We've had no pro
Overall, this place gets good marks so far and is a nice alternative if you have business out in Haidian.
It's not easy to tell on the website, but the location is a few hundred feet down Yuanda Road, just past the Golden Resources mall on the north side of the road. It's slightly inside the 4th Ring Road. Transport is pretty decent taxi-wise - we got one always within 2-3 mins. Subway is non-existant though until they open one of the new north/south lines in 2009.
We've had no pro
Overall, this place gets good marks so far and is a nice alternative if you have business out in Haidian.
Aug 17, 2008, 9:09 am
#3
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: London
Programs: AA EXP, SPG Plt
Posts: 2,607
Also interesting to see their presidential suite available for some dates in the future on spg.com - a great upgrade to hope for 
Presidential Suite 2 Bedrooms, Four Comfort Bed, 2 Spacious Living Rooms, Entertainment Centre Tv/stereo, Private Jacuzzi & Fitness Room
CNY 13510.40
Presidential Suite 2 Bedrooms, Four Comfort Bed, 2 Spacious Living Rooms, Entertainment Centre Tv/stereo, Private Jacuzzi & Fitness Room
CNY 13510.40
Aug 17, 2008, 9:29 am
#4
Join Date: Sep 2006
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i had sent an email for the olympics and this is one of the property's they offered me. great to know its not that bad. esp during the olympics and i could use points per night
Aug 21, 2008, 9:20 am
#5
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: London
Programs: AA EXP, SPG Plt
Posts: 2,607
Following now after I'm home from this stay.
Overall a very nice stay. Quite a steal for a points redemption during the Olympics!
The aloft Haidian is also literally 100 ft behind this one. If you're trying to come here from the airport, it's a little hard to find - there's a huge sign on the topmost floor, but it's written in that unique Beijing way where it's hard to see in daylight (even though it's probably 10 ft tall). It was VERY helpful to show the taxi driver a printed out map of Yuanda Road written IN MANDARIN. I found the best way to do this is to search on maps.google.com for Yuanda Rd, then switch to Google Maps China to get the map in Chinese. You can switch by changing the .com to .cn.
So in this case, the Map dot is here: http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UT...,0.019312&z=16
Just use this same URL but change com to cn and it's all in Mandarin for easy printing and taxi-readiness.
http://maps.google.cn/maps/ms?ie=UTF...,0.019312&z=16
This trick works for lots of places in China and is a lifesaver if you don't speak Chinese.
(For geeks, the plain lat/long is 39.958027,116.278546)
Overall a very nice stay. Quite a steal for a points redemption during the Olympics!
The aloft Haidian is also literally 100 ft behind this one. If you're trying to come here from the airport, it's a little hard to find - there's a huge sign on the topmost floor, but it's written in that unique Beijing way where it's hard to see in daylight (even though it's probably 10 ft tall). It was VERY helpful to show the taxi driver a printed out map of Yuanda Road written IN MANDARIN. I found the best way to do this is to search on maps.google.com for Yuanda Rd, then switch to Google Maps China to get the map in Chinese. You can switch by changing the .com to .cn.
So in this case, the Map dot is here: http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UT...,0.019312&z=16
Just use this same URL but change com to cn and it's all in Mandarin for easy printing and taxi-readiness.
http://maps.google.cn/maps/ms?ie=UTF...,0.019312&z=16
This trick works for lots of places in China and is a lifesaver if you don't speak Chinese.
(For geeks, the plain lat/long is 39.958027,116.278546)
Aug 22, 2008, 11:51 am
#6
Join Date: Nov 2006
Posts: 223
The aloft is cat 2 and looks nice, so I may give that a try. I got the impression that there was a subway nearby even now, but it looks like 2 connections to get to most of the tourist sites. Does that sound right?
How much were taxis to get to Forbidden City, etc? How long did it take?
How much were taxis to get to Forbidden City, etc? How long did it take?
Aug 22, 2008, 5:52 pm
#7
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 134
Thanks for the map. I will be staying at the Aloft in a few weeks, so hopefully it opens as planned September 1.
I have been trying to get the hotel to email me a scan or jpg of the address in Mandarin, but have been unsuccessful in getting the hotel to understand my request. Hopefully, this will be help the taxi drivers.
I have been trying to get the hotel to email me a scan or jpg of the address in Mandarin, but have been unsuccessful in getting the hotel to understand my request. Hopefully, this will be help the taxi drivers.
Aug 22, 2008, 6:04 pm
#8
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: Orange County, CA
Programs: UA 2MM Lifetime Plat, Marriott Lifetime Titanium
Posts: 1,681
I booked because it was a cat 2, and the aloft's I hear are small. All the rest in the city were cat 3 or above.
Sounds like they treat Plat's really good, thanks for the info.
Aug 22, 2008, 11:22 pm
#10
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: London
Programs: AA EXP, SPG Plt
Posts: 2,607
Wirelessly posted (Blackberry8700c: BlackBerry8310/4.5.0.69 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/120)
Yep BaGou is prob the closest, but not really walkable (given that Beijing isn't a great walking city anyways IMO). That said, taxis are dirt cheap - I believe I paid 40 yuan (abt 7 USD) to get to Tianmen/Forbidden City. If you take a taxi to BaGou its prob abt 15 or 20 yuan (3-4 bucks). I figured the savings in points offset the added taxi spend. It was fairly easy to get a taxi there since Yuanda Rd is high traffic. During peak times you may wait 5 minutes or so...
Yep BaGou is prob the closest, but not really walkable (given that Beijing isn't a great walking city anyways IMO). That said, taxis are dirt cheap - I believe I paid 40 yuan (abt 7 USD) to get to Tianmen/Forbidden City. If you take a taxi to BaGou its prob abt 15 or 20 yuan (3-4 bucks). I figured the savings in points offset the added taxi spend. It was fairly easy to get a taxi there since Yuanda Rd is high traffic. During peak times you may wait 5 minutes or so...
Sep 16, 2008, 12:51 am
#11
Join Date: May 2008
Posts: 236
Four Points by Sheraton Beijing, Haidian
Did anyone stay at this property, yet?
I could not find any information on this forum (a first)?!?
The rate I got for the upcoming weekend (660 CNY+tax) is pretty good. We want to have a base in northern Beijing for a trip to the Mutianyu Great Wall (on Sat) and Summer Palace (on Sun before departure). I'm aware it's 15 km away from the Forbidden City.
Any advise as to what to expect as SPG Plat?
Link to the property is here
Any input would be appreciated!
Ham
I could not find any information on this forum (a first)?!?
The rate I got for the upcoming weekend (660 CNY+tax) is pretty good. We want to have a base in northern Beijing for a trip to the Mutianyu Great Wall (on Sat) and Summer Palace (on Sun before departure). I'm aware it's 15 km away from the Forbidden City.
Any advise as to what to expect as SPG Plat?
Link to the property is here
Any input would be appreciated!
Ham
Last edited by SanDiego1K; Sep 16, 2008 at 1:36 am Reason: Merged into existing thread without edit
Sep 16, 2008, 4:58 am
#12
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 134
Just stayed here twice in the last week. The staff says they are still in a "soft opening."
I am only at the gold level, but was given a standard room. The SPG floor is on the 9th floor. On the second stay, I was told they were upgrading me, but I guess that only meant the floor. I was moved up to the 11th floor, but the room was exactly the same.
The room is very nice and I didn't have any problem with the room layout. The bathroom, however has some deficiencies. The shower doesn't drain fast enough, and if you aren't careful you'll have a lake in the rest of the bathroom. It also has a rainfall shower head, but that is practically useless since that fills up the shower with water faster than the regular shower head. Both bathrooms had this same problem.
The bathroom also has a glass window that allows you to look into the rest of the room while having a bath. If I get around to it, I'll have pictures up.
Each side of the bed has a set of five to six light switches. We could never figure these out, as different combos either turned off some or all of the lights in the room.
It appears they are still adding tv channels as there were double the number of channels when I stayed there the second time at the end of the week.
Used the indoor swimming pool both times. The first time the pool was refreshingly warm, which was great after a long flight. The second time the pool was ice cold. Staff didn't warn about this, perhaps hoping I wasn't aware that it was supposed to be heated. They claimed they would get it heated in ten minutes. Waited twenty and gave up. Noticed that all the hot tubs were drained, unlike during the fist stay. There was probably a heating problem, so the notice would have been nice.
The hotel drive up is very poorly designed. It starts at the side of the hotel, so the staff will just flag a taxi off the street for you. One day it rained, so the hotel overhang would have been nice. They escorted us out with umbrellas, but the bad design makes the entrance pointless. Perhaps when the hotel is busier taxis will wait at the drive up.
During the two stays, I probably saw a total of 15 other guests. At 4pm I saw about five other names on the gym sign in sheet. Despite the emptiness, the staff is still very helpful and friendly. Sometimes there was a language barrier, but they tried nonetheless.
There's an Italian restaurant. Didn't use it, but I did notice that they are offering either two for one pizzas or free beer. Probably just to get the staff to do something and work out the kinks.
The breakfast buffet in the morning is free and was decent enough. Used free drink coupons at the bar, and service there was attentive.
The Aloft is right behind the Four Points, and looks like it still needs the month and a half the ownership pushed the opening to. I was offered a tour of the hotel, but didn't have enough time to take them up on the offer.
If you are going, make sure you print the Chinese language map that was provided in an earlier thread. It really helps avoid the confusion.
I am only at the gold level, but was given a standard room. The SPG floor is on the 9th floor. On the second stay, I was told they were upgrading me, but I guess that only meant the floor. I was moved up to the 11th floor, but the room was exactly the same.
The room is very nice and I didn't have any problem with the room layout. The bathroom, however has some deficiencies. The shower doesn't drain fast enough, and if you aren't careful you'll have a lake in the rest of the bathroom. It also has a rainfall shower head, but that is practically useless since that fills up the shower with water faster than the regular shower head. Both bathrooms had this same problem.
The bathroom also has a glass window that allows you to look into the rest of the room while having a bath. If I get around to it, I'll have pictures up.
Each side of the bed has a set of five to six light switches. We could never figure these out, as different combos either turned off some or all of the lights in the room.
It appears they are still adding tv channels as there were double the number of channels when I stayed there the second time at the end of the week.
Used the indoor swimming pool both times. The first time the pool was refreshingly warm, which was great after a long flight. The second time the pool was ice cold. Staff didn't warn about this, perhaps hoping I wasn't aware that it was supposed to be heated. They claimed they would get it heated in ten minutes. Waited twenty and gave up. Noticed that all the hot tubs were drained, unlike during the fist stay. There was probably a heating problem, so the notice would have been nice.
The hotel drive up is very poorly designed. It starts at the side of the hotel, so the staff will just flag a taxi off the street for you. One day it rained, so the hotel overhang would have been nice. They escorted us out with umbrellas, but the bad design makes the entrance pointless. Perhaps when the hotel is busier taxis will wait at the drive up.
During the two stays, I probably saw a total of 15 other guests. At 4pm I saw about five other names on the gym sign in sheet. Despite the emptiness, the staff is still very helpful and friendly. Sometimes there was a language barrier, but they tried nonetheless.
There's an Italian restaurant. Didn't use it, but I did notice that they are offering either two for one pizzas or free beer. Probably just to get the staff to do something and work out the kinks.
The breakfast buffet in the morning is free and was decent enough. Used free drink coupons at the bar, and service there was attentive.
The Aloft is right behind the Four Points, and looks like it still needs the month and a half the ownership pushed the opening to. I was offered a tour of the hotel, but didn't have enough time to take them up on the offer.
If you are going, make sure you print the Chinese language map that was provided in an earlier thread. It really helps avoid the confusion.
Sep 16, 2008, 5:54 am
#13
Join Date: Feb 2002
Location: DUB/ORD/SIN/PVG
Programs: EI AerClub Concierge, EK Gold, BA Gold, BD Gold (Retired), HHonors Diamond, Bonvoy Lifetime Gold
Posts: 2,923
Stayed here for 4 nights during the Olympics. Plat, upgraded to 10th floor Exec room (with access to 11th floor exec lounge).
Hotel is reasonably easy to find as it is right beside a huge mall (Golden Resources). Although not that convenient for sightseeing.
Room layout is as grandmaster describes above - although I had no problems with the shower.
Very similar feel to the Hilton Deansgate in Manchester FWIW. Lights switches are indeed confusing!
Lounge offering while I was there was limited to evening drinks and a few snacks. Chatting to the lounge attendants - breakfast buffet was due to kick in within a few weeks.
Hotel is reasonably easy to find as it is right beside a huge mall (Golden Resources). Although not that convenient for sightseeing.
Room layout is as grandmaster describes above - although I had no problems with the shower.
Very similar feel to the Hilton Deansgate in Manchester FWIW. Lights switches are indeed confusing!
Lounge offering while I was there was limited to evening drinks and a few snacks. Chatting to the lounge attendants - breakfast buffet was due to kick in within a few weeks.
Sep 17, 2008, 1:33 am
#14
Join Date: Feb 2004
Posts: 134
In case anyone is interested, photos of a standard room are now on my Picasa page.
http://picasaweb.google.com/rjbusch/...87307006931826
http://picasaweb.google.com/rjbusch/...87307006931826
Sep 19, 2008, 6:23 am
#15
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: Akumal, Mexico
Programs: Bonvoy Lifetime Titanium (thanks to SPG), AA Life Gold, UA Life Gold
Posts: 840
I'm staying at the property right now. As a Plat I was upgraded to a very large two-room suite on the 11th floor. The suite has the glassed in bathtub mentioned above plus an extra LCD TV mounted so that you can watch it from the tub itself. Overall a very nice and functional room.
Breakfast is good and plentiful; the evening buffet dinner is an excellent deal. For RMB100 there is a variety of seafood, local dishes, pasta, and sashimi plus a huge dessert table. This is on Friday night so I don't know if this is just a Friday thing or a regular thing but it is one heck of a deal. I know that I ate well more than RMB100 worth of sashimi alone.
The staff is very helpful and I found that all of the ones that I dealt with spoke very good English. If you are doing business in this part of the city it is a very good deal.
Breakfast is good and plentiful; the evening buffet dinner is an excellent deal. For RMB100 there is a variety of seafood, local dishes, pasta, and sashimi plus a huge dessert table. This is on Friday night so I don't know if this is just a Friday thing or a regular thing but it is one heck of a deal. I know that I ate well more than RMB100 worth of sashimi alone.
The staff is very helpful and I found that all of the ones that I dealt with spoke very good English. If you are doing business in this part of the city it is a very good deal.