Great Wall Sheraton, Beijing, China [Master Thread]
Last edited by mackenzie77; Jan 15, 2017 at 7:12 am
ETA: Another common case is hotel owners who like to include their name in the property name (e.g. Wanda, HNA, Jinjjiang, CITIC). If you want to go to the Marriott NE, "Hainan Airlines Hotel" is a lot more effective than saying "Wan Hao".
Another taxi cost data point: 87rmb total with the toll.
And, must have gotten the "last" base suite room as it's not as nice: 2 tube style tv's, small bathroom with shower curtain in the tub (ceiling is a little low.) Living room area separated by a sliding glass divider.
Xi Lai Deng = Sheraton (or even Four points)
Xi Er Dun = Hilton
Wan Hao = Marriott
Wei Si Ding = Westin
Xiang Ge Li La = Shangri La
I wonder what about the other brands...
There's a name for SPG in Chinese as well, can't remember what it was.
Starwood is Xi Da Wu... Actually just speak Starwood very slowly will get the correct pronunciation
Four Points is Fu Peng Xi Lai Deng (= Four Points Sheraton... Skipped the meaning of "by" in Chinese)
St. Regis = Rui Ji
Le Meridian = Ai Mei
aloft = Ya Le Xuan
Don't border consider the Chinese name of Luxury Collection, Tribute Collection and Design Hotel... You will only call those hotels' name even in English right?
This is a good hotel isbusing points or cheap rate. But expect 3 star. So many better Starwood's in Beijing like Westin finance street.
Westin FS is also a bit aging but at least it can afford the renovation and it's really much younger...
The Great Wall Sheraton Hotel
10 North Dong San Huan Road Beijing, CN 100026
Decent, you get what you paid for (10 Photos)
The Great Wall Sheraton Hotel
Stayed a total of 15 nights for a business trip, which means I was a bit limited in terms of budget and from all the SPG options I had, this one was had the most convenient location for me.
Check In
Landed in PEK at 7AM so I arrived via Airport Train and Metro at around 10AM. They had a Deluxe room available but not a Queen/King size bed. Only twins. I was ok with it, happy enough to be able to check in that early in the day.
The staff at the Front Desk speak relatively good English but I did mix English and Chinese when speaking to them to speed up things a bit. My Chinese isn't great but is good enough for casual things.
Room
After reading reviews here and on other sides, I wasn't expecting much to be honest. I knew it was a very old hotel and I wasn't disappointed. The room is big enough with ample space to put your belongings, a desk, a couch. The TV comes from the 90s.... the bathroom as well. It seriously needs a refresh or they should just tear it down and rebuild. It was clean though and the bed was comfortable. I had a view facing South, looking at San Li Tun area, which is walking distance if you don't mind walking a good 20-30min.
One thing though.... like some of the older Asian hotels, one of the light source is a bright white fluorescent tube hidden in the double ceiling. When you turn that on by mistake, i can tell you, it wakes you up haha.
Location
The hotel is located in the North-Eastern side of the city, near the diplomatic area where all the embassies are located so you can imagine what kind of guests they are having. It's located opposite the Landmark hotel and there's a Starbucks in that building if you need one. FYI, it's sometimes easier to tell taxi drivers you wanna go to the Landmark rather than the Sheraton, they know it better (at least in Chinese). You have to be careful sometimes that they don't mix it up with the Four Points which is at the other end of the city. In general, I noticed that the taxi drivers tend to not like you showing them business cards or shoving your phone to their faces with the location in Chinese. I think mainly because they can't even read as most have to take out their glasses :) So it's a good thing to ask the FD to tell you how to say the hotel name in Chinese. Just makes your life easier.
I took public transport most of the time as it was more convenient and faster during rush hours. The nearest station is Agricultural Exhibition Centre and is only a few minutes walk from the hotel. Easyily accessible even with suitcases. Another station is Liangmaqiao but it's a bit further away. Everytime I walked back to the Sheraton, I saw the Westin a bit further away and wished I was staying there.
Anyway, metro from the hotel to the Financial District (Fuchengmen) takes around 40min to 1 hour.
Overall
I used the "6 for 2" offer code to book this hotel so in the end, it was RMB 573 per night (USD 83) which is a pretty good value (exc. breakfast) if you don't mind the old feel of the building and the rooms.
Actually, when I re-read my review, I realize the hotel is not that old... it's just like most of the old Marriotts or Hiltons in North America :) Once you've lived in Asia for too long, you're just too spoiled and used to spanking newly opened hotels I guess :)
Too bad, this was always an easy place to stay. Good location, low price, decent lounge.
And that now after the owners finally took some money to renovate the place.
SkywalkerLAX, any chance the GM told you if the hotel is re-flagging or going independent?
[QUOTE=skywalkerLAX;28428091]Sadly for many of us, the GM informed me today that the Great Wall Sheraton will exit the Starwood / Sheraton brand on June 30th 2017 and no longer be affiliated with the Marriott family of hotels.
/QUOTE]
SkywalkerLAX, any chance the GM told you if the hotel is re-flagging or going independent?
No he didn't say but I think reflagging wouldnt make much sense. They'd still have to pay franchise fees to whatever brand and I don't think even after reno they can command a much higher ADR than right now. Going independent is probably much more reasonable. Compare for example with the Landmark Hotel next door which occasionally shows up in my searched for the same or more than GWS. I'm sure it's the same or worse!
And yes, the ambiance was retro, very retro, but variety is the spice of life. Always reminded of what a new hotel looked like in the 80s.
I have a load of memories of this place over the last 20 some years. Anyone else remember when Planet Hollywood was in the facing tower?
Oh well....