clublounger

I just called down to ask:

RMB 188 + 15% service charge = RMB 227.15

lcpteck

Wow that's expensive though not uncommon.

skrosvik

The PLT ug suites I have had here is crap The hotel have seen it's better days. The pool looks...ehh..."strange".

However, it was a great value at 3000 points per night back then.

clublounger

Still here. I've been seeing the same gentleman employee throughout my stay in the lounge and in the breakfast restaurant, and we always greet one another.

He's a Manager. He just stopped by my table in the lounge and we had a very pleasant conversation about Beijing AND this hotel. Of note - they have 60 suites in the hotel, and last night alone they had 120 Platinum members in house.

It's the lowest SPG redemption rate in Beijing, other than the further out Aloft (which I really like), and considering the Plat benefits of lounge and breakfast, they stay VERY busy.

Temper your expectations and you should be pleased.

Astrophsx

Any idea on when the lounge opens for breakfast?

lcpteck

Added SPG Instant Awards to Wiki.

They only have nice looking USB Memory stick.

moondog

Wow! They really do seem to be preparing for "the end"... living on borrowed time.

zyxlsy

Good things aren't cheap. Sheraton Great Wall Beijing have cheap rates for its supposed level, so you have the answer.
There are a lot of good SPG choices around. My personal favorite is much newer Sheraton Dongcheng which is on the North Ring Road. The drive to Sheraton Great Wall from Sheraton Dongcheng is about 10 minutes, or 20 minutes with morning traffic.

moondog

For me, location is important enough in Beijing to choose a lesser hotel in a good location over a better hotel in a marginal location. Of course, the Westin provides the best of both worlds, but its ADR is substantially higher than both Sheratons.

TRAVELSIG

+1
In Beijing, Guangzhou, and Shanghai- I choose the hotel based on the location I need/want to be in- even if there is a better hotel elsewhere the time in the three cities to move from one area to another can be measured frequently in hours- so better to stay as close as is reasonable to your location of choice.

zyxlsy

I personally do think Sheraton Great Wall is quite not acceptable, but I might be wrong because my last time there was 4 years ago.

You know there used to be a fancy night club in that hotel, right? Part of the hotel where the night club is located was guarded by some security persons, and restricted for hotel guests. You can understanding how you feel when you can only walk this way, not that way in the hotel you are staying, right?

I do think there are other substitutions in the vicinity, like Landmark Hotel, which is a really nice 4*.

I think Sheraton Great Wall's staff is quite stuck-up, because of their former glory... And there seems to be lots of secrets in this hotel which I don't think regular guests don't wanna get involved with...

moondog

Passions is in the same building as the hotel, but is not part of it. While I'm sure you know this, for the benefit of the others, it's not exactly a "night club" in the conventional sense (it's not dangerous by any means either though).

Regarding the Landmark Hotel, I've booked many nights there over the years because it is a good value and the apartments --not the standard rooms-- are decently appointed, but it doesn't deserve 4 stars any more than the GW deserves 5.

zyxlsy

Yes, I think the "天上人间" is to the right from the tiny lobby of the hotel. I will never forget there even were guards preventing us from getting close to the entrance of the already closed down place, while we were simply trying to take the escalator next to the entrance to go to the restaurants on the second floor.

That's why I said this hotel (or the building this hotel is located in) has too much secrecy, which would make guests feel uneasy...

moondog

A lot of powerful people go there and prefer to be discrete about it. I've been with clients a few times, and it's honestly no more sketchy than less exclusive KTVs.

zyxlsy

Yeh, I know, I've been hearing stories about that place while in PKU. But when the guards thing happened, the place was already closed down.

My understanding was that maybe it was a hot spot for reporters to dig things up, so there were guards there. But having a restricted area in the hotel can be uneasy for first time guests, right?

Don't know what the hotel is like now, and don't really wanna know... I can spend $1000 a night for vacation in Bora Bora, but I am no where near buying clients $5000/night pros, and will not be in the near future...

For me personally, Westin Chaoyang would be the first choice for that area (had my wedding there), then Landmark Hotel.