“Language barrier issues”

Beautiful hotel, close to South Train Station as cities go! Lots of toiletries and towels in the room plus tea&scoffed making facilities. However, the staff had barely a word of English and even with a translator app on the phone they managed to completely confuse both us and themselves with the... more

Beautiful hotel, close to South Train Station as cities go! Lots of toiletries and towels in the room plus tea&scoffed making facilities. However, the staff had barely a word of English and even with a translator app on the phone they managed to completely confuse both us and themselves with the amount for the room plus deposit. Our room cost 530CNY but on top of that we had to pay 570CNY as a deposit. Completely ridiculous, surely if you pay for a room you don't need to pay over and above to keep it clean!!! And the staff couldn't even explain to us why a deposit was necessary. They also sent us, via bus, to south train station instead of the north train station meaning we missed our Great Wall tour. In general, the city is very tourist unfriendly, no bi-lingual signage, can't use 'foreign' credit or Visa cards in most shops and restaurants and the staff in service (trains/buses/restaurants/shops) have poor foreign language skills. But the hotel facilities are great and beds are comfortable plus everything was clean!

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“A very Chinese Hotel”

It is a very “Chinese” hotel. The receptionist speaks very little English. There is no nearby Starbucks or Macdonald’s. The buffet breakfast has a wide choice but no silver ware, that is, eat full breakfast, fried egg, sausages, bacon , salad and even spread your bread with chopsticks. When... more

It is a very “Chinese” hotel. The receptionist speaks very little English. There is no nearby Starbucks or Macdonald’s. The buffet breakfast has a wide choice but no silver ware, that is, eat full breakfast, fried egg, sausages, bacon , salad and even spread your bread with chopsticks. When you are in China, do as what Chinese do!!

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“Functional, but no frills”

I stayed in this hotel for two and a half weeks (October to November 2014) for a work-related trip to Beijing. The booking and costs were arranged by my employer, and so I cannot comment on this part of the stay. Checking in would have been very difficult had it not been for a Chinese colleague ... more

I stayed in this hotel for two and a half weeks (October to November 2014) for a work-related trip to Beijing. The booking and costs were arranged by my employer, and so I cannot comment on this part of the stay. Checking in would have been very difficult had it not been for a Chinese colleague who kindly accompanied me to the hotel from the airport. The reception staff did not speak English to a working level, and so I had to rely on my colleague to help me with this. Whilst this isn't unusual for a Chinese hotel geared primarily towards Chinese businesspersons, it seems work mentioning the lack of English-speaking employees as this may be useful for other potential visitors to know in advance. My room was very large and well maintained, although did smell of stale cigarettes as the entire hotel seems to be smoking-friendly. As a non-smoker, this was quite unpleasant. The room was serviced daily, with fresh towels etc, and the housekeeping standard was good. The bathroom was a little less good, although not terrible. There was a Western-style toilet which was cleaned daily. However, the grout around the shower and bath was black with mould, and when I arrived the shower would not drain as the plug hole was clogged with hair. There was a television in the room, which on arriving had one English-speaking channel. However, by day three of my stay, this channel inexplicably disappeared, never to return again. There are several restaurants within the hotel building - some of which appear to be separately managed. I did not eat at many of these: only the main restaurant by the reception desk. This one serves a large breakfast buffet each morning, with lots of variety. A similar buffet is held in the evening, with a change in the selection of food served. When eating here with my colleague - native Beijingers - they told me that the food quality was not so good, although as I'm not hugely familiar with Chinese cuisine, I wouldn't have known this. It tasted fine to me. One thing that I found a little difficult was that as this hotel is not geared towards tourists and is not centrally located, many taxi drivers had not heard of it, and were not willing to drive me to it. Although I was there on business nearby, I did spend a few days sight-seeing in central Beijing, and so once I left the hotel, it could at times be difficult to get back again. This was a bit unnerving as a single, female traveller in a country where I did not speak the language. It is difficult to review this hotel adequately, without imposing the expectations of British/Western hotels on an Asian hotel, as the style, management, and clientele base is very different, and I have put off reviewing it for some time as I have been considering how best to write about it without coming across as eurocentric, ignorant, or entitled. It is unusual for me (as somebody who has primarily travelled within Europe) to encounter a hotel where smoking in rooms is considered the norm, and English is not the spoken language. However, this is standard in this class of hotel, and should not be considered to detract from the hotel's value as I am not it's typical client. In general, this is a convenient hotel to stay in if you are working nearby (for example, at the Capital Medical University). It also is well-maintained, and seems to be relatively inexpensive. Pros: - Close to the Capital Medical University - Large rooms - Large choice in the buffet restaurant Cons (from the viewpoint of a Western traveller): - Staff speak very limited English - Hotel is far from central Beijing - Hotel is smoking-friendly, and smells that way - Walls are thin in the hotel, and so can be noisy if your neighbours are in

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