Traveler Inn Hepingli Beijing

I was on a school trip to Beijing and I wasn't really expecting much for that reason. We knew it would be a budget hotel. We got there at about 11.30 to find that only about 4 of our 14 rooms were actually ready, so we dumped all of our bags between these 4 rooms and left to explore Beijing. We got back after a long day in Beijing at about 9.00. We went upstairs, and there was white sheeting everywhere (potential trip hazard?). The stairs were out of access too? Further Hazard? Then we got to our room.... and in actual fact, some of the rooms that my friends received were actually quite nice, but when we unlocked our room, a very sharp horrible pungent smell hit our noses. It quite literally smelt like somebody had died in that room - it was awful. The room appeared clean, but in places it hadn't. The bathroom was smelly and hadn't been cleaned properly. We didn't take it badly at first, we thought we'd notify the front desk and they'd either put us in a different room or clean the room up for us. Well basically, they just sprayed some weak air freshener in the room and left. We weren't satisfied, but we were tired, so we just had to get on with it. In the morning, we headed down to breakfast. Likewise, after spending the night in what smelled like a biffa bin, we had low expectations for breakfast. It wasn't bad, it wasn't great. The only thing I found that I could eat was toast. There wasn't any knives to spread butter, so I ended up having to use chopsticks. All the other food looked disgusting. I am not a particularly fussy eater. In the two weeks I was in China (most of spent in Tangshan), I hate most of the food served to me, but it didn't look like something I'd enjoy at all. We arrived at the room that night after another long day, it remained smelling like a mortuary with year old bodies. It was only on this night, that I found out it was possible to go from one room to another. On the outside of our room there was a balcony connecting to all of the other rooms via windows, which don't lock, so it was possible for people to break into rooms. This obviously scared me, at a time when I need all my valuables (passport, phone, money) safe and at no risk. There was no safe, there wasn't even a canvas or anything to hide stuff in. I was honestly surprised nothing was stolen over the two nights we stayed there. The next morning I skipped breakfast and headed to check out. It was the best experience of the two nights I spent there. After a day of aero-travel, I arrived home, only to be throwing up, vomiting everywhere with nausea and other norovirus symptoms. Look I can't say for sure it was the hotel, but no one else on the trip were ill like this apart from me and my friend who I shared the room with. We had done everything and been everywhere else together, which leads me to the suspicion that it was the room. It's likely the person occupying the room before me had it and because the bathroom hadn't been cleaned well, I was infected. Either way, it ruined the end of the holiday. I'd avoid this hotel at all costs. Don't do things on a budget. Money is there to be spent. Spend the money, book yourself a good, nice hotel and you'll have a much better time for it. You get what you pay for.

This is a simple, very functional, budget hotel with all the essential needs as described by other reviews for Home Inn, Beijing. We had a standard room with two beds (4th floor) and a window facing the street. What I liked: 1) hotel is situated in a nice, quiet residential area; 2) it is few minutes from a subway stop (on line 5, Hepingli N. St.) which is convenient to Wangfujing, train station and other sites; 3) many neighborhood eateries are steps outside the hotel, including fast food, cafeteria style joints. So a decent meal is fast and inexpensive. Street looks busy in the day time, but is very quiet at night. I would stay here again. Concern: There was only one operating elevator, though the wait time was not long. When we stayed there for 2-3 days, the elevator was erratic, so we walked down 4 flights of stairs once. The building has only 4-5 floors so it is manageable. Service: I was very pleasantly surprised. The staff at the desk was courteous and very responsible. Speaking the native language makes a difference; this hotel caters to mostly young domestic guests. I had left Beijing before realizing that I forgot a small denture in the bathroom cup. After two calls & texting (Chinese), the hotel found it and sent it by overnight mail to a future destination in China. Was I glad to retrieve the package! Thank you for the special service.