Beijing Serviced Stay - State Apartments

Other reviews are accurate with respect to Mr. Sammy and how helpful he is, location of the apartments etc. so I wont repeat those things. Here are few additional things which you need to bear in mind 1. The Beijing Railway station opposite this hotel is NOT the one for the high speed trains (to shanghai for instance) but you can book your tickets at this station. There is only one counter where they speak English at this station so carry written instructions in Mandarine so that you can use any window. You need the southern railway station (a spanking new facility) for high speed trains. That is about 25 minutes away by taxi if you dont encounter traffic and costs about 25 Yuan to get there. 2. It costs about 80 Yuan to get here from the airport and takes about 45 minutes depending on traffic. At Beijing airport, the taxi system is not ordered and you have to jump in and "steal" your cab. They are especially not happy if you are travelling with luggage and will see past you and prefer to take on other pax. Private taxis (vans) asked for 500 Yuan to get us to this hotel which is a complete ripoff. 3. The Tourist Department across from the hotel was closed the 7 days we were there. Not sure if this was just temporary but dont count on this to get any help. 4. For some local stuff like the Kung-Fu Show (which was strictly ok and gets a seperate review), we used the hotel next door (Howard Johnson Paragon Hotel) to book tickets. Agents (like this hotel) can offer better value on the tickets than going to the venue and buying them directly. I also recommend the cheapest tickets costing 180 Yuan (price at venue 200 Yuan) as there is absolutely no difference between this and the 600 yuan ticket except you are at the side instead of the dead center. 5. Apartments are easily accessible to Subway Line 1 Jianguomen Station (7 min walk) and Subway Line 2 Beijing Railway Station (3 minute walk). The Bank at the corner provides good exchange rate for money change. 6. I dont know why these people are obsessed with McDonalds, but the block around this apartment has 5 McDonalds! There is one Starbucks opposite the hotel but we found the cookies to be stale. There is a Pizza Hut on the block which closes by 9 pm and that is the ONLY vegetarian option around. 7. The best thing about the apartment is the Yonghui Super store in the basement which is incredibly helpful especially for vegetarians like us. You can buy everything from bread to beer here. The building itself is built on a mall so you can find stores to buy phone cards, accessories etc without having to leave the building. 8. For the Great Wall Tour (Muthiyanu Section), Ming Tombs and a stopover at the Olympic Park we choose the services of Lily recommended by Mr. Sammy. A little bargaining and we got the whole day package for 750 YUAN all inclusive. The driver was excellent and helpful. The car they offered is a local Chinese sedan which was spacious and comfortable. If you book this through Paragon Hotel next door, the cost is about 1000 Yuan for the same car (Audi was 1250 Yuan). You will find some incredibly cheap deals like 300-400 Yuan at the Forbidden City for this same circuit. I was warned specifically NOT to take these as they will make 3 stops at 3 tourist traps and if you dont buy anything, the driver gets mad. I was told in some cases the driver even asked the passengers to disembark in the middle of the road. As opposed to this, our deal with Lily was we didnt want to waste time with this "forced shopping" and she (and the driver) kept their word. The driver also acts like a guide as in he get the tickets and follows you around in case you need help. I am sure Mr. Sammy can help with this but let me know if anyone needs lily's number. I think I still have it. 9. A bit about the apartment itself, clean and spacious, excellent value for money. Would remind you of a college apartment. We had a 2 bed apartment and it had two bathrooms, 2 tvs, and a kitchen with all equipment including a washing machine but the dryer did not work. The cleaning ladies come but all they do is a cursory sweep and take out the trash....a 10 minute super fast clean up, not the type you get in hotels. This is not a problem but it is good to be aware of this. I was happy with these apartments and we were travelling with 2 kids aged 6 and 10. I choose these apartments as I figured it is better to be closer to Wangfujing and city center to save on taxi fare. However we never used a taxi at all and if you are using the subway anyway (its a 2 yuan fixed fare for ANY distance!) dont hesitate to choose some others apartments like Ascot for instance which is only 2 further subway stops away if you get a great deal with them. You will not use a taxi anyway and the subway is fast, cheap and convenient. It is always crowded though...anytime of the day or evening. The neighbourhood is safe.

We stayed for 4 nights at the Beijing Service Stay State Apartments. It was in the middle of Beijing, close to the subway with easy access to most of the major sites. We had a large one bedroom apartment with kitchen and enjoyed a comfortable stay here. There is a swimming pool on the 5th floor (but you do have to wear swimming caps to use the pool, my daughter didn't like that). No breakfast included, but there is a store and restaurants below. It was nice to have a washing machine also. The staff doesn't speak English, but we met up with Mr. Sammy upon arrival who will answer any questions you have. We hired a guide for 2 out of the 5 days we spent in Beijing, and we used her for a 1/2 day upon arrival to show us around the area - subways, shopping mall below, and nearby restaurants and banks. This place was very comfortable, felt safe, close to the subway and tourist sites, and worked out perfect for our needs!

This apartment is situated in the heart of Beijing, and in an excellent building which is opulent. The apartment was was very comfortable and right above an excellen shopping centre and a few minutes walk from the Beijing Railway Station subway station. Beijing metro is excellent and you are connected to all the places in a fast and comfortable way at a flat rate of 2 Yuan per journey. CNN, BBC and HBO are available on the TV. However it is not part of an apartment hotel and no service of that type is available. Though we did not need to contact Sammy but I believe he is available on the phone for any guidance. He speaks good English but the staff do not at the recetion. However they try to be helpful, like calling for a taxi, etc.They have a fully equipped kitchen which is a great help. The apartment is cleaned every day with change of fresh towels. We stayed there fro 6th till 12th Sept and were satisfied