Beijing Tiantan Wancheng Hotel

Starway Hotel accepts VISA card although many Chinese hotels require payment in cash, even some large chains. Certain members of the staff speak English although I tried to use Chinese which is their language. All of the staff were friendly. The hotel is across the street from Tian Tan Park (Temple of Heaven). The hotel is about 1 km from Old Beijing and about 2 km from Tiananmen Square. The heater is on even when one is out of the room. In most of China's hotels one needs the key card to power electricity. Thus when leaving the room, everything is OFF. The room was clean, of adequate size and a good price. There were lots of TV channels. Several little stores are nearby. I stayed here 7 nights since the hotel was in the center of the city. There are two computers in the hotel lobby (one Apple, one PC) which can be used for no additional charge. The wi-fi worked most of the time. My experience in China the best wi-fi was where the rooms were not as nice. The hotel is about 1 km from the closest metro station. There is a new line being built on the west side of Tian Tan Park so a new station may be closer. The water pressure in the shower is low. Although I had a third floor room I couldn't see much into Tian Tan Park due to the heavy smog. Wear a mask when the smog is extremely bad. The bed is hard, but this is consistent with most of China. After two weeks one gets used to it. Like much of China it is relatively safe to walk late at night. Write the hotel name in Chinese or have it available. This is important when getting directions. Generally, the people will help you if they can.

Checked in here after long tiring flight from London, No complaints about the room, but they will have to try a bit harder to achieve success with the International traveller.We wanted to eat, in deed needed to eat at the Hotel after our long flight, but while we would have liked to eat from the Chinese menu, there was no English translation or version available which resulted in us not having anything to eat that evening. This is not good enough for the non chinese speaker, but their loss I guess. Other wise our stay was fine, it could have been so much better with a little mor thought and effort.

Check-in: night staff spoke almost no English and so they checked us in using pantomime. Room: small, with stained carpet, scratched furniture, tiny bathroom, hard bed, no air conditioning, and a window that opens two inches. Dust everywhere. Moldy grout in bathroom. Shower head improperly installed so I had to crouch to get wet, as it hung down like a limp noodle. Internet: ethernet cable. No wireless except in the lobby. Breakfast: mediocre choice of Western and Asian foods, in a dingy setting much like the rest of the hotel. Check-out: I couldn't get out this hotel fast enough. It was booked for me by a local university but due to