Lianlian Hutong Guest House

We stayed here expecting it to be more like a guesthouse but it is a straight up hostel. Rooms are clean and basic. The floor in my room needed repair but the shower had good pressure and the place was clean. Beds are pretty basic, not overly comfy. Staff is pleasant and helpful- we booked an excellent tour to the Great Wall through the front desk. Drinks available in the "office" (water, Sprite, etc) but no food. Location is far from everything- you will need to take taxis or subway to get anywhere but both are cheap. The White Pagoda is right around the corner but no good restaurants around.

We stayed here for 4 nights in September and really enjoyed it. Great location. Fantastic staff who were very helpful and arranged a trip the the Great Wall for us with a lovely local taxi man. The room was ok. It could definitely do with a bit of renovation and upgrading. I would still happily stay again though.

The staff here are okay - English is good, they will help you if they feel inclined. Bathrooms are quite smelly but the hot water and water pressure are good. Cleaning seemed to be non-existent. I dropped something under my bed and retrieving it unearthed thick dust and clumps of hair. Initially I thought I'd gotten mosquito bites, strange because it's quite cold now in Beijing but still, there could be a few. I stayed 4 nights and on my final night, two guests departed the room quite late. Luckily, I understand enough Korean - turns out, the people on the bottom bunks had been kept awake all night fending off bedbugs. They thought they were fleas but upon searching and finding them, they were bedbugs. What really upsets me is the hostel said NOTHING to the two of us in top bunks, just moved the guests who complained and left us to sleep in that infested room. We hoped for the best but sadly... 10 days later, my bites are infected and haven't stopped itching. They are distinctly different to mosquito or flea bites - they run in lines and clusters. Do not stay here, unless you want to be miserable and have to boil or set fire to all your stuff afterwards.