I don't know if this hotel is representative of other hotels in Beijing, I hope not for the sake of others from the west visiting this city.
On the face of it this hotel looks great, nice reception, nice rooms with en suites and all the usual things you would expect to find in a reasonable hotel, but beyond that our experience was strange to say the least.
The mini bar had three cans of soft drink, two small bottles of water, a bottle of coke, a small tin of beer and a miniature brandy. Anything used from the bar is never replaced during your stay, we requested more water but nothing came.
The beds were like morticians slabs, it would have been more comfortable sleeping on the floor. I like an extra pillow but was unable to get one.
I am all for experimenting with different foods but the restaurant menu had some strange dishes that never really did it for my gastronomic juices - stewed bullfrogs, goose heads and chickens feet are examples of the delicacies on offer. The restaurant staff constantly giggled between themselves whilst having any contact with us, we were obviously a great source of amusement to them.
When it came to getting an alchoholic drink there was a real problem. We were OK getting served with one beer but caused a major incident when trying to order a second. Restaurant staff, hotel managers, security personel and people from the kitchens poured into the restaurant from all over to hold a conference before a waitress was sent to inform us that the restaurant had closed and we could have no more beer. Perhaps they had a Rock Band from the west staying there once?
On our second day jet lag caught up with us so we needed a sleep in. Despite putting the 'Do Not Disturb' sign on the door we were subject to constant door knocking and ringing, people coming in to stare at us in bed, telephone calls to the room and to our mobile phones. When I eventually answered the telephone the english of the person at the other end was limited to 'hello' and 'we want to clean your room'. It was a waste of time trying to explain to them what 'Do Not Disturb' means where we come from.
On our final day we were again subject to early visits to our room enquiring when we were going to check out. When we eventually got to the reception desk to sort out our bill there was a reception committee looking to all intents and purposes like they were expecting a major confrontation. In the time we had walked from our room to the reception a member of staff had been to check our rooms and found that the can of beer had been drunk since the last time they checked and came running down the stairs poste haste to make sure the receptionist knew so it could be added to our bill.
It may have been us, we may have given off hostile vibes or something, but the negative attention we received and the obvious distrust that we were treated with was oppressive to the point of harrassment. I know this country has been isolated from the rest of the world for many years and are now keen to become part of the world community using the 2008 Olympics as a showcase for their capital, but if our experience is anything to go by they have a long way yet to go before the level of service on offer and the treatment of foreigners matches the standard of the hotel.
AI Summary
