Beijing Xinyuan Hotel

There's not a lot of reason for independent travelers to pick this hotel unless arriving/leaving from West rail station. It's better than more Chinese 5-star hotels I have stayed in, but not a top-class international hotel. Pros: Nice, clean room in good condition Soft bed and pillows Quality fixtures and ammenities 10-15 minute walk from West rail station Cons: Staff may not speak English Western restaurant overpriced and poor quality Few restaurants and shops close by Mixed: It is near the subway which is nice, but being on line 10 will mean one or two transfers to most tourist sites. The hotel was busy, but I found the service to be good. We added a roll-away bed to our room and also borrowed wine glasses and a corkscrew The breakfast buffet was pretty standard for a Chinese hotel, though better than average. The breakfast room was busy buy there were enough tables during our visit, and I appreciate the long breakfast hours. Not fantastic for Western options, but the automatic machine made real coffee, not instant. Look for the Chinese jianbing/pancake, which is a classic Beijing street food. Unfortunately, the pool/fitness area was closed during our visit. For the right price, this is a fine option for people who want a nicer place near Beijing West Rail station and are not expecting a fully Western hotel experience.

My partner and I stayed here in May with Wendy Wu Tours, the rooms were very clean and the bed very comfortable. After a hard days touring theirs nothing more enjoyable than having a drink with your tour group, except the Bar had run out of alcohol. there was a menu, with a selection of drinks, cocktails and snacks. no snacks, no cocktails, no Vodka, no Gin, they only sell red wine by the bottle, and they do not sell white wine at all. On the second night a member of the Bar staff knew how to make cocktails but took him over half an our to make each one, no time to have another. The Hotel is not near any restaurants or bars within walking distance so couldn't go anywhere else, coffee and biscuit and an early night, just what you don't want when you are on holiday. It was a bit of a marathon to find any Breakfast items, no logic to were things were placed, had to keep asking for bread, they just filled it with six slices at a time, then it took over twenty minutes to get some more, the toaster needs replacing with a new one, they need to open earlier so tour groups have time for breakfast before they start there day. although the Hotel says its non smoking, you could smell that someone had smoked in our room previously and the lifts stunk. Unfortunately, its not a great review and II know how damaging a bad review can be but honestly guys get your act together and hire a decent bar manager.

This property is mainly used by Chinese guests and I can understand why. Where to start on the niggly but nonetheless annoying and disappointing aspects of my 6 night stay on business? Well in no particular order: - Staff - especially front desk and lobby - generally speak little or no English, and mostly exude an attitude of not caring much about customer service. - Breakfast service is a limited buffet of mainly local foods with a smattering of unappetising dry pastries, nasty breads and a couple of cereal choices. I discovered that the room service menu hanging on my bedroom door was better, including oatmeal (good) eggs any style, bacon, ham, etc. but read on... - Housekeeping service very variable: One day no replacement towels or bathmat or tissues, another day green tea bags replaced with black, and so on. After the first morning taking room service breakfast the order card ("place outside door before 3am, etc.") was not replaced. When I asked several different housekeeping and front desk staff I was variously brought: a wet plate, a restaurant menu on an iPad, a hotel carrier bag and finally soap.... In desperation I hand wrote my order on a notepad and left it on the door at midnight. Minutes later the doorbell rang and lo and behold - an order form! The following day still no replacement form left, so went around the loop searching for another yet again. - Room temperature and A/C centrally controlled with no individual control in the room. So first few nights were cold (in mid-November) then magically the heating came on one day and guess what? TOO HOT! Only option offered by confused and uncaring staff: "Open window"... - Only Chinese or Korean in-house restaurant options for lunch / dinner, neither with appetising choices for my Western tastes. Only the local beer is more or less adequate, but not so nourishing! On the plus side: - Room generally comfortable and spacious (although not well serviced: see above). - There's a gym and pool - hardly used by locals so always free. However only open between 10 am and 11 pm so no chance to use before a business day. Overall not recommended for Westerners used to Western brand properties and services. Next time I'll use one of those.