Pei Mansion Hotel

Came here to learn and appreciate I.M. Pei's father's home. Supposedly the Peis were already officials in the Qing dynasty and his father was made the first chief of Bank of China. Feng shui permeates everything designed in the house from the dragon staircase to the hundred longevity wall to the five fascard (representing the five elements: Water, Fire, Gold, Wood, and Soil) pavillion in the garden. The current operator of the restaurant is a high end chain called Xing Rong Ji. The taste of the seasonal June Yellow crabs (liu yue huang) complements well with the settings.

Stayed two nights at this hotel for business. The mansion itself I could imagine was something stunning at its prime time; however, this hotel operator failed to turn this beautiful place into something nice. What they did was ruining the place, a big pity. The service was terrible. Staff were taking to each other or doing nothing when guests were waiting to check in. Breakfast was simple Chinese congee with pickles, boiled egg, and citrus. No complain about the food but the breakfast place was just a room with a big round table and they made guests sitting around that table which was quite awkward. The room was two floor with bathroom at the entry floor and bed upstairs. The staircase was quite steep and the lighting system was stupidly designed that you can’t simply switch lights on or off for a particular floor. Overall, very disappointing experience and wish someone could take over and do a better job to preserve the place and resume its old day glory.

I recently stayed at the PEI mansion - room was beautiful... all traditional Chinese. Antiques were lovely. The only unfortunate thing was the bed... it was hard as a rock. I felt like I was sleeping on the floor. If they upgraded to a mattress ( I really don’t even think it was a mattress) this would be a 5 star hotel. Also, I don’t eat meat/dairy... it was hard to speak with staff about breakfast to get the food I needed, but that happens all the time. Also... great location ! Amazing restaurants and Shopping walking distance and very convenient to get the subway. All in all 4.25