XiZhao Temple Hotel (formerly Beijing King Talent Hotel)
Mar 3rd, 2010, 05:58 PM
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XiZhao Temple Hotel (formerly Beijing King Talent Hotel)
Hello folks! Has anyone, by chance, stayed at this hotel in Beijing? I saw it listed at Expedia.com site and it looks interesting. Any feedback is mos welcome. Thanks
Mar 4th, 2010, 02:29 PM
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This is the second recommendation of this site by the same person, and starts to look like spam.
ALL Chinese hotel booking websites apparently give deep discounts simply because the same or better discounts are available over the counter. The discounted price is the real price. If you must book ahead you'll certainly do better with a Chinese website than with somewhere like Expedia. Look for the hotel on Ctrip or eLong.
The text here looks simply pasted in, and possibly Google translated from existing promotional text, not born of personal experience.
ALL Chinese hotel booking websites apparently give deep discounts simply because the same or better discounts are available over the counter. The discounted price is the real price. If you must book ahead you'll certainly do better with a Chinese website than with somewhere like Expedia. Look for the hotel on Ctrip or eLong.
The text here looks simply pasted in, and possibly Google translated from existing promotional text, not born of personal experience.
Mar 6th, 2010, 02:54 PM
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@ PeterN_H,
Thanks for your reply.
Frankly speaking, I think that my having mentioned Expedia was useless and actually did not convey what I wanted.
What I really wanted was to find out if anybody had been a guest of that hotel (XiZhao)and could perhaps say something about it. It seems like it is a restaured temple nearby the Temple of heaven, and the idea of being in an ancient temple attracts me. But unfortunately I cannot find any reviews regarding to this hotel.
I don't quite get how you infer that I am recommending Expedia. I did no such thing. I have had excellent experiences so far with expedia, but have no reason whatsoever to advertise in their favor or, in your words, to "spam".
I am in fact, stunned to see how on earth you found out about it. I think I recommended Expedia to someone more than a year ago, if I am not mistaken in a thread regarding Egypt.
I took a look at both Ctrip and eLong but couldn't find anything about that specific hotel. But thanks for referring them. Would this recommendation be considered "spam"?
I am somewhat confused. What post was deleted? I only posted once. Or did you post twice the same information. I apologize but I don't quite understand what you mean.
Please don't be mad at me. I see you are very knowledgeable as regards China and I would appreciate further help.
Thanks for your reply.
Frankly speaking, I think that my having mentioned Expedia was useless and actually did not convey what I wanted.
What I really wanted was to find out if anybody had been a guest of that hotel (XiZhao)and could perhaps say something about it. It seems like it is a restaured temple nearby the Temple of heaven, and the idea of being in an ancient temple attracts me. But unfortunately I cannot find any reviews regarding to this hotel.
I don't quite get how you infer that I am recommending Expedia. I did no such thing. I have had excellent experiences so far with expedia, but have no reason whatsoever to advertise in their favor or, in your words, to "spam".
I am in fact, stunned to see how on earth you found out about it. I think I recommended Expedia to someone more than a year ago, if I am not mistaken in a thread regarding Egypt.
I took a look at both Ctrip and eLong but couldn't find anything about that specific hotel. But thanks for referring them. Would this recommendation be considered "spam"?
I am somewhat confused. What post was deleted? I only posted once. Or did you post twice the same information. I apologize but I don't quite understand what you mean.
Please don't be mad at me. I see you are very knowledgeable as regards China and I would appreciate further help.
Mar 6th, 2010, 03:29 PM
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jfcarli, Peter was referring to a post that appeared after yours that was spam and was deleted by the editors. He was not referring to your mention of expedia. These boards are monitored for spam and it is deleted as soon as seen by the editors.
Mar 6th, 2010, 03:51 PM
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> I don't quite get how you infer that I am recommending Expedia.
Hang on, there. The entire post to which you are responding referred to a spam post made after your initial one, and which had pasted-in text of the hotel's description, and pushed a particular Chinese hotel booking site, part of a rash of simultaneous similar posts. That was subsequently deleted by the moderator, and the post I made immediately following my first one, and still visible above, was intended to make clear that the references were to a now-vanished posting.
So setting all that misunderstanding aside, a few thoughts:
There's a sudden rash of these hotels in 'restored' ancient buildings, be they vernacular, or religious, or princely buildings. There were more than 30 by last year, and, I suspect more than 40 now. While I've visited many of them, I haven't visited this particular one.
What you should note is the general untrustworthiness of communications at a distance on hotel properties (and much else to do with tourism in China). Many of the hotels claiming to be in courtyard residences are almost or entirely brand new, built in a rough sketch of traditional style, or simply built on a similar scale.
Others have been through so many vicissitudes and modifications that any sense of their origins is lost. Nevertheless, many of them are pleasant, and the quality of the accommodation ranges from hostel to as deluxe as it gets (e.g. the wonderful Aman Summer Palace). But, the Aman and a few others aside, dreams of real history are likely to be shattered, and rebuild, or entirely re-imagined is more likely.
Note that the site gives you no connection between interior shots and exterior ones, and it's quite possible that many of those self-consciously Chinese-y interiors are not in the remaining (rebuilt/re-imagined) temple halls, but in the rather uglier modern buildings some of whose exteriors you are also shown. Certainly the standard double room won't be in the 'historic' buildings (note there are 118 rooms), and if there are rooms available in the old/fake temple buildings then they are likely to be those marked down to ¥1200 from ¥2980. That may seem like an astonishing discount, but in fact that's normal behaviour for Chinese-run hotels. Note if you stay more than one night the price drops further.
Still, this kind of property, whether historic or fake, is authentically Chinese (a fake something or other is just about the most authentic souvenir of modern China's realities you could hope to take home), and to many minds superior than sitting in a Westernised hotel room unable to tell without looking out of the window what country you're in.
For Chinese-run hotels, the best price will always be the one you bargain for over the counter, without having booked. Booking in advance over foreign English-language sites is usually just about the most expensive way to pay for a Chinese-run hotel. For an idea of real prices look round the English pages of Chinese-run websites such as the Ctrip already mentioned, although at the moment both sites seem to be showing ¥450 (a nominal reduction from the official rate of ¥980, which NOBODY EVER PAYS. The real prices are the 'discounted' ones. The descriptions of Chinese-run hotels are often wildly mendacious, but the prices, which only appear to be very deeply discounted, give you a clue what you can achieve for yourself (which is usually slightly better still). If you must book then this is the kind of site you want to use, although there can be problems with bait-and-switch, with bookings not actually being there when you arrive, and for those hotels for which paying in advance is required, problems with using a foreign credit card.
And 'near the Temple of Heaven'? Well, a hefty, I'd guess at least 20-minute very brisk walk away, and longer for most people. If you've more to see in Beijing than the Temple of Heaven, then one of the key things is to be close to a metro station, the one right outside the east gate of the Temple of Heaven being your nearest.
Peter N-H
Hang on, there. The entire post to which you are responding referred to a spam post made after your initial one, and which had pasted-in text of the hotel's description, and pushed a particular Chinese hotel booking site, part of a rash of simultaneous similar posts. That was subsequently deleted by the moderator, and the post I made immediately following my first one, and still visible above, was intended to make clear that the references were to a now-vanished posting.
So setting all that misunderstanding aside, a few thoughts:
There's a sudden rash of these hotels in 'restored' ancient buildings, be they vernacular, or religious, or princely buildings. There were more than 30 by last year, and, I suspect more than 40 now. While I've visited many of them, I haven't visited this particular one.
What you should note is the general untrustworthiness of communications at a distance on hotel properties (and much else to do with tourism in China). Many of the hotels claiming to be in courtyard residences are almost or entirely brand new, built in a rough sketch of traditional style, or simply built on a similar scale.
Others have been through so many vicissitudes and modifications that any sense of their origins is lost. Nevertheless, many of them are pleasant, and the quality of the accommodation ranges from hostel to as deluxe as it gets (e.g. the wonderful Aman Summer Palace). But, the Aman and a few others aside, dreams of real history are likely to be shattered, and rebuild, or entirely re-imagined is more likely.
Note that the site gives you no connection between interior shots and exterior ones, and it's quite possible that many of those self-consciously Chinese-y interiors are not in the remaining (rebuilt/re-imagined) temple halls, but in the rather uglier modern buildings some of whose exteriors you are also shown. Certainly the standard double room won't be in the 'historic' buildings (note there are 118 rooms), and if there are rooms available in the old/fake temple buildings then they are likely to be those marked down to ¥1200 from ¥2980. That may seem like an astonishing discount, but in fact that's normal behaviour for Chinese-run hotels. Note if you stay more than one night the price drops further.
Still, this kind of property, whether historic or fake, is authentically Chinese (a fake something or other is just about the most authentic souvenir of modern China's realities you could hope to take home), and to many minds superior than sitting in a Westernised hotel room unable to tell without looking out of the window what country you're in.
For Chinese-run hotels, the best price will always be the one you bargain for over the counter, without having booked. Booking in advance over foreign English-language sites is usually just about the most expensive way to pay for a Chinese-run hotel. For an idea of real prices look round the English pages of Chinese-run websites such as the Ctrip already mentioned, although at the moment both sites seem to be showing ¥450 (a nominal reduction from the official rate of ¥980, which NOBODY EVER PAYS. The real prices are the 'discounted' ones. The descriptions of Chinese-run hotels are often wildly mendacious, but the prices, which only appear to be very deeply discounted, give you a clue what you can achieve for yourself (which is usually slightly better still). If you must book then this is the kind of site you want to use, although there can be problems with bait-and-switch, with bookings not actually being there when you arrive, and for those hotels for which paying in advance is required, problems with using a foreign credit card.
And 'near the Temple of Heaven'? Well, a hefty, I'd guess at least 20-minute very brisk walk away, and longer for most people. If you've more to see in Beijing than the Temple of Heaven, then one of the key things is to be close to a metro station, the one right outside the east gate of the Temple of Heaven being your nearest.
Peter N-H
Mar 9th, 2010, 06:32 PM
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Thanks Kathie and PeterN_H for the clarification re the spam. Sorry for my misunderstanding.
Peter, once more, thank you very much for all the effort dedicated to answering my question. Considering the time you spend answering each question one would expect that you would collect 100 bucks for every comment posted. 8D
Thanks again.
Well, considering all your effort, I feel shamefully compelled to tell the truth...
I have already booked and paid 13 nights at the XiZhao through Expedia.
Cost was $56.46 per night.
The pictures look fine:
http://www.expedia.com/pub/agent.dll...hotel-pictures
The description sounds even better (it's a Standard King Room). This is the link for the description:
http://www.expedia.com/pub/agent.dll...tel-room-rates
However....
In another page, the first item listed under "Amenities" frightfully declares:
. Shared bathroom. !!!!
This is the link:
http://www.expedia.com/pub/agent.dll...el-information
Expedia says they can't assure anything because the responsibility falls on the hotel which puts the information on Expedia's sight.
I called the hotel (Tel: 86 (10) 6711 99 99) and he who answered the phone kind of assured me there was a bathroom in the room. However... we did have some difficulty in understanding each other, so I am afraid he may not have understood what I meant.
Summarizing, do you think it is possible that a four star hotel in Beijing would offer its clients a "Shared Bathroom"?
At the end of the story, I am just trying to find out if I was a complete idiot buying this hotel accommodiations prior to arriving in Beijing.
Is it possible that this hotel is a dump inspite of saying it is a four star hotel?
Sorry for the inconveniences.
Peter, once more, thank you very much for all the effort dedicated to answering my question. Considering the time you spend answering each question one would expect that you would collect 100 bucks for every comment posted. 8D
Thanks again.
Well, considering all your effort, I feel shamefully compelled to tell the truth...
I have already booked and paid 13 nights at the XiZhao through Expedia.
Cost was $56.46 per night.
The pictures look fine:
http://www.expedia.com/pub/agent.dll...hotel-pictures
The description sounds even better (it's a Standard King Room). This is the link for the description:
http://www.expedia.com/pub/agent.dll...tel-room-rates
However....
In another page, the first item listed under "Amenities" frightfully declares:
. Shared bathroom. !!!!
This is the link:
http://www.expedia.com/pub/agent.dll...el-information
Expedia says they can't assure anything because the responsibility falls on the hotel which puts the information on Expedia's sight.
I called the hotel (Tel: 86 (10) 6711 99 99) and he who answered the phone kind of assured me there was a bathroom in the room. However... we did have some difficulty in understanding each other, so I am afraid he may not have understood what I meant.
Summarizing, do you think it is possible that a four star hotel in Beijing would offer its clients a "Shared Bathroom"?
At the end of the story, I am just trying to find out if I was a complete idiot buying this hotel accommodiations prior to arriving in Beijing.
Is it possible that this hotel is a dump inspite of saying it is a four star hotel?
Sorry for the inconveniences.
Mar 10th, 2010, 08:25 AM
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Whole threads now seem to disappear from this site without explanation, so I think probably less effort will be made less often in the future. But concisely:
As you see, the booking sites feel no compunction to make sure the truth is being told about the properties they sell. But there is no chance you'll have a shared bathroom. A 'standard room' (标准间 on the Chinese sites) is one with its own bathroom.
It is possible this hotel is a dump, but it is possible it isn't. Quite a lot depends on when it opened, since the largest problem with Chinese-run hotels is a lack of maintenance or proper housekeeping, which makes them tire quickly. I think you'll find you're in an ordinary modern building with facilities not quite up to what they promise, and you may regret the location. But there seems little point in worrying about it now, and all may work out well.
As you see, the booking sites feel no compunction to make sure the truth is being told about the properties they sell. But there is no chance you'll have a shared bathroom. A 'standard room' (标准间 on the Chinese sites) is one with its own bathroom.
It is possible this hotel is a dump, but it is possible it isn't. Quite a lot depends on when it opened, since the largest problem with Chinese-run hotels is a lack of maintenance or proper housekeeping, which makes them tire quickly. I think you'll find you're in an ordinary modern building with facilities not quite up to what they promise, and you may regret the location. But there seems little point in worrying about it now, and all may work out well.
