I read over and over how the mattresses in the Beijing (maybe all of China) are so hard. Has anyone stayed at a hotel in Beijing that had more of an American type mattress?

I've been around China and not stayed at expensive hotels. I have a bit of a bad back and would have noticed any hard mattresses. I don't remember any though I suppose there are some. The beds at my aunt's in Buffalo have mattresses a lot harder than mine.

Of course everyone gets used to their own bed - but having also travelled a lot in China I would say many of the beds are definately very hard & take some getting used to.

Ours were firm - hard if you prefer - but we quickly got used to them. After a typical day's tramping around the city we always slept like logs anyway.

The Crowne Plaza in Beijing has softer, American-style mattresses. For the most part, matresses in China are pretty firm compared to what you are used to. Our hotels in other cities had hard mattresses but we had no trouble adjusting.

Got used to the hard mattresses, and came home and bought one. Makes my back feel better. I had a hard time even finding one, as most americans like soft beds.

I stayed at the Xiyuan in Beijing. The mattress wasn't hard. The hotel isn't centally locayed though. It's near the zoo, but taxis are cheap and the concierge is happy to write your destination in Chinese for the driver.
The doorman will make sure the driver understands before you get into the cab.