Hotels Beijing?
Feb 8th, 2003, 07:00 PM
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Hotels Beijing?
Looking at Marco Polo and Kempinski. One looks better location and Kempinski looks like lots of affordable eats in house or close by. Any experience on rooms or prices or impressions? Going in spring. Thanks.
Feb 8th, 2003, 11:31 PM
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Kempinski: Vast, everything to hand (but not cheap in-house--in fact supermarket is most expensive in Beijing, and there are cheap eats everywhere in the city without exception, so this isn't an issue), above average size rooms, conventional, easy access from airport, no style.<BR><BR>Marco Polo: Feels almost like a boutique hotel (but isn't), brand new, much more style, centrally located, handy for two metro lines, walking distance to Xi Dan shopping, and (20 mins or so) to Forbidden City. My choice of the first two. Should also be cheaper than either of the others, and quieter.<BR><BR>Palace: Just off Wangfujing, straightforward rooms, good service, full facilities, excellent restaurants, most expensive of three, but overall the best.<BR><BR>If I were flying tomorrow I'd choose the Marco Polo, but that's partly because I know it less well than the other two, because it's away from the big crowds of hotels, because I don't need the mammoth facilities the others offer, and because there's a bit of old Beijing still left at its feet, instead of expat-oriented bars, Hard Rock Café, etc.<BR><BR>Peter N-H<BR>http://members.axion.net/~pnh/China.html
Feb 10th, 2003, 10:09 AM
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Not sure if you'd consider another hotel, but we stayed at the Grand Hyatt in Beijing last year and it was great. It's fairly new, wonderful pool-gym area, subway & shopping center right downstairs as well as shopping on Wangfujing.
Feb 11th, 2003, 01:46 PM
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Palace was excellent. Wonderful service, great location, loved it. Ate in excellent restaurant near Palace. In fact we ate there 3 times. Facing Palace hotel, walk to the right, go across major intersection, cross to the other side (you could have done this earlier but I liked the shops on the Palace side). Now you are on the street with all the night market food vendors. We ate in the most upscale restaurant on that street (about the middle of the block). You go upstairs past photos of dignitaries who ate there. Very cheap and delicious. Probably the other restauants are also good (the seafood place across the stree looked very good) but we like this one.
