Looking for affordable yet nice hotel in Beijing, centrally located
 

We're taking a 6 week trip from Bangkok down to Malaysia, our flight stops in Beijing so we decided to extend the layover to 3 1/2 days in Beijing to explore the city a bit. We'd like to stay somewhere centrally located and are hoping for something affordable but still somewhat nice if possible. Any hotel suggestions?

Try Far East Hotel http://www.fareastyh.com/enindex.asp It is actually divided into hotel and hostel. I stayed there a few times it's nice, clean and inexpensive. It's close enough to Tiananmen square (15-20 min walk, which is nothing according to Beijing standards), located in a nice hutong with lots of restaurants. It also has a useful travel agency which organises trips to the Great wall (much cheaper than anywhere else) and a place renting out bikes is just across the road.

www.otel.com SwissHotel 5 star $60 for me last

bettrbidding.com other cheap central 5 star options

GREAT deals there if you know the best web sites.

70-80% off lots of times...

Happy Planning!

Thanks!

Check out the Nova Peace Hotel. It's a good location, close to Tiananmen Sq. there are restaurants around. It's a good 3* hotel.

Nearly 5000 hotels in Beijing. What do you consider cheap?

Well, I'd consider $30/night cheap

Look at www.wotif.com and focus on the Dongcheng district. Also look at http://www.hostelbeijing.com/

Are you going to require a visa for a 3 1/2 day stay?

Yes, a visa will be required for a 3 1/2 day stay.

...which adds signifigantly to the cost of a brief stay in China. The visa will cost more per night for a 3 day stay than the OP hopes to spend on a hotel.

How much does a Visa for China cost?

By the way; do I need a visa for Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand and Malaysia?

Thanks

I'll guess that you are a US citizen. If that is not correct, some of the info on visas may be different for you.

A visa to China is $140. If you use a visa service, it will cost more. You must obtain your visa in advance.

You must also have a visa in advance for VN. $65 for a single entry visa (multiple entry is $140 for 30 days). If you are flying into VN, you can get a pre-arranged visa through a travel agency in VN: you pay part in advance, part as a "stamping fee" when you arrive. But you must have the email confirmation of your visa arrangements in order to board your flight for VN.

Cambodia also requires a visa, but you can get one on arrival at both international airports and at many land borders.

No visa required fro Thailand if your stay is 14 days or less if arriving by land, 28 days or less if arriving by air.

No visa required for Malaysia for stays of less than 90 days.

You will need a full page for the China visa, VN visa and Cambodian visa. Make sure you have enough blank visa pages (you cannot use the pages that are titles "endorsements").

Your passport must be valid for 6 months after your planned exit date from these countries.

The answer to the visa questions depends on what passport you hold and where you get your visa.

Thank you very much for that info. I'll get on that ASAP! Any "must see's" in Beijing other than the obvious (Forbidden City, Great Wall, etc)?

Do you have a guidebook yet? That's always the best place to start.

I stayed at the Hutong Culture Inn for $30 per night. It's in a great neighborhood and reasonably clean and quiet. Service is polite but not terribly helpful. Skip their breakfast and don't use their computers. But otherwise a good choice.

The Summer Palace is well worth a visit. And the Police Museum is a bit off the beaten track. Also go to see the Bird's Nest, the olympic stadium, at night. For the wall, check out Beijing Hikers and see what they are offering while you are there. I went on a hike to a remote village, where we had lunch right underneath the wall and then climbed up. Our group had it entirely to ourselves, something that will never happen in the main tourist sections.