Dear All,

My husband and I are planning a touristy trip to Beijing and Shanghai in June. We are booking hotels independently. We figured that a Marriott hotel is always a good bet for the right price. So, we are thinking Courtyard Marriott in Beijing. Does anybody have an opinion on this hotel as far as location and comfort? Does anybody can recommend a Marriott in Shanghai? Would you recommend something else which you consider better for the price? Any pointers will be much appreciated.
Thank you so much for your help!!
Bea

I suggest you take a look at the hotel comments on Tripadvisor.com. The Marriotts in Shanghai rate pretty highly.

The location of the Courtyard in Beijing isn't bad, but the comments on service and cleanliness aren't great. I stayed at an apartment in Beijing, so I have no personal experience there.

The Marriotts are not that well located in Beijing if you are going as a tourist. You probably want to be closer to Wangfujing St and the Forbidden City, Tianamen Square area etc.

The JW Marriottt in Shanghai opened only a few year ago and is located in the city center area. A less expensive alternative could be the older Shanghai Hilton (about 40 storey high) located about 3 miles west of JW Marriott in the well known Jing An Temple area. Also worth considering is the Portman Ritz located on Nanjing Rd West - between JW Marriott and Hilton.

The JW Marriot in Shanghai is in a prime location. In order to compare that with other hotels as you ask you will have to tell us the price... Taxis are so inexpensive in both of these cities that if you get some kind of a great deal the location does not matter as much as it might in other places.

By your name it looks like you have a connection to Marriott. Me too. Are you getting rates at these hotels? What about Hong Kong. Not going there? A bunch of Marriotts there.

I stayed at the Marriott Courtyard Beijing very recently and it is OK. The furniture in the rooms is fairly shop-worn, but the room was clean and comfortable. It is in a good location - right next to a large shopping complex with a department store, supermarket, Starbucks, food court, etc. And it is close to the subway. Despite what it says on their website, you cannot walk to the Forbidden City from there. You can walk to the Temple of Heaven from there.

Thanks to all of you for your responses. My name suggests we belong to the chain, when in fact, we don't. After reading all your comments we booked other options. Thanks!!!