“Great Visit”

I stayed at this hotel from November 11 to November 16, 2011. The staff is very friendly and helpful. They speak both English and Chinese and are very knowledgeable of the area. It is an old hotel but the rooms are neat and clean. The buffet breakfast is a good mixture of Western and Chinese food. The location is very good. I would stay here again and highly recommend the hotel to any one visiting Beijing.

“More charm and character than I imagined”

Exceeded my expectatons. Will always stay here if and when I return to Beijing. If you're looking for a western-style hotel this is not for you but if you're looking for a true cultural experience, this is great. All the comforts - flat screen TV, good bathroom, comfortable bed - with tons of atmosphere. Manageable walk from the subway, lots of restaurants nearby. Absolutely loved this place.

“Delighful hotel - highly recommended”

This hotel is very different to your usual tourist hotel. It is an old Chinese house over 200 years old set in one of Bejing's old "hutongs" (alley ways). The rooms are small but comfortable with full en-suite facilities & decorated in Chinese style. The rooms surround quiet courtyards which are ideal for sitting reading & relaxing when the weather allows. The staff - all young Chinese - were most helpful. Breakfast - included in the room rate - was lavish offering both Chinese & Western food & in sufficient quantity to really set you up for a day's sight seeing. The nearest Metro station was 5 minutes walk away which made for easy & quick access to the main tourist sites - Forbidden City, Summer Palace etc. The hotel was also able to arrange trips to the Great Wall, Ming Tombs. The only downside was finding the hotel in the first instance. We took the Airport Express to the Dongzhimen terminal planning to take a taxi from there to the hotel. The taxis outside the station were obviously on the alert for unsuspecting tourists - no meters and asking an exorbitant price, which we declined. We went a bit further down the road to try to hail a taxi but all the ones we stopped appeared to have no idea where the hotel was. So, we had no option but to go back to the taxi "touts" & after a big hassle agreed a price of RMB 80. The hotel were appalled at the amount we paid & organised our return taxi to the airport which only cost RMB100. So get hotel to meet you at airport.

“Fantastic traditional courtyard!”

Everything was just beautiful and perfect! Surrounding area was a bit dodgy but that's just typical Beijing and the hutong experience. Room was big and very pretty. Bathroom was huge and well equipped. Breakfast very good. All staff was helpful and speak very good English which is a rarity in Beijing.

“Very nice little courtyard hotel in a hutong”

If you want to stay in a hutong neighborhood, this is a very good choice. In the Dongcheng district, it is only a few blocks from the subway (line 5). The hutong, or alley, feels very real -- narrow, lots of people walking/biking/scootering down the street, people working, small shops, dogs, laundry hanging, etc. The hotel itself is very nice, both the grounds (especially the courtyards) and the room. The staff was friendly (and spoke enough English for this non-Chinese speaking reviewer to get by easily).

“Beijing gem”

Our whole trip to Beijing was based on TripAdvisor reviews and everything was just as we had hoped. The hotel is in a great location just near the subway. Very interesting to see the Chinese way of life in a hutong which is quickly disappearing. The hotel was as all the other reviewers had said - we had no disappointments at all. We also found our guide, Lucy, on TripAdvisor and she was wonderful. Arranged everything as promised. Have misplaced her e-mail address but I got it from here. Would highly recommend using her - her knowledge is extensive and service was great. Staying in this hotel was much nicer than staying in one of the large generic hotels - would recommend it to anyone wanting to experience the Chinese way of life.

“Staff is really friendly”

Nice to stay with different style of hotel. Friendly staff.

“Go for the hutong experience”

Staying in this hotel gives you an idea of what living in a hutong might be. Girls at the desk were friendly and helpful. We had the largest room in the hotel, the Luxury Wedding Suite, which also comes with a small private garden. It was excellent for relaxing and sipping morning coffee. Downside is that the taxi drivers cannot find this hotel even with the hotel card. So the easiest way to get around is to find the subway which is about a 10 minute walk (Dongsi Subway on Line 5). Get a pass and you can get anywhere in Bei Jing easily except the 798 Arts District which must be done by cab. Local specialties such as homemade dumplings in the restaurant/bar at night were delicious and very cheaply priced. Room linens and space cleaned and spotless. Maintenance to stairs, carpets needs to be undertaken hence low rating on that element of hotel.

“great service”

Great service, the hotel staff was very friendly and spoke English very well. They were able to offer information on tours, getting around, etc. The beds at this hotel are a bit hard, but the bathrooms were very nice and the courtyards were nice and quiet. The hotel is in an alleyway which was not the most convenient for catching cabs, but the walk to the end of the alley was short enough. The street names can be a bit confusing so make sure you have some landmarks picked out to identify the correct street. Overall, I was pleasantly surprised by this hotel and would stay there again.