“Don't know if I would go back”

The front desk staff barely knows English, which wouldn't be a problem if they didn't advertise that they DID know English. Every time I had a problem and would call the front desk or went there in person to address it, the ladies at the front desk would giggle and say "I don't know". Extremely rude if you ask me. Secondly, the whole time I was there I had issues with the A/C unit in my room. It was sweltering hot when I got there and after I called and went to the front dest to get it fixed, the issue was resolved but only temporarily. The issue repeated itself for the next two days and there was nothing I could do about it as the A/C console was in Chinese. If you want an authentic Beijing experience being in a "hutong", then this hotel is for you. Otherwise, avoid it and move along somewhere else.

“Great hotel, decent location!”

This hotel is located on a busy (somewhat shabby) little alley north of the Forbidden City. Though the hotel website advertises that it is 5 minutes' walk from the Forbidden City, keep in mind that this is the walking distance to the NORTH end, and the entrance to the City is at the SOUTH end, about 20 minutes walk away. Also, there are no subway stations nearby the hotel (the closest is Dongsi station, about a 15 minute walk). Taxi may be your transportation of choice in many cases (thankfully they're cheap, just make sure to carry a map in Chinese with your hotel marked on it to show the driver). Our room was clean, with modern decorations, a tiny fridge, wired internet accessibility, AC, and a flat-screen LCD TV (mostly Chinese TV but also an HBO movie channel). The only complaint worth mentioning about the room was that the shower leaked all over the place (the rubber seals between the doors looked like they needed to be replaced). For sightseeing, aside from the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square, the Beijing National Art Museum is nearby, as is the Wangfujing shopping district. The hotel can also book various tours for you through an agency. We took the Mutianyu Great Wall tour, which was legit and well organized (be prepared however to get driven to various tea, silk or jade shops that will give you low-pressure sales pitches disguised as tours, and also make sure to bring your receipt of payment from the hotel, otherwise you might have to pay again).

“Decent hotel for a good price”

I was impressed with Shatan overall during my 1-week stay. Front desk staff was very efficient and attentive, and spoke good English. The double deluxe room was fairly spacious, although we did notice a faint sewage smell in the bathroom sometimes (just keep the fan on). Often the air conditioner was not consistent: sometimes it was too cold, sometimes too hot. Noise-wise it was pretty quiet at night, but since it was summer and kids were out of school, there was also a constant parade of Chinese tour groups cutting through the small back street the hotel is located on--and no one walks or drives in Beijing in orderly fashion, so in the mornings there was a lot of honking from annoyed drivers trying to get through the tourists in addition to people hawking water and shouting "yi kuai, yi kuai, yi kuai!" right under our window. The hotel isn't too convenient if you want to take the subway--it's about a 15-20 min walk to Dongsi station, but taxis are cheaper, so save yourself the aggravation. It's very close to the Forbidden City, although you still have to go all the way to the entrance on the south side to get in. The nearby restaurants are nothing to write home about, but there is an *AMAZING* little restaurant just around the corner called Little Yunnan. I would also HIGHLY recommend taking a map with the hotel marked on it (the hotel provides one in the room desk drawer) since not many drivers seem to know where it is, even with the taxi card provided by the hotel.

“Why spend 10 hours at the airport when you can spend three nights in Beijing”

Thsi hotel provides you with englishspeaking staff, who always are happy to assist - or translate. In the elvetor yThe room was quite big and had free internet whcih worked fine all the time. The bathroom was cleanand had the necessary equipment. I loved the location, on a back street where the locals lived. The hotel is very close to th eforbidden City and a couple of our very nice parks. On the corner of the road you have Alleys bar which serves cheap breakfast and lunch/dinner to affordable prices. There are buses closeby, but make sure you know where you are heading - in Chinese. Bring a GPS in your hand and walk away, visit the Lama temple not far away - take a taxi back, make sure he/she uses the taxameter - very cheap. As of today it is a standard low rate for short distances.

“A nice place to return to at night.”

The staff spoke English and were friendly. I was happy that the staff and hotel were environment aware and there was a homey, modern feel to the place. I also ejoyed the quiet on the little side street. The disadvantage is that taxis did not always know where the hotel was was but, in the end, I always made it back and the small size made it feel much less impersonal. Altogether I was extemely pleased and my Chinese colleagues were also impressed by both the price and the whole hotel ethos. Finally, in keeping with the general efficiency of the place, the taxis service ordered by them had an english speaking driver who did not drive like a maniac and who got me in good fashion to the airport on time.

“Comfortable and clean.”

The hotel is very conveinent for the price. The location is great to pass to the city center. Easy to find your route from airport using subway. I recommend this hotel for mid-budget traveller. The hotel staff is friendly and eager to help. I recommend this hotel for to stay in Beijing.

“Off the beaten track”

Very interesting hotel for those who don't mind going out of the ordinary a little bit. Yes, it is off the main roads and a bit far from public transportation, but a taxi will get you there fine. The room was nice and a real good value for the money. The nice part is that you are a five minute walk from the north gate of the Forbidden city and in the older area of Beijing, so there is some real local flavor.

“Awesome I'd totally reccomend!”

I had a great time at this hotel. The lobby was pretty, the room was a good size and the bed was comfortable with an abundance of pillows. There are 3 English channels and the other 50 are Chinese, but they well enough provide you with something to watch before bedtime. It was a little odd they say not to drink water from the tap, but knowing China that's nothing new and you can always buy bottled water next door for 2 RMB to drink. Or you can just drink the beverages in your mini fridge as they are not terribly expensive anyways. (The water is fine to shower in btw). The hotel does have a tour planning booth inside of it that stays open till about 9pm so it is easy to get on an organized English tour for the Great Wall or other attractions. (The Chinese Acrobatics show was great!) Be there early in the lobby, as the people who work in the tour booth do not speak the best of English and can get the times you should be in the lobby wrong. (For example I was told we would leave for the Great Wall at 8:30am but they wanted to leave at like 7:15am.) There is also a "taxi card" at the front desk, that has all the names of popular tourist spots written in Chinese which makes for easy taxi travel. They have a hotel restaurant, but it's not necessarily the cheapest in the area. There is a small cafe about 20 meters from the hotel called Alley's Cafe that has free WiFi and good food at a reasonable price. Overall though a very nice experience and I would go back again :)

“Comfort in an Authentic Location”

Comfortable and affordable, after our trip to Beijing, we were very pleased we'd stayed here rather than one of the many other hotels recommended. The hotel is on one of the hutongs (narrow streets) a short walk from the Forbidden City, and like other reviewers have mentioned, feels a good measure more authentic than a western-hotel-in-the-east. We took the metro to Tiananmen East and the taxi driver we hailed had no problem finding the hotel. There are four or five excellent restaurants along the same hutong and finding delicious food was never hard, morning or night. The only complaint I might have had was that we were visiting in Spring (warm days and cool nights), and the heater seemed stuck on (regardless of whether the a/c/heat control was on or off), so it was always warm in the room. But I never asked them how to fix it, so I'm not sure how legitimate a complaint this really is. Internet is free (there was an ethernet jack and cable in our room), but breakfast is not, although it wasn't much extra, and the buffer of chinese and western foods was satisfying.