Need hotel in Beijing China.....

[lolalovestravel]

We have the chance to go to China for a 7 day yangtze river cruise and plan on spending a few days precruise in Beijing. We would like to stay near the Historical Beijing Hotel (near Tianamen Square) but since there are 4 of us (two adults and two children agest 12 and 13) we would need two rooms there or a suite and that would put us at about 250.00 per night. There are a lot of low priced accommodations but I am totally unfamiliar with them. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks,

Lola

P.S. I already looked and there are no timeshares available for exchange or getaway with II.

 

[KevinRS]

I have the same problem as you

I am in the same situation, my wife, 13 yr old daughter and 16 yr old son will be in Beijing in August. Go to Tripadvisor.com, after reading the reviews we ended up reserving at the Holiday Inn Central, which is a ways from everything but gets great reviews. My family and I lived in Beijing for 3 years, so we are anxious to go back.....

 

[Jwerking]

We have the chance to go to China for a 7 day yangtze river cruise and plan on spending a few days precruise in Beijing. We would like to stay near the Historical Beijing Hotel (near Tianamen Square) but since there are 4 of us (two adults and two children agest 12 and 13) we would need two rooms there or a suite and that would put us at about 250.00 per night. There are a lot of low priced accommodations but I am totally unfamiliar with them. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks,

Lola

P.S. I already looked and there are no timeshares available for exchange or getaway with II.

We stayed at a Courtyard Marriott several years ago when we went and booked online fusing a Fed gov't rate and it was alot cheaper- like $60 versus $150 at the time. I don't remember if they actually asked for an ID- hardly any hotels do. The hotel was not walking distance to Tiannamen - but cabs are so cheap - it is not an issue. It is the pits that the rooms only sleep 2.

I am AMerican born Chinese and was really surprised of the costs of hotel rooms, etc in China - pretty much US prices. And they are exactly that - for us tourist. I was able to get in contact with a Chinese travel agent in Guangzhou and they were able to get me intra-China airfares, hotels, and tours at a great discount. It was interesting with the tours - the guy put me in touch with a tour company in Bejiing and quoted me a price and stated that I could just make the final arrangements at the Marriott when I got there because they had a tour desk there. The girl was speechless when I showed her the email showing the agreed upon price for the tour to the Great Wall at half the price they were quoting.

In Guangzhou, they put us into a Chinese brand hotel. It was brand new and very nice - but could not believe how dirty the carpets were - guess it did not help that they were almost white carpets. But the rooms were huge and costs us about $50. But I must admit that the English was challenging. It was much better at the Marriott.

Look at a tour book called the China Guide by Ruth Malloy( cannot remember if spelled correctly). She may list some of these Chinese travel agents that you can contact thru email.

Joyce

 

[JillChang]

ok, I can help.

I just spend a month in China, and I am Chinese. In Beijing, if you want to stay in upscale hotel, it is pricy. There are a few ways of getting a decent price:

1. www.priceline.com, if you are not familiar on how to use it, go to www.biddingfortravel.com, it will tell you what "secret" hotel Priceline actually have and how much it will go for.

2. I have used www.hotel.com, they sometimes have special prices. I got an amazing price there once for Tokyo, and once for HK JW Marriott which I subsequently made Marriott price match and got a further 25% discount. They have good asia hotel inventory

3. www.Asiatravel.com, usually they have specials. I got an amazing deal here for a dreamy Hyatt in Hangzhou right on West Lake.

4. do what most mainland chinese do, call up the hotel and negotiate a price. In Beijing, I stay in Wang Fu Jin Grand hotel because I had a cousin working there and got a good price, but I understand that you can do the same by calling and negotiate. It is a 4 star hotel, clean, but make sure you ask for the higher floor. Most of the time the hotel will also include breakfast. I learn to do this later on, call them and ask for specials, usually they will discount 50% of asking price.

I second the above opinion, in China, you should stay in well-known chain, with a few exceptions. In China, 3 star and 4 star ratings means nothing, only 5 star rating really mean it is upscale, altough some 4 star is quite nice too. Another very good website to read is www.tripadvisor.com, great reviews and give you an idea of prices. Under no circumstance accept a 3 star hotel, those are designed for chinese themselves, you will not be able to handle it.

I highly recommend hotels near Wan Fu Jing Da Jie, convenient, has a pedestrian only street, great street food at night, a lot of fun. My Canadian born son had deep fried scorpion, among other things. It is near subway, which is clean and convenient, and near imperial palace.

Although hotel prices in Beijing is almost the same as US, you will find that other things are much cheaper, just don't go to Starbuck!!!! They are even more than US in price. I know you will have a great time, I did, and I plan to take my sosn back in 2008 to the Summer Olympics. This time, my relative will have a condo ready for our long-term stay.

Good luck!

 

[lolalovestravel]

Thanks for all the good info. I will see if I can locate a chinese travel agent.

Lola

 

[JillChang]

Thanks for all the good info. I will see if I can locate a chinese travel agent.

Lola

That's a great idea, especially if you don't speak Chinese. You are in California right? Both San Francisco and Los Angeles have large Chinese travel agencies, they cater not only to chinese but a lot of foreign travellers, and have great packages.

I miss the one my friend did last year called silk road. It was amazing, staying at 5 star hotels, going through Xi'an, riding camels, they got to see the sight while maintaing comfort. Believe me, you do not wan to rough it in china.

I am going to China next week for business. A word of advice. Bring lots of canned food, crackers, juice packs for lunch. When you are visiting places, you do not want to eat the food the locals eat, it is not sanitary. Be sure to dine only in reputable restaurants. Be aware there are fake bottle water, so only get your bottle water from hotel (usually free) or only buy the name brands, (wa ha ha). Hotel usually don't provide coffee (the upscale ones do), so if you are coffee addict, bring your own. I am even going to bring my own coffee grinder this time. There are serious bird flu epidemics going around in parts of China, you don't hear it because the Chinese government blocks the news. So, brings some N-95 masks just in case. Also, be sure you get Hept A and B shots, there are lots of carriers of these two in Asia. Even Asian born Chinese like me have to get my shots before I return.

Also, in china, if you get sick, you will not find western style medicine. Bring tylenol, cold medicine, allergy medication, alka seltzer, diahrrea medicine. Believe me you will need at least one of those. I developed asthma (never before in my life) after I visited Beijing.

Now that I have scared you, I want to add that when you are fully prepared, you will have a great time. You just have to be aware of different habits, and that your system can not stomach what chinese can handle.

good luck and have fun.

 

[myip]

Just did my research for Beijing.

Palm Springs Beijing Marriott Executive Apartments

http://marriott.com/property/propertypage/BJSER

- 2 bedroom apt suite with kitchen - around $200 depending on the day that you want. I think it open not too long ago.

BTW: Skyauction has a great one -- It is five blocks from Tianamen.

http://www.skyauction.com/action/offer/1108305

 

[JillChang]

just a footnote, last night I decided to join some friends and take my sons to a trip to Beijing, visiting various historical sites, and back through Shanghai.

For those who were wondering, I am doing this with a tour, I don't dare do this on my own. If you are in Canada, the tour agency is www.toureast.com, I think they might work for US residents as well. Although our tour is privately arranged, they have several that are really good.

As for hotel, our group will be staying at The Peninsula, Tour east has got us a great deal.

 

[jactric]

Beijing Hotels

I just saw your post about Beijing Hotels. I have been to Beijing three times and stayed in a few different hotels. We stayed at the Novotel xinQiao Jan of 2005. This hotel was perfect for us that time for location. We walked to Tianamen Square and the Forbidden City. It was about a 15 min walk. The rate was very reasonable and our two rooms were great. I have seen a few poor reviews of this place but not our experience at all. I do think there may be an older section but we stayed in the new section and the service was good. The rooms were great. There is also a very large market close to Tianamen where you can find a lot of stuff. Alot of junk but some great finds as well. I have sent you the email for the hotel. sales@novotelxinqiaobj.com. This is the email that worked back then

 

[lolalovestravel]

Thanks again for the additional info.

Lola

 

[LLW]

We have the chance to go to China for a 7 day yangtze river cruise and plan on spending a few days precruise in Beijing. We would like to stay near the Historical Beijing Hotel (near Tianamen Square) but since there are 4 of us (two adults and two children agest 12 and 13) we would need two rooms there or a suite and that would put us at about 250.00 per night. There are a lot of low priced accommodations but I am totally unfamiliar with them. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks,

Lola

P.S. I already looked and there are no timeshares available for exchange or getaway with II.

I have seen this II timeshare in Beijing come up on line a few times recently. It is 5 blocks from Tinanmen Square. Maybe you can check on then put in a request for it. For a family, a timeshare would be nice.