If you are the kind of person who prefers cosy, original, and local style accomodation, you should choose this hotel. You can find any hotel chain you like in Beijing, but this has the added value of a comfortable house in a hutong (old Beijing alley), conveniently situated. Things that we liked about the hotel: nice & helpful staff, good breakfast, pretty good WIFI for Beijing, beautiful spot (furniture, deco, complements, ...), quietness, comfortable beds, and all the rest of good reviews that I will not repeat. What we did not like and could (in our opinion) be improved:1)bathrooms are a bit cold (true, it was -11 outside), 2) a bit more flexibility/personalization would be appreciated when it comes to changing/adapting scheduled things: e.g. we had extra breakast on our early arrival that was charged (obviously), but didn't have it on 1st Jan (we woke up late and missed it). I think the first one could have made up for the other (they charged us both, although they gave us a free second lift to the airport) 3)We weren't told that the trip to the Great Wall had to be paid cash directly to the guide, plus 100 Chinese yuan tip for the driver (required by the guide herself) 4)We had to pay 2 Chinese yuan for printing out our boarding passes (in such a category hotel, things like these are ridiculous) 5)The driver had to use his own car to take us to the airport as he couldn't find the keys to another hotel car that was blocking a bigger and more comfortable van. As a consequence, we ended up carryng part of our luggage on our laps! All in all, I would highly recommend this hotel.

We stayed in this hotel for four nights over Christmas during a very cold week in Beijing. Everything was superb. A very clean, warm and quiet hotel with great staff. On Christmas eve the hotel had a buffet and each guest received a card and an apple (traditional here). The thing I liked most about this hotel was that it is small with the rooms overlooking a courtyard. Only one or two short stairs to climb and is such a change from the usual 50 story hotels we stay at. I love it and will seek this type of hotel at for other cities we visit in the future. No annoying waiting busy for elevators and crowded check ins.

This hotel is within easy walking distance to the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, etc.
tc.

We were not sure what to expect in Beijing, this being our first trip to China. We stayed in a “brand name” hotel near the Olympic Park for the first two days (the business part of the trip) but wanted to get a more “Chinese” experience and be closer to the center of things. We chose the Red Wall Garden Inn based on Trip Advisor reviews and we were not disappointed in the least.

The hotel is on a quiet hutong in a neighborhood; “regular” people also lived and worked in the hutong. We were very surprised at how quiet things were: little internal hotel noise and virtually no noise from the street. We were a little nervous about noise when we saw the beautiful wooden floors but that never proved to be a problem. The hutong is dark at night, with near-silent electric mopeds coming and going; we never once felt unsafe, though, even in the dark with people standing in doorways.

There seemed to be a good number of Chinese business travelers and tourists at the hotel, and some Western tourists from all over (various parts of Europe, Australia, not a lot of Americans) but mostly the clientele seemed to be Chinese.

The location is fantastic. The Red Wall Garden Inn is centrally located in Beijing, maybe a 15-minute walk from the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square. There’s a subway stop (Dengshikou) about a block and a half from the hotel, some big-name hotels not far, and the Wangfujing shopping district not far.

The staff was extremely friendly and extremely helpful. We had to check in quickly because we were off to an unexpected business dinner, and the staff took us to our room, explained how everything worked, and while we were getting ready for the dinner, got us information for a driver and guide to go to the Great Wall the following day. Almost all of the staff spoke some English and we were never at a loss trying to explain a need or get directions.

Additionally, the hotel had two interns who were exceptionally helpful. One was from South Africa, the other from Senegal (with whom I was able to speak French); they were lovely, both very friendly in a quiet way with considerable attention to service.

The hotel puts two small bottles of water in the room (you can get larger bottles of water at the tiny grocery shop further down the hutong: 1.5 litre cost about 2 or 3 RMB). One afternoon upon returning to our room we noticed that the water had not been replenished and notified the front desk. They were horrified and the water was replaced instantly.

Our room was HUGE. In addition to a king size bed, there was a sofa, another settee, a sideboard/dresser, an armoire, two bed-side tables with storage, and a desk in an alcove. I don’t think I’ve ever had a hotel room with as much storage for clothes and belongings. The hotel is very proud of its Dux beds. I’d never heard of them but our bed was extremely comfortable; we slept very, very well. There were plenty of electric outlets and we were able to plug in some phone chargers without adapters. The windows opened and looked out onto the courtyard (see photo, there’s a nice coy pond). Black-out drapes worked well.

There was wifi and it worked OK; I’ve had stronger but it worked, except that you only got two connections (we had a laptop and two iPhones, so had to choose two of three).

The bathroom was very modern, with a big walk-in shower with a rain-type showerhead (and a hand-held shower), a nice hot-water ladder-type radiator that warmed towels well; the basin was very modern. Lighting could have been better but this is not a problem unique to this hotel.

Restaurant: We had breakfast in the hotel restaurant twice. It’s a little on the pricey side, but the buffet has quite an array of choices, from Chinese buns, salad, and sausage, to an omelet station, to pastries, juice, and fruit. Their coffee is OK. Because we were exhausted one night after our sojourn to the Great Wall, we decided to eat in the hotel restaurant, and it was quite good. We found Beijing food to be rather greasy, but the food in the restaurant was far less oily than what we found elsewhere, the cuts of meat were much better, and the presentation exceptional (see photo). The restaurant staff was helpful and polite, and the African interns were exceptionally helpful.

The front desk staff offered us a complimentary ride to the airport when we checked out. We were amazed! The driver was polite and an extremely careful driver. This was an unexpected treat, and one that would encourage me to stay here again.

Overall, there are certainly less expensive rooms to be had, but I wonder if there could be quieter. The staff is exceptionally polite and helpful. We have raved about our stay here since we returned, and I owe much thanks to Trip Advisor reviewers who steered us here.

Tips for guests: Do take the subway—it goes everywhere, announcements are in Chinese and English, and it is unbelievably inexpensive (2 RMB per trip). It is crowded and can get very crowded at rush hour, but nothing to fear. And for Westerners looking for good coffee, there’s a Starbucks in Jinbao Tower about a block away from the hotel. And in spite of the direction cards the hotel gives out, taxi drivers cannot always find Shijia Hutong: you need to tell the driver it’s near the Shijia International School. The Regent Hotel is around the corner and a good landmark.

I'm impressed by visiting your wonderful hotel! You have a very luxurious, clean, stylish and comfortable! Staff very friendly and caring! Simply great service! Excellent location and a nice, relaxing vacation.