In the past I have only stayed at the Peninsual's in Bangkok (possibly the world's best hotel) and the Hong Kong Pen (an institution) so we were expecting an equally grand hotel. We arrived late and their car met us at the airport. All very standard stuff for most of Asia. Arriving at the hotel we had booed into the club floor.They take you directly to your room. A disappointment, to say the least. Tiny rooms and even smaller bathrooms in comparison with their other Asia hotels. So we had them locate another room, and negotited a small extra amount to pay. Much better. At least we could unpack and move around without too much problem. And a bigger bathroom too. The club floor had a pretty good breakfast. They will go out of their way and make you eggs to your choosing if you ask them nicely. The staff were all very helpful. They put on a snack and cakes in the afternoon. Chocolates after dinner, so it's not a bad place to retire to before bed. Free internet service as well. The restaurant is excellent and the breakfast there is huge. One day we hired a car and driver to take us to the Great Wall. The restaurant maitre d' ( a delightful ladt with an excellent command of english) assisted us in haveing a picnic lunch packed., We chose food from the cold food buffet the night before in containers she provided and kept them in the kitchen fridge. The next morning they packed it in a small ice chest and provided us with linen and plates and cutlery so we could enjoy the meal. At the Great Wall our driver took us to a gift shop at the bottom and waited with the food while we spent a few hours on the Wall. We then ate at one of their tables. This was much nicer than the restaurants we passed on the way.
The hotel is located close tt Tiamen Square and the Forbidden City (about 25 minutes walk) and next to a huge car free mall. We enjoyed the hotel. Excellent staff. Super Chinese restaurant in it too.

My partner and I stayed at the Beijing Peninsula Palace hotel in mid-January and would recommend it to others who seek acceptable luxury in Beijing.

ROOM
Our room was a deluxe room, but take note that not all deluxe room are created equal. Our first room was much smaller and did not have a TV in the bathroom. We complained and were given a larger room in the same category on a higher floor. This room had a separate "office" area tucked into a corner of the room. It had a silent fax machine, broadband access and the usual Peninsula technologies. The bed itself was not to hard, and it was prepared for us nightly. I'm not sure however that they changed the sheets every day.

BATHROOM
The bathroom didn't have a separate shower cubicle. Our bath's sliding glass door leaked quite a lot of water and the water pressure while adequate, wasn't that strong. Oh, and do remember to let the water run from all the faucets for five minutes. China being a Third World country, doesn't have good piping so the water is yellow. They do have a separate faucet which dispenses potable (clear) water.

FACILITIES
The hotel itself was quite luxurious on the exterior. We used the pool area, the sauna and the gym - All were top class. We dined at Huang Hing restaurant (very good) and had daily buffet breakfast at Jing (also very good in quality and choice).

SERVICE
My only main gripe is that the service of the hotel was spotty! We arrived late in the evening and while the staff were attentive, their tone was rude at times. The front desk lady actually said, "OK, that's it! You can go!" when she gave us our key - I was hoping that the management could have trained their staff to avoid the famous Chinese "no-nonsense" (i.e. rude by Western standards) mannerisms and word choice. The service in Jing was also spotty - We asked for Jasmine tea every day and it was either late in arriving, or was forgotten altogether. In terms of cleanliness, we noticed a lot of fingerprints on the mirrors and table tops throughout the hotel. Again, this is a minor issue but unacceptable in this type of hotel category.

SURROUNDINGS
Finally, as for the surroundings of the hotel, don't believe the "15-20 minute" distance from the Forbidden Palace/Tiananmen Square you hear. My partner and I are avid walkers and it took us a good 35 minutes to get to those mentioned locations. The hotel itself is in a nice shopping area however, and the

CONCLUSION
Overall, this is a very good hotel. Perhaps, as an expat residing in ultra-high service and ultra-polite Japan, I'm more aware of the small service details. As such, don't expect the exact same type of service you're used to from back home. I'm sure that in time, the level of service will improve once China develops further.

We were pleasantly surprised that we were staying in the nicest and most beautiful Hotel in Beijing. Clean, wonderful breakfast buffet, good service, robe and slippers provided. The only thing negative we went home with, was the realization that levi jeans must be very valuable because my husbands were taken from the room. He left them folded on the entertainment stand and they were gone when we returned. Otherwise, we loved the Hotel.

I stayed at this hotel for 4 nights. The staff was very pleasant and always eager to accomodate. The hotel was very well maintained. The food was excellent. It was nicer than most places I have stayed in New York- and the people were a whole lot friendlier. I would definitely go back