Arriving at the Nikko Beijing around midnight, I could have used some help getting my bags to the front desk, but no working bellhops were in sight. The young man at the kerb just stared at me - perhaps they are not used to seeing a woman show up at a business hotel dressed in motorcycle leathers. But, my leathers are the warmest things I own, and I get quite chilled on the long distance flights.

The young lady at the desk was polite and efficient, and got me checked in and summoned a youngster who got my bags to my room and helped me knock a little of the rust off my Chinese. Apparantly I speak with a slight Cantonese accent - not surprising, as most Hawai`i Chinese are. . . . Cantonese!

I really like the breakfast buffet, which came with the room. Good, basic food, just like grandma used to make. Two kinds of jook (congee) every day, condiments, lots and lots of fruit, two to four kinds of bao (stuffed steamed breads), noodles, lots of juices, yoghurt, tea, coffee, and American food.

I don't know how the American food was, personally, but my fellow conference attendees enjoyed it.

I did a lot of my business by just showing up early and nibbling through the entire breakfast service as different contacts came and went.

The supper buffet also was nice, though at 130 kwai (RMB), a bit pricy, IMO. The hot pot restaurant down the street only charges 150 kwai for a meal for three people. But it had a good selection of yummies, sliced small enough that one could sample a bite of everything, plus a nice sushi bar. Wine, beer, and sake were included.

The room was tidy, though the carpet sould have been replaced some ten years ago.

It took two days for the laundry service to figure out I wanted laundry service, and by then I had washed everything in the bathtub. It's all good. I saved a few kwai.

I found the staff friendly and helpful. Most spoke decent English and were very good about not laughing at my atrocious Mandarin, and even put up with my incessant questions on vocabulary and pronunciation.

Checkout was friendly and efficient. The doorman hailed me the only cab around at 4:00 am and gave me a little yellow slip with the cabbie's license number. It has instructions in Chinese and English to give it the hotel if you have problems with the cabbie.

I'll be mailing it to the hotel with a reccomendation to ban that cabbie from the place. He ripped me off 20 kwai for the toll booth - toll charges are included in the fare - and refused to give me a receipt. You don't have time to fight when you have a plane to catch. You should pay 100 to 130 RMB - 150 absolute tops - between the Nikko and the airport.

If I had business again in that area, I would not hesitate to book with the Nikko New Century Beijing.