My first room was totally shabby and disgusting in a dirty and run-down neighborhood. I felt like I was back in the nineteen fifties. The sign of the hotel was even broken. I was too embarrassed to have my friend come upstairs to get their gifts, already feeling so awful about having them to drive to this rundown street with trash all over the sidewalk. I asked to be changed to a newer room after one or two nights. The newer room was much nicer. I don't understand why they would assign the worse kind of rooms to a loyal customer when much nicer rooms were available. Breakfast is mostly cheap carbs.
Highlight is the location; short walk to Beitucheng subway station which is then only a short distance to the CNCC (was in Beijing for a conference). The seven-eleven was ideal next door for snacks and wine, and a short walk was mcdonalds which was also ideal. Room was very clean, but needed some maintenance; lots of cracks in the bathroom, and the headboard wasn't in great shape. I also had an issue with the door handle/lock, in that the battery had died and couldn't access my room. This was rectified quickly. The room could have done with a fridge however. The front desk staff were very helpful, however there was a big language barrier. I expected hotel staff to have a better understanding of english, especially with the amount of english speaking guests staying. They did try to help, with the use of translation apps, but occasionally they would giggle at my misunderstanding, which I found rude. Breakfast is OK, not a lot of Western choice; just toast and eggs, with cereals and some fruit. The seating area inside and out is very nice however. There was a sign by the bar saying "served here are pizzas, pastas, paninis, cocktails, wine, beer", but the restaurant menu had no pizzas, no paninis, and two basic pastas... the rest were local Chinese food, would have appreciated some more Western food here too. Also, there was no drinks menu, and trying to ask what drinks they do and how much they were was too difficult. The language barrier here was a lot worse than the front desk, could only communicate through pointing. The food also wasn't great. I had the "cream bacon spaghetti" two nights, and the second night it had large chopped onions which should not be in what is meant to be a carbonara, and tasted bad. Also, no seasoning, even on the tables. Also the last night, where I had to be up at 3am, it sounded like a party was happening in the room opposite. A lot of people in and out of the room, loud laughter and clapping. I rang the front desk to complain, as it was getting on to be 10pm, 11pm. Firstly, they didn't really understand me. Then someone rang back with slightly better english, and said they had rang them to be quiet. This changed nothing, and so it was still loud. All in all, OK value for money, comfy sleep, just a shame about the restaurant and language barrier.…
Location is good - around 7 minutes walk from Beitucheng station which is an interchange station for line 8 (2 stops to the stadium/ water cube etc) and line 10. Takes around 30 minutes plus to get to the main attractions. Breakfast is included but nothing fancy; just the standard toast, fried egg and the rest are mainly Chinese (porridge and noodles). As it was the long Chinese holiday, the breakfast area was busy and all I can say the experience was not that pleasant with the crowd and mess. However service staff at breakfast area cleaned up the place quickly. Service at reception was good and they were helpful. However the room was not in a good condition (the gaps between the tiles in the bathroom is black/mouldly), peeling wall paper and there was a day with stained bedsheet. Cleanliness in a business hotel is important and as holiday inn is an international chain hotel the quality of the room ought to be improved. It was just disappointing to see the badly maintain room. However since I’m just staying for three nights and there’s no refund there’s nothing much I can do.…
This hotel does not deserve a 4* rating. It is at the very most a 3* hotel. Firstly, there are no porters and secondly, there is no fridge in the room. In my room, the air-conditioner works sporadically.
Hotel is located near Olympic Center. Closest metro is just 3-5 min walk away. The street of the Holiday Inn Express is somewhat run down. However, a convenience store is right next to it so you can grab water, snacks etc. for the day. The room was ok - bathroom appliances seemed like they needed a bit of renovation. Breakfast was mainly centered around Chinese cuisine - which was fine since we had it included in our rate so we were ok with whatever intercontinental food we could find (toast, butter, fried eggs). The staff was friendly though there was hardly anyone who could speak English - and if, it was somewhat hard to understand. But they tried at least.
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