Crowne Plaza Beijing Wangfujing — Attraction in Beijing

First - This hotel actively engages in unwanted "dynamic currency conversion". When checking out I was presented with a credit card receipt (full page of text) and towards the bottom it referenced a specific USD amount. The hotel attempted to bill me at the USD amount, not the agree upon CNY amount. Three lines above it referenced a specific CNY amount. However, the USD amount was much more than CNY amount (the hotel attempted to "exchange" the currency on my behalf at a terrible exchange rate versus charging my credit card in the local CNY currency). The issue is that I never agreed to or was made aware of this dynamic currency conversion scheme at this property. The hotel made the choice to "convert" this transaction on my behalf without my consent at a terrible exchange rate. Further, they actively worked to hide this transaction. Fortunately, I caught this during checkout and had the original amount in CNY billed to my credit card avoiding paying additional money to the hotel and their bank. Again there is no easy way to stay this other than, in my opinion, these factual circumstances was attempted fraud.

Second - There was a large amount of hair in the bathtub when we arrived.

Third - There was a very large and noticeable water stain on the ceiling near the window. Two nights later it developed in black mold. At this point I was too lazy to change rooms.

Fourth - On the third night the air conditioner started leaking and water was continuously (and loudly) dripping from the ceiling (near the door). The leak caused a huge water stain and plaster from the ceiling started coming down and we finally went to the front desk. They promptly put us in a suite and offered free breakfast. The suite was great (1-night), but still showed major signs of "tiredness" and was not well maintained. For example, an electrical outlet was coming out of the wall, there were stains on the carpet, the bathroom door did not lock, etc.

I do not...

The good - the location is great. Short walk down the shopping street and heaps of restaurants. 10 minute walk to the Hidden Palace, the Square and Museum. Amd tye room is large.||The bad - |1. I emailed the hotel 5 days before my arrival asking about airport pickup and never received a reply. |2. I booked a room with city view and got a room with view inside the hotel lobby. I emailed Agoda about this and they responded saying they were told by the hotel there are no rooms with city view, which Agoda did not question. If they believe that, then why do they allow the hotel to advertise city view. Eventually I went to reception and requested a room as I had booked. Surprise surprise, they moved me to a room with a city view.|3. The carpet and bath look like they have never been replaced. The bath is from my mothers era and she is 91 years old.|4. You need to use a lot of their bath soap to get enough lather to shower.|5. The Pillows look great, but 3 minutes laying on one and it's flat.|6. And the final rub, the air conditioning in my new room 616 didn't work. Fan speed was less than low, when I had it on high, and no cold air even when I had it down to 15 degrees. I complained to reception and the guy tells me it doesn't work coz there is no cold wind! HUH! he said this time.of year there is no cold wind so it doesn't work. His solution is a fan and open the window coz it's cool at night. I was too stunned to even argue. So when it's hot in Beijing there is no air conditioning coz there is no cold wind. I assume the air conditioning works in winter, when you don't need it. I walked away feeling pretty dumb to not know this.||Would I recommend this...

Stayed here for 2 nights because of the good value for money room rate and its proximity to popular destinations. If you wish to take the train, the hotel is easy to find if you know the Beijing subway map from the Capital Airport and it takes about an hour and a half to reach it. And the closest stations are Jinyu Hutong and Dengshikuo (a ten-minute walk from this station), and you might want to use Apple Maps rather than Google Maps, as the latter is not accessible in China. The only advantage of this accommodation is its perfect location: on Wangfujing Street (also known as the shopping centre) and only a five-minute walk from Jinyu Hutong subway station, the shopping malls, great restaurants and fast food chains (with KFC across the street).||Although the building is old (a former well-known international 5-star hotel), it has not been renovated and remodelled after being renamed as this hotel. It is strange that they are still using old stationeries and things from the previous brand. Apart from that, the hotel facilities are boring and the room is also not in good condition anymore although the bed is comfortable. I find all furnitures everywhere are dusty and dirty. I hope that this property improves in the future to bring to its former glory.||The arrival was unwelcoming and check-in was plain and simple and never went into detail. As expected, some staffs are not good at speaking English. However, kudos to Ellen at the restaurant during our breakfast and Fox at the front desk for their quick and prompt service, your hospitality is not to...