Citytel Inn — Hotel in Beijing

I was initially a little worried after booking this hotel since I emailed asking if it would be possible for a taxi pickup and had no response. I needn’t have worried though, getting a taxi outside the airport is simple and the hotel is easy to find since it is just off one of the main roads (print out hotel name and address in Chinese to give to the driver). It cost around 100RMB plus 10RMB for a toll gate just outside the airport. From the outside the hotel looks rundown but inside it has been newly renovated. I had booked a single room with no window (cheapest price) but was nicely surprised to find my room was actually on the fifth floor with a big window looking out into the rooftops of the forbidden city. A deposit of 300RMB was taken for the keycard and returned on checkout. The lift is under renovation at the moment but they have staff available 24hrs to carry luggage up and down. If you have difficulty with steps though maybe ask for a room on a lower floor. The room was perfect for me, nice clean bathroom, desk, small wardrobe, kettle, hairdryer and TV(not that I used it) and good WiFi. The bed was a little hard but there is a duvet in the cupboard so you could put that on top of the mattress. The only improvements I could think of would be to have a small fridge in the room and a small safe (I kept my valuables locked in my luggage anyway) but I’m not sure if that’s standard in hotels of this price range? I didn’t have breakfast at the hotel or book any tours, so can’t comment on these. I just wanted a nice clean, safe place in the city centre to touch base and this was certainly that. Reception were friendly and called a taxi for me to go back to the airport. For the location and cleanliness of the rooms it’s a...

A very basic hotel with friendly staff and quite comfortable. They even let us have the room extra early at 9am and after an overnight flight and descending at 4:40am, it is really nice!! The bathroom setup is generous but a bit weird with the toilet in it’s own tiny cubicle. Super conveniently located with less than 5mins walk to the Wangfujing Central shopping mall and a great coffee shop Baker and Spice which does really good coffee and baked goods(check my reviews on this place). There’s also a good place for a traditional Chinese breakfast like steamed buns, noodles and rice porridge at Wangfujing main streets (side street of the main walking street near the Shuai Fu Yuan Hutong). There’s also a tiny convenient store great for fruits, beers and cup noodles under the hotel next to the main steps. Nothing flash from the outside but...

Location near Forbidden City is fabulous. This is why I booked the hotel. It is easy walking distance. Hotel is small and more of a boutique hotel. Lobby is plain. Breakfast was filling and fair. Breakfast was better than expected in a low price hotel so we were satisfied. WIFI was good. TV was mainly Chinese (of course) and few English speaking channels. The beds were ...... extra extra firm. I seriously considering putting a blanket on the floor to sleep on something softer. I awoke first day feeling like 18 pigs had shared my bed ,,,, sore all over. After second day, we checked out as planned and I was happy to get on a plane so I could get a more comfortable sleep. "You get what you pay for." So excellent location, great price, fair breakfast,...