Crowne Plaza Beijing Chaoyang U-Town — Hotel in Beijing

I usually stay at the CP Sun Palace; however, they had a conference and did not have the room available that I desired. I read the reviews for other Crowne Plaza locations in Beijing. Initially I was concerned with this location as not all reviews are favorable and several had specific gripes with the Chaoyang U-Town location.

I emailed the GM, Mr. Travers before making my reservation. He assured me that there would be no problems with this hotel and I then proceeded to make my reservation. I stayed for a week in January of 2013 and was careful to observe everything so as to give a thorough evaluation of this property. I am an IHG Ambassador Platinum Elite member which allows for various upgrades and expectations on my part.

Here is the review:

The Great: I took a taxi from the PEK airport (RMB 88) around 6:30 p.m. Upon arrival I was met by two young men standing outside in frigid temps eager and willing to help with my luggage. As soon as I walked into the lobby I was impressed with its cleanliness. I was third in line and one of the desk receptionists asked how they could help me. I said I was Mr. so-and-so and they immediately said that my room was ready and thanked me for staying at their hotel. There was a warmness and appreciation demonstrated by everyone during the check-in process. As I was completing this process, Mr. Travers came over and introduced himself. He gave me his card and told me to call him if I needed anything... quite impressive!

The elevators are right behind the check-in desk and off to the 19th floor I went. Concierge handled my luggage and actually made it to my room before I did. Upon arrival to room 1935, I was immediately impressed. The room had a very comfortable king-size bed. It was a corner room so I had an additional benefit of being able to look out the windows from two different directions. The room had everything I needed: safe, iron, ironing board, computer/work desk, coffee maker, refrigerator with drinks, hair dryer, shoe horn, robe, slippers, etc.

The toilet area was separate from the shower/tub area. There were two sinks in the room which would have facilitated two people getting ready rather nicely. There was a couch and office chair. The lighting was able to be adjusted to my preference with a dimmer switch. I want to add that the bed was incredibly comfortable. I slept quite well all week.

Having traveled for almost 20 hours, I changed clothes and headed down to the gym / work-out area on the 6th floor. For a hotel, I was quite impressed with all of the equipment and free weights. What I liked even more was how large the work-out room was... it was not crammed into a small room. There was plenty of space to move about. Towels and water were both available in the work-out facility. Also, the shower area contained both a sauna and steam room. Towels, soap, shampoo, hair dryer were all available in the locker room. There was a large and very nice looking pool that looked inviting but I did not go swimming.

The next morning I went up to the 20th floor for breakfast. It was very good. There were only a couple of other people so it was very quiet and intimate. I made four copies from my emails while in the Club Lounge and was not charged! Please note: the other mornings I ate breakfast on the 6th floor (Cafe on the 6th) and it was FANTASTIC. This hotel has one of the best breakfast offerings for any Crowne Plaza that I have ever stayed. Don't miss breakfast if you stay here. Apparently lots of other people also enjoy this CP breakfast for the eating area was very full every morning. If given a choice, eat on the 6th floor, not the 20th, as there really is a world of difference. The Club Lounge on the 20th just offers the basics for breakfast while the Cafe on the 6th offers a wide array of food, drinks, and desserts.

Attached to this hotel is the U-Town Mall. There are several floors with many stores you have never heard of; however, there is an H&M. In walking in different stores, the prices are very steep and you can find anything cheaper in the US. The area was well-lit and wide open and very inviting. The mall was a great place to walk as the temps outside were below freezing.

As far as eating, there is a Sizzler in the U-Town and it was quite delicious with a salad bar. The steak and chicken combo meal was fixed perfectly. There is a Burger King and Starbucks attached to this U-Town mall. I read the reviews on the German restaurant attached to this hotel and therefore I did not try it. I did notice that not many other people were eating at this restaurant either. They should move the Sizzler to the location of the German restaurant.

Other Tidbits: Outside the hotel within easy walking distance is another Starbucks, two Pizza Hut's, a Wal Mart, a McDonalds, and an Office Supply store. The Bank of Beijing is direcly across the street and will exchange money without a service charge. You exchanged money on the second floor. However, the exchange rate was a deplorable 6.109. The subway station is an 8-10 minute walk... exit the front doors of the hotel and turn Left. At the first street turn Right. At the next street (a main street) turn Left and you will see the entrance to the station just across the bridge on the Left hand side. It is only RMB 2 to take a ride on the subway.

The Pizza Hut next to the Wal Mart is closer and was quite delicious. Service was a little slow but the restaurant was very clean. The Wal Mart is primarily a grocery store with few other offerings as one might think when they hear the word Wal Mart.

Across the street from the CP is a large Russian market, Alien's Street. It was not clean! I did not find anything I needed at this market. I will write a separate review on this shopping experience.

As far as the location of this CP, there were always taxis available. I never waited more than one minute for a taxi. This location is perfect for any business or touring you have scheduled in the Wangfujing to Silk Market areas. The Silk Market is only 1.2 miles from the hotel. It is a very easy walk and an enjoyable walk if you don't mind exercise. The Yashow Market is probably too far for most to walk and is only RMB 10 by taxi. I walked to Yashow and enjoyed all of the sights, sounds, and smells even though it was around 18 degrees when I walked.

For a Platinum member there are numerous benefits to staying in this hotel: upgraded room, complimentary breakfast, complimentary afternoon tea, complimentary soft drinks in your room, complimentary laundry up to RMB 100 per day, daily newspaper, free Internet in the room, and extended check-out (up to 4:00 p.m.).

The Bad: There is nothing that I can say that during the course of a week long stay that was bad. I completely enjoyed interacting with the employees of this hotel. They were friendly and willing to help. There are only two minor issues: The shower is right next to the tub and therefore when you shower, everything gets wet. This is unusual for me. It would be nice if the hotel put a curtain between the shower and tub since they are separate so that everything does not get soaked during the course of a shower. Another oddity was that there was no place to hang your towel in the bathroom other than over the tub. You would walk over everything that was wet and lean over a wet tub to hang your towel. I decided to just use the handle on the shower door. For two people in a room this might have been a bigger inconvenience. The only other comment that would be mildly irritating and I read this in other reviews and found it to be true - the service by the staff at Cafe on the 6th was slow and not very responsive every morning. I had to ask for a drink and for a refill and then noticed that everyone else had to as well. Someone needs to train the staff at this Cafe to be more responsive. However, the breakfast was so good that I cannot allow this minor incovenience to take away from my positive experience. If this is all that I can find wrong, then it was a pretty good stay.

I highly...

Stayed here couple of weeks ago just 1 night. I was also here in March and July. I've reviewed this hotel in another popular travel site, but thought I want to say a few words here for those people reading reviews here. Obviously I thought it was a great hotel and I had a good time, that's why I came back again and again.

First of all, the hotel is fairly new, looks really nice. Has a modern golden touch to it (gold color shades and decorations in lobby and room#. It doesn't look old fashion, but rather the modern chic look. Rooms are not too big; most newer hotels are like this. It was perfect for me. Again, rooms are nicely appointed and feels new.

The location is good; general location within Beijing, and attached to the U-town mall. Beijing being so big, many taxi drivers don't know a lot of hotels #even big 5-star ones). This hotel is around the corner from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. So you can just tell taxi driver its by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. They all know the place. It is attached to the U-Town mall; you can go shopping and dining directly from hotel to mall. I love this convenience too.

Above all, however, it is the friendly service and staff that brings me back. I want to give thanks to 2 specific persons. First and foremost, I want to thank Rachel from the 6th floor breakfast room. I think she is the manager or supervisor in this area. I believe I met her during my July stay. Since I usually go breakfast early like 6:30-7am, its usually not too crowded and Rachel always has a nice smile and few words of chat. Very friendly lady. Also she sees me drinking OJ and would go and bring me a glass of OJ, or bring me my omelet. So I want to thank her for her friendliness and she makes you feel right at home. Its great to have her on the Crowne Plaza team. The other friendly person is Juliet at the front desk. She was the first person I met when I checked in March. Since March was my first time here, I would ask many questions and Juliet would always patiently answer me with a smile. I saw her again in July and few weeks ago. She would always have a nice smile and greet me with some small talk. So the friendliness and service is great at this hotel.

The small draw back is sometimes it could get a little pricy if you buy breakfast, internet, or other services, but this is a 5-star hotel in central Beijing so such price isn't out of the norm.

All in all, I would recommend this hotel and I would...

I would choose this hotel again for my future stay in Beijing. I highly recommend it for everybody, specially the expats in China ( the hotel staff are very caring, try to help you in everything and their english is so good).

I want to appreciate the effort of 3 person during my amazing stay and their perfect hospitality in this hotel:

1. Hank Cao, very professional and representable person! he showed me the hotel and its surrounding. He helped me in finding the covid testing station, the subway station location, the bike station (he went with me by himself just to make sure that i am not lost) … he helped me with the packages delivery to the hotel. He really made my stay in the hotel and in Beijing very comfortable. He really cares about the customer and their stay in the hotel! I really appreciate his effort and all his help during my stay. He lead the sales department in very good manner, i will be contacting him for my next stay in Crowne plaza (i will be coming to Beijing for buisness trips often)

2. Mandy, from “Cafe on the 6th”. She always welcome you with a smile and happy attitude on the breakfast time, she really makes you start your day in good manner. She is so friendly, you feel like you know her for ages. She did an enormous effort to help me during my quarantine in the hotel. She was contacting me out of her working hours just to check if i need any help and what she can bring me on breakfast the second day. The food in the restaurant is amazing, organized and clean. She is very competent at her work and she is very good in dealing with people. Well done Mandy!

3. Benjamin. I arrived late time to the hotel for check-in. However, Benjamin was very energetic and welcoming. He made sure to help me with the check-in and responding my questions in very clear way. He is very skillfull and dedicated to his work. His english is so good and make the expat people more comfortable in the hotel.

Finally, i want to congratulate Crowne plaza and IHG for having such great team in Crowne Plaza Chaoyang Utown.

This 3 people and all other team members made an enormous effort to make my stay very comfortable.

I will be recommending this hotel for my friends and...