Holiday Inn Express Bejing Downtown, an IHG Hotel — Hotel in Beijing

I showed up at Dongzhimen branch by mistake (Thought that I made a booking with Dongzhimen but actually with Downtown)

Both Dongzhimen front desk and China reservation line helped me contact Downtown front desk to cancel my booking so that i can make a go-show booking at Dongzhimen.

Downtown front desk refused to do so no matter what. One reason they mentioned was that the room rate has been charged to my card and cannot be reversed; however, this seems not an issue with Dongzhimen.

Considering myself being exhausted from my day schedule and carrying many belongings, I decided to waste my money at Downtown and made a booking at Dongzhimen but was only told Dongzhimen actually had no room available despite the fact that I successfully made a booking on IHG app.

With no option left past midnight, I grabbed my belongings and called a taxi to Downtown.

Staff in Downtown lacks of hospitality comparing to the warm and helpful staff in Dongzhimen.

No surprise that I did not get upgrade offer as a platinum member (maybe they were fully booked but I was too tired to ask) also to the contrary of what I was told by reservation line that they saved me a nice room when they tried to persuade me not to cancel my booking earlier.

Next day checking out I was asked again to sign for payment as they said the one that I signed upon check-in was only to freeze the payment. So apparently it was a lie that they couldn’t cancel the booking for me because of the charge.

When I returned to pick up my belongings from front desk, the staff passed me my luggages without saying a single word as if they can’t wait for their guests to leave.

Upon waiting for my taxi to transfer to another hotel, concierge staff just standing there and not paying attention to guest who is leaving, so I quickly hopped on my taxi after taking care of my own belongings.

Before this incident, I always prefer IHG services over other brands even though I’m a diamond member with other brands and only a platinum with IHG. IHG has always been considerate to the needs of their customers and trying their best to help.

Sadly this time Beijing Holiday Inn Downtown ruined everything. The image of this hotel to me is that they are a new location who care the most about their business over...

We enjoyed the facilties, the receptionists, the restaurant hostesses, the housekeepers and the doorman. Everyone was extremely polite and always welcoming you back to your rooms or exiting. It was a spotless hotel. The food for breakfast had a great variety as well as quality food for all to enjoy, whether you are of Chinese descent, Asian in general or of any other various ethnicity. I appreciated their organization with receiving packages as well as I had notified them of a package arriving the next day. There was even an issue with the elevator but, it was resolved extremely quickly. Just honestly, A+ for service.

The rooms were always kept clean and organized to where we left our personal belongings and they always refilled what we had used. The rooms are modern and comfortable with convenient tables for eating or working. Appreciated the large TV although it only works with Chinese phone # and apps. You can cast but, again many things we watch are on apps that are banned therefore it was just useless to us. Wifi was good too. I ended up using my data more often to use the apps that are banned in Mainland China. We got our sims in Macau or HK which includes VPNs allowing Google, Netflix etc to work.

The only thing we didn't enjoy in our specific room was the design of the shower stall and the mirror placement. If you are not a couple, one person has to be mindful to not look in the direction of the shower. Otherwise, it was great. The water pressure was perfect and the products given to use were good as well. There is no safe or fridge. There is small closet to hang your clothes/wet towels and sit down to put on your shoes.

The subway station is 15 mins away however, so it is not the closest but, there are bus stops nearby as well as a lot of restaurants. This hotel is located in an old neighborhood with a narrow street so keep in mind the traffic. We felt it was a safe neighborhood. We had no issues getting in or out with a taxi to and from the airport.

I would stay again. I personally think the positives...

Five stars across the board, but for American/western travelers please read this review until the end.|In the interest of full disclosure, I have lived in China before, so it was slightly easier for me to stay here as I was more prepared in what I expected.||Checkin- easy, however most of the staff does not speak English. The manager (English name Renee) does. The staff does have a translation device if need be. They will provide you with a map of area interests etc.||Room- Clean and ample. Huge TV (though just CCTV. There is a phone mirroring fuction on the TV but I wasn't able to get it work though it didn't matter much I mostly just slept in the room anyway.|Bathroom is small but the shower is large and over all the bathroom gets the job done. A nice perk was the bidet attachment on the toilet with warm water. That was a nice plus!|Plenty of free water in the room|Breakfast- huge selection. Lots of Chinese options and western (albeit Chinese version of western options. IE onion rings, French fries, and Italian spaghetti to name a few)|Coffee machine provides good coffee (China has come a long way with coffee)|Location (IMPORTANT!!!)|I loved the location, however that being said, it's located on a residential hutong. This is not a chic updated commercial hutong. It's narrow, and very lived on. Not glamorous, to say the least, but this is a window on how the Chinese lived for hundreds of years. |That being said, it's at the end of the street so walking is about 2 minutes to the main road. This hutong won't be for everyone but I implore you to give the hotel a chance and live like the Chinese do. The hotel is great for the price and the...