Howard Johnson Paragon Hotel Beijing — Hotel in Beijing

The most unwelcoming hotel and rudiest staff I have encountered throughout my 4 weeks trip around China. Firstly the unhelpful staff just stood next to the door watching me drag my heavy luggage up the ramp without even having the courtesy to open the door! When I walked up to the reception I was greeted my a stone faced male staff member who just said “passport” no “hello welcome” or even a simple smile. I was given my room card and told breakfast was between 7-10 and if I used the mini bar I would pay at checkout. I had to ask him where the lift was because he didn’t even bother showing me the way. The room was ok, average size with 2 comfortable single beds. There was no toothbrush, tooth paste or shower cap provided and I never received any throughout my 4 night stay. The room was however equipt with robes, scale, hairdryer, kettle and the complimentary tea & coffee and 2 bottles of water which were replenished daily. Although housekeeping attended daily and made my bed they never changed the sheets throughout my whole stay! In morning I asked the reception how I can book a tour to visit the Great Wall. He said there was no booking system and tickets were sold at the entrance. I enquired about how to get there and he said “taxi” and when I asked if I could get there by public transport he replied “no just taxi” and walked away. I have visited 39 countries and NEVER encountered such rude, arrogant hotel staff. The hotel is located directly across the Beijing Railway Station which is the only positive part. There’s absolutely nothing within walking distance, with the closest mall being appx 20-30 mins walk away. I didn’t see the gym, but the area surrounding the tennis court was dirty, neglected and unappealing. My package included a 30% discount at the Chinese restaurant, which is the same room where breakfast is served, but after seeing the beverage price list outside the tennis court (super expensive) I didn’t even bother using it. That said breakfast was pretty decent with a good variety of western and Chinese options. Overall, if you don’t wan’t to be disrespected and taken for a fool with your money STAY AWAY FROM HOTEL. There are so many other hotels in better locality for half the price. Unfortunately I had already prepaid for my 4 nights stay and had no choice but to stay - otherwise I would’ve left the place from the moment I walked in. The most cold, unfriendly, rude and unhelpful staff I have ever...

My family and I were checked into a room (#806) which had a very bad molding smell, it was terrible! The mold was everywhere in the bathroom (see pictures) and it made me very angry that we were given this room while the bad smell was so obvious. The thought of the staff letting us inhale the bad air in this room for 2 nights, which is harmful for our health was the trigger of my frustration. Any person who cleaned or checked this room should have reported that it couldn't be assigned to any guests and needed deep cleaning.|After complaining about this situation, we were moved to a suite. In my opinion, this was just a logical move after checking us into such a badly conditioned room in the first place. At least the suite had no molding smell, which showed that the hotel knows what the hygiene standards should be. |Both rooms that we were checked into are very outdated, has many inconveniences (such as old-fashioned power sockets, inefficient lighting system and the chandelier in the suite was badly positioned that I bumped my head a few times) and doesn't match with how the lobby looks like. The lobby looks shiny and new and smelled much better than our rooms (actually even the corridors smelled better). Apparently the staff were staying in a better conditioned space than us as guests.|The service was poor as the porter didn't offer us a trolley at check-in, while we were carrying 7 pieces of luggage with the 3 of us. Staff are not smiling and doesn't greet guests... At check out many staff members were standing in the lobby and not a single person sensed that we might needed some assistance to carry the same 7 pieces of luggage down the stairs. After I said to my partner that the hotel has a poor sense of service because of this, finally a staff member (he might had overheard me or saw my unsatisfied facial expression) walked behind me and offered to help with our luggage, but at that point I was literally just a few meters away...

My family and I were checked into a room (#806) which had a very bad molding smell, it was terrible! The mold was everywhere in the bathroom (see pictures) and it made me very angry that we were given this room while the bad smell was so obvious. The thought of the staff letting us inhale the bad air in this room for 2 nights, which is harmful for our health was the trigger of my frustration. Any person who cleaned or checked this room should have reported that it couldn't be assigned to any guests and needed deep cleaning. After complaining about this situation, we were moved to a suite. In my opinion, this was just a logical move after checking us into such a badly conditioned room in the first place. At least the suite had no molding smell, which showed that the hotel knows what the hygiene standards should be. Both rooms that we were checked into are very outdated, has many inconveniences (such as old-fashioned power sockets, inefficient lighting system and the chandelier in the suite was badly positioned that I bumped my head a few times) and doesn't match with how the lobby looks like. The lobby looks shiny and new and smelled much better than our rooms (actually even the corridors smelled better). Apparently the staff were staying in a better conditioned space than us as guests. The service was poor as the porter didn't offer us a trolley at check-in, while we were carrying 7 pieces of luggage with the 3 of us. Staff are not smiling and doesn't greet guests... At check out many staff members were standing in the lobby and not a single person sensed that we might needed some assistance to carry the same 7 pieces of luggage down the stairs. After I said to my partner that the hotel has a poor sense of service because of this, finally a staff member (he might had overheard me or saw my unsatisfied facial expression) walked behind me and offered to help with our luggage, but at that point I was literally just a few meters away...