InterContinental Beijing Beichen — Hotel in Beijing

I have to say this was easily one of my worst experiences staying at an IHG property. Several "lowlights" during my one-night stay: (1) Booked stay as a "staycation" mostly for my 6-year-old kid to enjoy the pool in Beijing's cold winter. Called a week before arrival and was assured the pool was open. During check-in, was told pool was closed for "emergency repair" -- and that hotel couldn't reach me due to the lack of a local cell phone number on file. My email is clearly in the system but no one reached out. (2) Check-in agent didn't really mention any Diamond Ambassador benefits. Simply asked about if I had chosen breakfast as a benefit, I said no one contacted me about that - and "lack of local phone" was the response again. Then asked me about my child's height and said there normally would be a charge for breakfast for those between 1.2-1.4m. Also didn't offer me the guaranteed 4pm checkout - I only found out when already in room and called them about something else. Was told to go downstairs to have the room key cards updated. (3) After checkout, got a phone call (yes, they finally got my local number) from hotel, asking about a child's bathrobe from hotel. Being at a noisy children's party, I said I couldn't hear well but could talk later when home. Was asked when I would be home and told that they would call back (even though I said 8 or 9pm). No one called back but there now appears to be an extra charge on my credit card. There were several other minor issues that I don't have the space to list here. Given the location of the hotel, I am sure they have received plenty of VIPs during the Olympics and other events (as indicated by the "VIP" buttons in every elevator). But for non-VIP guests (even Diamond Ambassadors, it seems), the hotel doesn't seem to care or offer a basic level of service to be expected at an InterContinental. I would avoid this property like the plague - unless, perhaps, you are a true "VIP"...

I have stayed in IC hotels throughout the world, including several in Asia. I stayed at this one because of a conference I was attending at the nearby convention hall. This is the first IC where I would likely not come back. Here are some highlights:

Check-In: this was the first time my Ambassador benefits were not recognized/outlined. While I did receive my room upgrade, I had just renewed my status after some time so I was not familiar with what the benefits were at this hotel. Since this was not explained to me I avoided most of the amenities so as to not be over-charged.

The screen kept going out on my TV. Someone came up and fixed it, but when I came back to the room it didn't work again. Because it was later in the trip I did not call for another service person.

The "happy hour" in the Club Lounge actually takes during the dinner hours of 18:00-20:00. It was impossible to take advantage of this since dinner is always on the agenda for business trips. This is the most limited time-frame I have ever seen. Extremely disappointing. This was a waste of money and I would not recommend purchasing access.

Room was per normal IC properties: spacious with convenient work/rest spaces.

This was the first hotel I have ever stayed at where the restaurants are not well marked or described outside of the room guide. Not a big deal for me, but I did not visit them since I didn't know anything about them and wasn't sure they even had more than one restaurant until I stumbled on it at the end of my trip.

Overall, this was a typical IC property. Given items 1-3, it did not meet my expectations based on previous experience and was therefore not worth what I paid. I will not...

I initially chose this property because they offered reward nights. It’s a bit out of the way but, after having stayed in downtown Beijing the previous week I definitely appreciated the fact that the taxi fare was more reasonable mostly due to less traffic congestion on the route to the hotel. Fiona on the front desk was very helpful, spoke English and recognized my IHG club status. The room was large and very comfortable. There was a pillow’menu’ and the bathroom amenities were complete. The best surprise was the ‘Handy’ phone. It’s a cell phone that the guest can use during their stay to make local calls, find their way around the city and learn about local attractions. Because we did not want to be stuck in traffic in taxis we used the phone to find our way using the Beijing subway system. This was remarkably easy to do because we had the phone with us. The breakfast offerings in the Club lounge were impressive with lots of choices for the western palate. We only ate dinner in one of the hotel restaurants. The one we chose is a Chinese restaurant and it’s very expensive. Olympic Park (2008) is across the street and you can take a motorized tour around the grounds. The Convention Centre is adjacent to the hotel and there is a large mall (underground) connected to the Olympic Green subway station. You would never know it was there as it is poorly signed and, as I said, it’s completely below ground level. Take good walking shoes, a hat and a bottle of water. Everything in Beijing is huge and the maps don’t really give you a sense of scale so one block can easily mean half...