Palace Hotel Forbidden City — Hotel in Beijing

I’ve read reviews that said it was charming.|It could do with a good clean.|The bathroom was quite grubby.|There are marks on the floor that should be cleaned off.|The bathroom shower is so high up and the entire bathroom needs upgrading.|It’s very dated and can still be charming but updated.|There are no tea making facilities in the bedroom but cups for hot drinks.|The mattresses are especially thin and the bed is an extremely hard wooden bed of traditional style.|No reason why it couldn’t have a proper mattress on it.|I had to put another duvet under me to get more comfort.||The breakfast was average. Eggs flipped and one piece of bacon. When they say it’s European breakfast you expect that.|The toast was only cooked on one side.||In a nut shell the only thing it was good for it’s so close to the Eastern Forbidden City gate.|The area itself is very charming and this place has so much potential I’d want to...

Fabulous location almost precisely in the center of Beijing. A short walk to the Forbidden City entrance. Several other points of interest (Beihai Park, Jinshan Park, Temple of Heaven, Wang Fu shopping district) are longer walks or short cab rides away. Lots of excellent, reasonable priced restaurants nearby. The hotel itself is a lovely, traditional place, with helpful staff. One spoke English and the others are adept at Google Translate. Excellent breakfast, options include American (eggs, bacon, and toast) or Chinese (e.g., steamed dumplings).||||This hotel is a great value.||||As others have noted, it's a little hard to find. The address puzzled more than one cab driver. If you stand with your back to the Forbidden City (or Palace Museum, as it's known in China) East Exit, make a right and then it's down the first alley to the left. There's a guard house with a car barrier...

If you want to be close to the Forbidden city, this small hotel is almost next door, within easy walking distance, and not too far from good eating places. When described as being in Hutong, its up a quiet alley, with the hotel a converted old house, which retains much of the traditional layout. Breakfast is served in the covered courtyard. If you want a slick modern hotel this won't suit you. The layout is idiosyncratic, with some risk of noise from other rooms if you are unlucky. The mattress is traditionally hard. We loved the bath. If you are familiar with the typical Chinese breakfast you may welcome their attempt at a western style breakfast. We found that the staff tried to be helpful, and for us mostly succeeded. A welcome antidote to faceless corporate or grandiose hotels, and an...