Park Plaza Beijing Wangfujing — Hotel in Beijing

I stayed at Park Plaza Beijing Wangfujing and found it to be a well-kept, comfortable four-star hotel with several strengths — but also a few notable shortcomings that would keep me from returning.

The hotel’s interiors are more traditional than modern, with warm wood, patterned carpets and heavy curtains, giving it a slightly dated but tidy feel. That said, everything was in excellent condition. My room was spotless, with a very comfortable king-sized bed, good amenities including a coffee capsule machine, and a well-planned layout. Housekeeping did a fantastic job. I also appreciated the convenience of a self-service laundry on the first floor, which was especially handy during a longer trip.

The bathroom, although very clean and well-equipped, had a bathtub with a curtain instead of a walk-in shower — something I personally find inconvenient. While the hand-held shower was of excellent quality, I found the shower curtain old-fashioned. Hoping to switch rooms, I returned to reception shortly after check-in to enquire whether a room with a walk-in shower was available. Unfortunately, this is where the experience took a downturn. The staff member’s reaction was unhelpful and dismissive. There was no effort to offer alternatives or even engage politely — I felt like I was bothering her by asking.

Sadly, this wasn’t a one-off. All my interactions with reception were marked by the same cold, distant attitude. Even when I requested a breakfast box for early departure, the handling was mechanical and joyless — not a smile, just a blank stare. I found this odd, especially as the concierge team were much friendlier and more engaged when I asked for help with transport arrangements.

Breakfast was served in a bright room with large windows and greenery outside — a lovely setting. The buffet was broad and international, offering both Western and Asian choices. However, I would have liked to see healthier staples such as oats, Bircher muesli or a greater variety of nuts. Staff were polite, though very limited in English, which made ordering a vegetarian omelette and chocolate milk a bit of a challenge, ultimately resolved using a translation app.

I had dinner once in the hotel’s restaurant. The buffet wasn’t very vegetarian-friendly, so I ordered à la carte: pesto pasta and a salad without chicken. The food was fine, but communication was again a hurdle. I had ordered a beer, which never arrived. Only when I asked again was I told it was available — but had not been chilled. That was disappointing, though the staff were apologetic and kindly offered me a complimentary beer later on. I appreciated that gesture and enjoyed a glass of cold white wine in the meantime.

The breakfast box for my early departure was ready on time and respected my vegetarian request. However, it felt uninspired: two apples, two mini croissants (no jam), two eggs (one fermented, which I didn’t like), and a small salad that had been dressed far too early and had gone soggy. It was okay, but could have been much better with just a bit more thought. On a more positive note, when I picked it up, the same receptionist from check-in was unexpectedly friendlier — still reserved, but at least she smiled. It was a small but welcome improvement.

In short, the Park Plaza delivers in terms of cleanliness, comfort and basic amenities — and the leafy breakfast room is a real highlight. However, the front desk staff’s lack of warmth and hospitality cast a long shadow over the stay. For a hotel in this category, the guest experience starts at reception — and in this case, that’s where...

We booked our stay at the Park Plaza Beijing Wangfujing for our family because my wife and I had such a great experience 18 years ago before we had kids. This time around, we had two kids and a grandma along.

Our experience was an order of magnitude better this time around! We booked three rooms, two adjoining for the kids and us and one across for grandma. The front desk and in particular, Kevin Li, accommodated our request for everyone to be close and made this happen for us and we deeply appreciated this as I had not thought to request this in our initial reservation.

The rooms themselves were amazing. They were clean, well anointed, and well maintained. The pillows, bedding, mattress were fresh, clean, and so comfortable! In particular, I especially love the crisp, dry towels. The rooms were equipped with Nespresso machines that allows us to enjoy coffee and expresso every morning and hot water heater for tea. We also used the gym for the first few days because we were jet lagged and it suited us perfectly.

From a location perspective, the hotel is situated in central downtown, next to the Bank of China for easy withdrawal and two lines of subway, one within a minute walk and the other line within 5 minutes walk. It's 10 minutes subway ride to the Forbidden City and 10 minutes Qianhai and Beihai park.

The absolute highlight of our stay was Erick Zhang at the concierge desk. We had communicated with him a few weeks prior to our stay to ask for advice and help during our stay. Erick arranged a private shuttle for us from the airport to our hotel, with a driver that met us at the airport with our name on a placard. He found local tour guides for the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, and the Summer Palace who spoken Mardarin for the sake our my wife and her mother (and out kids who were trying to learn Mardarin) for 1/3 the prices of tours on other sites. Erick had flawless restaurant recommendations for us from the high end restaurant to enjoy the most refined Beijing dining experience to the local Beijing fast food for a quick bite (which was a huge, huge hit for our kids). Finally, Erick was able to get us high speed rail tickets for our trip to Guangzhou in southern China from Beijing. All this was arranged prior to our trip!

Because of Erick, we were able to enjoy our trip from the get -go!

It's safe to say that this was one of our best...

Location was good, right in the heart of the city centre. This means that you’re (mostly) in rather close proximity to the attractions e.g. forbidden palace, and the malls; but it also means that the area is prone to traffic jams - so do factor this into your travelling plans if you intend to take taxis / Didi around (as I did). Housekeeping was fine, no complaints. The star of the stay was definitely the concierge desk, which was extremely helpful. In particular, Yuelong Wang and another gentlemen with the last name Jia (apologies if I got his last name wrong). They was fantastic - from answering our queries about how to get around, how much time to buffer for traffic jams (which are pretty common), where to go, what kinds of souvenirs to get etc.; to collecting and holding our parcels and deliveries and safekeeping them. They were also extremely attentive - when we were out of the hotel, they held our parcels at the desk; whereas when we returned to the hotel (and they noticed when we returned), they automatically sent up the parcels to our rooms without us having to request for it. Service was generally also great. I told the front desk that I would be arriving early, and they let me check in at 12pm instead of the usual 3pm; they also allowed a slightly later checkout when I informed them our flight was later in the day. Would not hesitate to recommend Park Plaza, and to stay here again in the future. Special mention again to the concierge desk, which made this stay much...