This is a cheap hotel considering its loaction right next to the drum tower and only 15 minutes away on foot from the forbidden city. If you want a fancier hotel this close to the center of Beijing, be prepared to pay a lot more. However, this place is not bad. The beds are okay, and the staff very friendly. Breakfast is just a slice of toast and some coffee but there are several restaurants nearby that will serve you soup etc. for just a few yuan. The first night we stayed in a room with a broken AC, and the staff was ever so apologetic. If you are just looking for a place to crash close to the center, this will do.

great location. close to shops and Hou Hai.
pathetic breakfast.
the morning reception girl is rude. forgot wat her name was.
wifi only available in lobby/reception area.

carpet stinks.. they shud just change and refurbish the whole place.
smell coming out from the bathroom floor trap/pipping... you'll have to shut the bathroom doors.

with all that being said. it's a great location. close to shops and you can easily get a cab.

There's only one good thing about this hotel -- it's location. Other than that, stay as far away as possible. Horrible smells, peeling paint, mold and water stains everywhere. What's even worse, if you book online, you're gonna lose your money.

Word of advise to travelers in China -- NEVER BOOK ONLINE in advance (using a credit card) unless the hotel is listed in the top 10. You MUST physically see the room first otherwise you're taking a huge risk.

No way we could have slept in this dump... worst part is they still got $60 out of me thanks to online booking. Live and learn! (Hope this helps someone else avoid the same mistake!)

I was travelling to Beijing & Tianjin with a very big group of friends and decided to give this hotel a try after looking at its location which is quite central to all the tourist attraction in Beijing old city. Since we came in a big group, we occupied 5 rooms. The staff at the hotel gave us 3 rooms on the ground level and 2 big room on the 2nd floor. My room was located on the ground level. The condition of the room was bad. A small window with no view. Smell of wet moisture and it's a proof that this room has no proper ventilation at all. My other friends staying at the same floor could not take the smell and requested to move upstair and the staff at the hotel was kind enough to allow the change. may be the hotel wasn't fully book at that time.

As for my friends;' room on the upper stair, these rooms are spacious, cleaner and dry. It's much better room for that price. My suggestion would be to request for the upper floor room if you are to stay here. Window look out with some old buildings view.

Location wise, there is nothing to complain. Bus services is good. Nearest MRT station is about 15min walk from the hotel. Along the street in front of the hotel, you can find all kind of food, lots of cafes open till late night and the you can wander around the old alley (hutong) just in front or next to the hotel. Bell tower is next to it, visit the bell tower during it's performance time. It's a good show. Not far from the hotel will be the beer street where hundreds of bars line up in front of the lake for you to realx. Not really interested with this place as the staffs keeps following us to ask us to go to their premises for a drinks. We finally ended up in a quiet bar not too far from the main beer street.