Was invited by the Chinese government and they put us up at this hotel. We stayed in amazing rooms and we would wake up every morning to a good view of the Forbidden city! The restuarant was good and the location is excellent.

I did look up on the internet and saw that it could be quite pricey.
Given that most times you would not be spending time at the hotel, I would probably not book this hotel for myself personally and would rather stay at the Grand Hyatt down the road.

however, all in all, it was a great experience.

I stayed at the Grand twice during a recent trip to China as they had good deals on for a 5 star hotel. The location is amazing - you can see the Forbidden City from the Palace View rooms (we got upgraded to these both times) and walk there in 5 minutes through a nice park which means you can avoid the crowds. The place clearly was very grand indeed when it was built and the quality of the furnishings clear - lovely walnut cabinets, comfy huge beds etc. However, it all feels dated now, and a little worn around the edges.

The service is outstanding. I was waiting for a parcel to be delivered which encountered a customs problem. The concierge took charge and ended up using her own personal ID to claim the package and get it to me. The reception and restaurant staff were all very efficient and when arriving for the second time 3 hours earlier than check-in, we only had to wait an hour before getting in to the room (which we spent eating Breakfast from the expensive but pricey buffet).

One disappointment was the roof top bar is now closed permanently. One of the main selling points and one of the deciding factors for staying was taken away. Also, the 'bar' in the atrium is often taken for weddings at weekends making very little room for guests - there are very few bars in this part of town and your best bet is Raffles a few doors down.

A further thing (which appears to be a trend in Chinese hotels) is that rooms offer free high speed internet which you plug in to, but if you want to use a computer to access the internet in the business centre, then it is very expensive and this was the most expensive I came across - chargeable at 0.40 Y per minute plus a connection charge for very slow connection speeds. Complaining about the speed and how this increased my cost met with a blank look and no offer to reduce the cost.

This is a good place, comfortable and calm (very rare in Beijing) and I would have no problem staying here again, I just wouldn't pay the 5 star rate card for it .

The hotel was OK. The location is great. But the rooms are old and have not been renovated in a while. Also the hotel calls itself a member of the "Leading Hotels of the World", a membership that should clearly be withdrawn. The service was not 5 star worthy and the carpet in the room was absolutely disgusting. Sorry, but if you know what a 5 star hotel looks like you should avoid this one.

There was a time when this was THE hotel in Beijing and it does have the best location in terms of proximity to Tiananmen but in post-Olympics Beijing there are a tonne of new hotels out there with top-notch modern luxurious rooms and this property is just tired and old by comparison. Smoky, terrible pool, average food. Rooms are not modern but are very opulent and comfortable.