We stayed here for 3 nights as part of a guilded tour of China. The hotel was located on a busy road opposite a huge shopping centre (if you want to cross the road, don't dice with death alone, either chain yourself to a local or walk slightly down the road and use the bridge) Because of the shopping centre everything you need can be bought nearby.

Our room was not huge but was clean and fuctional. The bathroom was fine with a bath, shower sink etc and was clean. We also had a balcony which was nice. The only downside was although we are both non smokers and the room was non smoking the room did smell quite smokey from time to time, we put this down to people in another room smoking near the air vent and the smell being tranfered along the air con into other rooms. The room had a tv, fridge, alarm clock and complimentary toiletries.

The hotel is a huge complex, we were in block 3 around the back, so we had no road noice and it was lovely and quiet. We had breakfast included which was either western or Chinese style buffet, this was of good quality and filled us up for the days touring. The hotel has its own post office, supermarket (much cheaper local one outside the complex on the main road) gym, fitness zone and a very nice bar, plus several resturants. The walk from our room to where breakfast was took nearly 13 minutes and thats when we didn't get lost! Despite good signage the hotel is huge (biggest in Asia I was told) and really is a rabbit warren.

The hotel is very well located, being a short ride away from the city centre on Line 4 of the metro, Renmin University station being located right outside the hotel. The metro is fast, frequent and super cheap (for westerners, for locals its pricey as the bus is only pennies) at only 20p for a journey anywhere the metro is great for getting around. When we chose to do our own thing we used the metro several times, and like any big city just be carful and its fine.

I had heard mixed reviews about thisn hotel, I always take these with a pinch of salt. Our experiance was good, and yes we would stay here again.

16 Sep - 23 Sep, 2011
I picked Friendship Hotel for the stay, since the conference I
was attending (International Conference on Document Analysis and
Recognition ICDAR 2011), was being held in the same hotel. This
would be my first visit to China, and not knowing much about the
country, its people, it transportation options, food and the
like, I did not want to take any chances of staying far away from
the conference. The least-priced rooms were in Building No.4,
which I opted for (about CNY 610 per night). The hotel falls
directly on the path of the airport bus, which I used to arrive
at the hotel. It helped to have the name of the hotel printed in
the local script, since very few common people understand or speak
English in Beijing. I did not want to risk travelling by the
Metro, not knowing if directions would be in English - they were,
as I was to find out later. The Hotel building No.4 is some
distance from the point the airport bus dropped me, and I had to
ask around for directions to get to it. The overall complex is
laid out in the traditional garden-style, and I took a lot of
photographs in side the hotel complex. It is a large and
sprawling complex, with many green areas, and buildings designed
in a nice traditional style. The presence of drinking water in
the room was a big advantage, as the normal tap water in Beijing
is hard, and not suitable from drinking unless boiled. Anyway,
there was an electric kettle. The room had enough lighting,
though operating some of the lights took some exploration! (The
radio had two knobs, which I later found out were for the two
bed-lamps, and the table lamp had a strange rotary switch). The
bathroom is of fair size, has a hair dryer, and is well-stocked in
amenities. There is a bath tub also. The small balcony outside
offers a good view, and has a plastic carpet on the floor. The
hotel has paid high-speed wired Internet in the rooms. The
complimentary free WiFi is only available in the lobby and the
adjoining areas. However, there are very few power ports, and
hardly any sitting area. There is a coffee shop with a few seats,
but only those who wish to patronise it are welcome to use the
tables and chairs. This was very disappointing. The level of
English understanding among the hotel staff was limited. The
complimentary breakfast was a part of the conference hotel room
deal. The Juheyuan restaurant was where we had all the breakfasts
- the food was extremely varied in terms of both quality and
quantity. There were a large number of both traditional Chinese,
was well as continental dishes, with a large number of fruit and
salad options. Vegetarian options were quite limited, however.
There were exotic dishes such as kelp, and chrysanthemum stems.
Bread options ranged from the traditional steamed Chinese breads,
to the usual continental ones.

I stayed in building one. The room was very spacious, and very comfortable. Great bed. Hotel is located across the street from the metro allowing easy access to the center of Beijing. It is also close to the Summer Palace, and the Bell Temple.

Breakfast was bountiful and good. The available guided day tours of Beijing are excellent and are a great option for the person with limited Chinese. For about $50 you get a very good guide and a hired car to drive you around to many of the sites around Beijing. The $50 also includes lunch.

Stayed in block 3, basic rooms and poor breakfast, not central to Beijing attractions.