This hotel was booked for me by a client and I had no idea what to expect. However, it is just fine.

A Chinese friend describes it as 'a new hotel'. Guests are a mix of Chinese and westerners. I guess the standard is similar to what I'd expect from a 4 star hotel in, say, Paris or Edinburgh and better than some I've stayed in in those cities. Good sized rooms - about what you'd get in the US.

So not the stellar experience you'd get at the Marriott in Shanghai, but perfectly fine - and cheap.

The staff were friendly but the standard of English was rather patchy - that's to be expected in Beijing at this time, though. Frankly, having turned up in China knowing five words of Mandarin and seven Chinese characters I didn't expect to be understood first time. So, for instance, I had trouble explaining that I wanted to iron my shirts (not wash them). Once that was sorted, room service was pretty speedy.

The beds are very hard, but not uncomfortable. Pillows are man-made and rather spongy.

Internet is free - which is great.

The TV only had CNN and HBO in English - I didn't notice any other languages other than 30 or so Chinese channels, a couple of which had English subtitles.

Food was not great but not bad - my room service lamb curry was far from what I'd expect in the UK, with chunks of pineapple on top, but the meat was good quality. The portion size was Chinese, not American, but that's not a bad thing!

One interesting point, the entrance to the hotel is at the back of the building. The entrance at the front leads to a bank who are obviously used to hapless westerners turning up looking for accommodation.