This is an older hotel in an older area. The taxi driver almost didn't find the hotel, and we had to walk down an little street to get to the front door. The staff is friendly and professional, but does not speak English (we were traveling with a Chinese friend who helped us). The hotel has 5 floors, but no elevator. They have a free traditional Chinese breakfast every morning.
Originally the bathrooms were down the hall, but the hotel has added bathrooms in the rooms. They are small with a toilet, sink, and just a drain and a shower head in the bathroom, but they were clean. There was a sewer smell that sometimes came up through the drains when we ran water, but it did not linger after we stopped running the water.
The sheets and towels looked a little grey, but they smelled clean. The room was serviced everyday and fresh soap and other supplies were left each time.
We had trouble with our air conditioner, but someone from the staff came immediately and helped us get it running. It actually ran better than the air conditioners we experienced in much nicer hotels in China. Our friend also had trouble with his air conditioner, but they moved him to a different (larger) room where the air conditioner worked.
The hotel is located next to a hutong that we walked through everyday to get to the metro, restaurants, and a grocery store. The streets in the hutong are narrow and it is easy to feel lost, but we did not feel unsafe.

The location is the best part of this hostel, because its within walking distance of Tiannamen Square and still quite cheap. Taxi drivers will have no idea of how to get there from the airport, so print out some maps IN CHINESE before you go there. Alternatively, you can buy a Chinese SIM card for your cell phone at the airport, and then call the hotel when you step into your taxi; the hotel can tell the driver where to go. The neighborhood is residential. I wouldn't walk around drunk at 3am with a bunch of valuables or money, but otherwise it seems pretty safe. This is like a hostel with private rooms, so plan to bring the things you'd bring to a hostel, like soap and toilet paper. They do have free flip-flops so you can walk to the shower, and they give you a big jug of boiled water with two coffee mugs, that you can use for brushing your teeth or drinking. You can choose private or shared shower/toilets. They do arrange tours to the Great Wall for you, that cost about $25 U.S. (subject to change due to the season.) Only one employee speaks good English (a young guy), and another employee speaks so-so English. So, you will be using your Chinese dictionary a lot (then again, you will need one just to get around China.) There is a reliable lock-up room for your baggage. There is also a restaurant, but judging from the lack of soap, I don't recommend eating there!

We checked in the hotel and were a little disappointed with the room as it look a little old and wear out. The hotel even look from it's from prewar and is very old. The road/alley towards the hotel is dark. The price per night is CNY180. It seems to get good feedback from the trip advisor but not very good for us.

First the breakfast seems always seems finishing anytime from 7.30-9.00am. Lack of food to eat. Mostly only vegetable and hard bun etc. When ask them to add some fried rice, they told no more left over. I asked them what can i eat as there is nothing anymore except porridge but there is no rice in the porridge. Only water! Even somtime there is no more boiled egg. Very very bad breakfast. Seriously a room without breakfast is CNY10 cheaper but they didnt let us to excluded it. I can eat a lot of thing with CNY10 per person just outside the wet market in the morning or shops near there.

Then, they never clean the cup in our room, never sweep floor etc. They only change the towel, tea etc.

The last day we stayed the water heater spoiled and could not manage to repair it. Offered us to change to another room but we have no more mood and quickly check out the hotel.

They even nearly walk into our room at 6.30am in one of a morning and luckily we put the door chain lock. Then they apologize as they thought nobody is in the room. Then while we thought to forget about it, they rang us up after the incident and again apologise. It seems to be a kind gesture but it's a turn off as we need to sleep! Hey it's only 6 am sumthing in the morning.

There is no kettle but they only thermo. They fill the thermo everyday in the morning and expect the water to be hot until night. What’s more, you pour the water out and there is water dripping on the other end of the thermo!

I think I can go on many things but I will put a full stop here. We stayed here 5 days as we have not much time to look for other hotel. The only thing I like is the location of this hotel. There seems to be a good hotel a few steps from Dong Si Fu Yuan but it was fully book until next month according to the hotel receptionist.

I really liked this hotel and I highly recommend the food. The staff was always helpful even if few of them knew any English. We spent two full weeks in the hotel during a difficult time as health officials were watching for symptoms of AH1N1. The staff was accomodating even if the had to take our temperatures every morning for a week. The hotel is quiet and if you are into vegetables the market is active nearby from 6am to 9am every morning. Situated in the Hutong this hotel is great for the adventure seeker trying to see the real Beijing. If you want to know China, stay here. Our teenagers loved the food here and the helpful staff. Cold beverages were always available.
On my next trip to Beijing I will be staying here. Initially finding the hotel can be difficult so get the name and address in Chinese for the taxi. I also liked the proximity to the Metro (DongSi) and the local grocery (WuMart).