I made a reservation for one of the family rooms (2 bedrooms with a living room) for a family of four. The room is nice and clean. They must have overbooked this type of rooms, because twice during my stay, they want to switch me to two standard bedrooms, saying that way we would have two bathrooms. Each time I turned them down, because it was slightly cheaper to have two double rooms compared to the family room, so I would be at the short end of the exchange they proposed. I did stay an extra night which they only have a 3 person room without bathroom available (similar to a dorm room with 3 beds). There is a communal restroom (one toilet for each sex and a couple wash sinks) on each floor. One communal bathroom on the 1st floor only. I would not recommend this type of living arrangement for any westeners, as the arrangement is comparable to that of a night train in China (passable but substandard). Also the wait to take a shower in the communal bathroom maybe quite long. So I would give a good rating for their family room, but an average rating for their dorm room. The hotel has 5 stories and no elevator, so beware of the stairs! Also, wireless internet is limited to the lobby area or lower floors. We stayed on the 4th and 5th, neither had any signal. There were plenty of food for breakfast (chinese breakfast only). Breakfast was included in our family room, but not the dorm room. Hotel is quite centrally located in Beijing, with a 5-10 min walk to the nearest metro stop or the Art Museum (Meia Shu Guan).

We had read so many negative things about this hotel, so we were a bit nervous, but it was a very good hotel, and we also know that most negative people write to give comments, therefore we have decided to tell about all the good things we experienced. The room and bathroom were nice and clean, there was hot water on the thermo all day, and we could just go to the reception for more. There were always 2-3 pots of tea and hot water at the reception area, it was nice for my husband to sit outside the reception area in the chairs to smoke his pipe, you could use the computer at the reception area whenever you wanted. The breakfat was very nice and there was plenty of food also ten minutes before breakfast was over. We got soap, shampoo, foam bath and toilet paper every day. And teabags we also got every day. We stayed 5 nights and enjoyed it all. We took some photoes that we'll send along this text as well. We enjoyed the evenings finding nice local restaurants near the hotel where we could eat, looking at all the small shops that were open till late at night.The have a small shop at the reception where you can buy things you might need. The hotel is very close to the metro, it takes about 10 min. to walk there if you take the shortest way. If you like MC Donalds you can find one 10. min. walk from the hotel. It is true that the streets just around the hotel are narrow, but they really have got a life of their own and are very cosy with street kitchens and market stalls. Our taxidriver from the airport had no problems with finding the street, but he could not drive in there, so we just walked with our suitcase. A good place for taxis to stop is at Wahaha Hotel close to the big beautiful Chinese Arch at the beginning of Longfusi Street .
Kirsten Mouritsen

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!