Beijing loosened its visa policies and made it much easier for friends and family to visit. Now the question arises: where should they stay? With hundreds of hotel options around Beijing, this task might seem overwhelming and a little nauseating – especially if you’re a resident of Beijing and not generally staying at hotels in the city.
To help you cut through the endless amounts of data out there, we compared five Top 10 lists to see if there were any hotels that appeared on more than one list. Our sources were Trip 101, Luxury Hotel Guru, Trip Advisor, Telegraph, and Condé Nast Traveler.
Four Beijing hotels immediately jumped out; each being mentioned in at least three of the lists. With that kind of consistency, you can most likely eliminate bias in any one list and can guarantee that the hotel is top-notch. All of these are premium hotels, so your guests may not want to take up residence in them for multiple nights – but why not splurge at least for a couple of days to really experience the best that Beijing has to offer?
For each, we checked to find the cheapest rate available on Trip.com for a general idea of their pricing — but it’s important to note that prices fluctuate based on season and even the day of the week.
The Peninsula Beijing
Recommended by three of our Top 10 lists, The Peninsula, situated near the very center of Beijing in Wangfujing, makes must-see sights like the Forbidden City a short walk away. With a traditional Cantonese and a Michelin-starred French restaurant on site, you can be sure there will be fine dining to be had. An all-suite hotel, there are more than 10 different options in different sizes and configurations for every kind of client. Prices start at RMB 2,200 per night for the Superior Suite, and amenities include a spa, fitness center, indoor pool, and planned excursions around the city itself.
Find it:
8 Jinyu Hutong, Dongcheng District
东城区金鱼胡同8号
Tel: 8516 2888
Mandarin Oriental Wangfujing, Beijing
Overlooking the Forbidden City, the location is a highlight of this hotel. Multiple dining options include Cantonese, New York-style steakhouse, and late-night bar/lounge-style restaurants. Options for stays range from one-bed rooms to the presidential suite, all incorporating Chinese-inspired designs from colorful carpets to landscape paintings. Facilities available to guests include a spa, indoor pool, and discovery tours in Beijing. Thanks to the central location and attention to detail, the prices of these rooms start at about RMB 5,000 per night for a Deluxe Room.
Find it:
269 Wangfujing Dajie, Dongcheng District
东城区王府井大街269号
Tel: 8509 8888
Waldorf Astoria Beijing
Right off of the famous Wangfujing shopping street, the Waldorf Astoria’s rooms contain Ming Dynasty-inspired architecture mixed with contemporary decor. The hotel has four different restaurants, one of which is Michelin-starred, and one that’s inspired by 19th century New York. Room options include something for everyone, from single rooms to an entire 3-floor Hutong Courtyard Villa. The spa practices traditional Chinese healing methods to enrich your mind and soul whilst learning about a piece of the country’s culture. Aside from the spa, there is also an indoor pool and fitness center to suit anyone’s needs at a minimum of RMB 2,200 a night for the King Deluxe Room.
Find it:
5-15 Jinyu Hutong Wangfujing Dongcheng DIstrict
东城区金鱼胡同5-15
Tel: 85208989
Hotel Éclat Beijing
The only hotel to appear on 4 out of the 5 top hotel lists, there is truly not enough positive things to say about this hotel. An artsy boutique hotel connected to the Parkview Green shopping mall, Éclat has been awarded the Condé Nast Traveler Readers’ Choice Award as the top hotel in all of China. The creativity can be seen in the rooms that can be crazy enough to include indoor and outdoor pools, lavish terraces, grand pianos, and pieces by world-famous artists. Restaurants to choose from include modern European cuisine, a whisky bar, and authentic Cantonese food. Hotel Éclat sets itself apart as the best hotel in China by also being home to some exquisite art pieces by globally known artists such as Salvador Dali and Andy Warhol, and local creators from Beijing like Ren Zhe. Starting at RMB 1,700 a night for their Deluxe King Bedroom, the hotel doesn’t contain amenities like a shared pool, spa, or fitness center. Due to its urban setting, the relatively small building of 100 rooms has a few suite options that contain private pools if that’s a priority for your visitors. However, the convenience of being above the Parkview Green mall is that if there is something missing from the accommodation, you’ll more than likely be able to find it a few floors below you.
Find it:
9 Dongdaqiao Road, Chaoyang District
朝阳区东大桥路9号
Tel: 8561 2888
NUO Hotel Beijing
Though NUO only showed up on two lists, we tossed it in because our other choices are all downtown. If you live northeast of the city and want your visitors to stay closer to you, NUO is a stellar choice. Close to the 798 art district and Wangjing business district, the NUO is an excellent choice for visitors looking to do things in and out of the city. Five different dining options, a spa, a fitness center, a pool, and a limousine service curate a diverse stay catering to many different desires and needs when visiting Beijing. The prices start at about RMB 900 a night for the Deluxe Room.
Find it:
2A Jiangtai Lu, Chaoyang District
朝阳区将台路甲2号
Tel: 5926 8888
Of course, these are just a small selection of what Beijing has to offer in terms of hotels – but you can be guaranteed you won’t go wrong with any of these five – and can help take some stress out of the process the next time a prospective visitor asks you for a recommendation.
Violet Proctor is a 10th grade student from Western Academy of Beijing (WAB) currently interning at True Run Media (the parent company of Jingkids) through WAB’s World of Work program.
Images: Hotel website
