Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
ENGLISH-LANGUAGE SKILLS
Good English-language skills among staff at Běijīng accommodation remain fitful. Youth hostels typically have
excellent English-language speakers, as do five-star hotels - it's the ones in between that may not.
Drum Tower & Dōngchéng North
|HÚTÒNG HOSTEL
PEKING YOUTH HOSTEL $$
( Běipíng Guójì Qīngnián Lǚshè; 8403 9098; pekinghostel@yahoo.com.cn; 113 Nanluogu Xiang, dm/tw from
¥120/450; ; Nanluoguxiang)
Fabulous, flower-filled youth hostel located on trendy
Nanluogu Xiang, an historic
hútòng
that's been transformed into a lively lane of bars,
cafes, restaurants and boutique shops. In keeping with its fashionable location, this is
more of a boutique hostel than a backpackers' haven, with a beautifully renovated build-
ing including a quaint, country cottage-like restaurant and a wonderful rooftop cafe-bar.
All the usual youth-hostel services are dished up, though, including bike hire and trips to
the Great Wall.
|COURTYARD HOTEL
COURTYARD 7$$$
¥900-1500; ; Nanluoguxiang)
Immaculate rooms, decorated in traditional Chinese fur-
niture, face onto two 300-year-old courtyards, which over the years have been home to
government ministers, rich merchants and even an army general. Despite the historical
narrative, rooms still come with modern comforts such as underfloor heating, broadband
internet (but no wi-fi) and cable TV, and the
hútòng
location - down a quiet alley, but very
close to trendy Nanluogu Xiang - is a winner. Breakfast included.
|COURTYARD HOTEL
DÙGÉ$$$
; Nanluoguxiang or Beixinqiao)
This 19th-century former residence was originally home to
a Qing-dynasty minister but was recently converted by a Belgian-Chinese couple into an
