PLANNING YOUR FACT-FINDING TRIP - Living Abroad in Beijing - page 108

entertainment. The rooms are stylish and comfortable, and in warm seasons you can enjoy
a drink on its gorgeous rooftop before heading off for some food, drinks, or live music at
the nearby bars and restaurants.
More business-like is the Park Plaza (97 Jinbao Jie, Dongcheng district, 丽亭酒店，
东城区金宝街97号 , tel. [phone], www.parkplaza.com , from RMB700). This is a
straightforward, elegant hotel, which in itself is not going to give you any heady flavor of
Beijing, but it is in an excellent location for the city in general and makes a convenient
well-equipped base for exploring.
Budget accommodations in the neighborhood can be found at the friendly Peking
Yard (28 Wangzhima Hutong, near Zhangzizhonglu subway station, Line 5, exit D, 北
平小院国际青年旅舍, 汪芝麻胡同甲28号 , tel. [phone], www.yhachina.com , from
RMB105). Peking Yard is in a quiet hútòng away from tourist sites and right among the real
homes of true local Beijingers.
If you're not fussed about hotel style, but just want something clean and practical from
which to explore the city, you will probably be satisfied with Beijing Hutong Hotel (some-
times still going by its former name, Green Tree Inn, located inside compound at 46 Fangjia
Hutong, Dongcheng district, 北京胡同酒店, 东城区方家胡同46号 , tel. [phone],
from RMB162). Far from flashy, it is, however, in a stellar location, being just a short walk
from the Lama Temple (Lines 2 and 5) as well as many boutique shops, bars, and cafés.
Chaoyang
Wham bam in the center of the Sanlitun action is the Opposite Hotel (Taikuli, Building
1, 11 Sanlitun Lu, Chaoyang district, 瑜舍酒店, 朝阳区三里屯太古里1号楼 , tel. 10/
6417-6688, www.theoppositehouse.com , from RMB2,125). This chic 99-room hotel may
be the kind of place you stay at on leisure holidays, but it's also extremely practical. Not
only is it in a convenient location for work and for many embassies, but given that it feels
like an integrated entertainment complex of Taikuli rather than an exclusive guests-only
destination, it has also become a venue that expats routinely come to for dining and drink-
ing.
For something more in the style of what you'll experience as an actual resident, check
in to Season's Park Apartment Hotel (B36 Dongzhimenwai Dajie, Dongcheng district,
北京海属国际公寓，东城区东直门外大街乙36号 , tel. [phone],
www.seasonsparkaparthotel.com , from RMB418). The hotel is part of a major residential
complex popular with expats, so gives a very real expat experience, and it's situated within