Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Chinese, with quiet
courtyards
and period furniture. Breakfast apart, it's recommended to eat
out rather than in the hotel restaurant: hotel food is pretty mediocre at this level.
Budget
Budget hotels (up to
￥
400) boast little in the way of facilities; you can expect
your room to be clean, but it might be poky. There is, however, a lot of choice in this
price range, thanks to Chinese chains such as
Home Inn
(
homeinns.com
),
Motel 168
(
www.motel168.com
)
and
Jinjiang Inn
(
jinjianginns.com
).
WHICH AREA?
CentralBeijing
- anywhere within or just off the Second Ring Road - has plenty of luxury
and a few mid-range hotels, while some budget options have also sprung up, including a
number of good youth hostels. In addition, Beijing being the size it is, proximity to a sub-
way stop is an enormous advantage - accommodation within the Second Ring Road will
almost always be within walking distance of a station. The glitzy, expensive hotels are gen-
erally in the
east
of the city; a cosmopolitan area with lively restaurants and nightlife, this
is the place to stay if you are looking for international-standard style and comfort. Such
places are clustered around shop-heavy
Wangfujing
, bar- and restaurant-heavy
Sanlitun
,
and businesslike
Jianguomen Dajie
.
The
north
of the city, south of the Second Ring Road, has some charmingly ramshackle
(and newly fashionable) areas, particularly around Nanluogu Xiang and the Drum Tower.
Head for this area if you want to stay in traditional Beijing; it's also the best area for budget
and mid-range places.
The
west
and
south
of the city are, on the whole, less interesting - though there are plenty
of accommodation options here, few are included here for this reason. Lastly, a few
coun-
try retreats
are reviewed in the
“Around Beijing”
chapter, while it's also possible to stay
in pretty
Chengde
city, a few hours away.
HOSTELS
If you want a bit of atmosphere, however, go for a hostel instead. Beijing's hostels (
￥
50-100
for a dorm bed, en-suite doubles for less than
￥
250) are clean and professionally run. You
can expect them to feature a lounge with a TV and a few DVDs, self-service laundry (
￥
15
or so) and bike rental (around
￥
20/day). They have to be given credit for offering free wi-fi
and internet access, something the larger hotels charge for. Don't be put off if you don't fit
the backpacker demographic; there are a few slightly pricier options in which you won't hear
Bob Marley or see tables filled with empty Qingdao bottles. All hostels also have inexpens-
ive double and some single rooms, though sometimes with shared bathrooms (from
￥
250
or so). An added bonus is that they are actually rather better located than most of the larger
mid-range hotels, in quiet neighbourhood
hutongs
not too far from the subway. Note that any
