This B&B is a great place to stay if you are seeking a more authentic experience. My suggestion is that you email the hotel before you arrive - they will email the address and directions in Chinese for your taxi. The taxi drivers are also happy to call if they are seeking more detailed directions. So have both the address and tel. number written down for the driver. There will be no problems.

Michelle and Jerry were very helpful. They buy and collect train tickets at no extra charge, write down directions in Chinese (even for the next part of your journey!}, and they are happy to recommend all types of restaurants. They recommended a local Chinese restaurant about a three minute walk. It is fantastic!

I chose this hotel for my recent trip to Beijing (2 days of which were on my own for work and then joined by my husband for the weekend) as I'm fed up with the personality-less places I always seem to end up staying in whilst travelling for business. In many ways, it was the perfect antidote; the bedrooms are individually and beautifully decorated and very spacious. The bathrooms are also fab with a wonderful deep bathtub and a separate walk in rain shower which made getting up in the morning a pleasant experience! The lounge area where the yummy breakfasts are served is also a stylish and relaxing room. I would also echo other comments on here about the great service - Jerry on the front desk in particular was knowledgeable and incredibly helpful throughout my stay.

On the negative side - one of the things I did miss from the larger hotels was room service. Dinner is available if pre-arranged, but arriving back unexpectedly late from a long day of meetings at 9pm and not wanting to go out on my own, I was rather stuck. On day 1, fortunately the chef was still on site and prepared me a fantastic bowl of noodle soup but on day 2, I was out of luck and left tired and hungry - and wishing I was at the Shangri-La...

The hotel location also caused a few problems - despite having a card from the hotel with a map and the address written in Chinese, quite a few taxi drivers had problems finding it and one outright refused to drive down the narrow alley leading to the hotel....not fun as this was late on Friday night after a lovely meal at Made in China (absolutely worth a visit). Certainly put a dampener on the evening having to walk through the hutong in the dark on a cold February night.

However, I would absolutely stay here again - certainly if in Beijing for fun again.

It's hard to find enough good things to say about this hotel. Admittedly, our New Year's stay was during Beijing's off-season and the hotel was almost empty, but the staff were so incredibly helpful (especially when I got sick with a stomach bug) that it's hard to imagine we only benefitted from our timing.

The hotel itself is beautiful, a sensitively restored (and, it appears, expanded) classic courtyard mansion that provides all of the modern amenities. Breakfast - invariably excellent, whether Western or Chinese - is included, and given in a high-ceilinged "lounge" that is a beautiful spot for relaxing. The location is surprisingly convenient, near the new No. 5 subway line (about a 10-15 minute walk away). The front desk clerks are also more than happy to provide written instructions that you can give to a cab driver for wherever your day's destination may be. In short, I don't think I could recommend a hotel more highly.

As another guest noted, the bathroom does not have its own radiator; having lived in Japan I'm used to that but it does mean taking care to open the bathroom door 15 or 20 minutes before taking a shower. The shower itself I found more than effective, but I'm used to low-flow showheads here in the U.S. so perhaps I'm not fussed on that point.

A small word on transport to the property. The hotel will gladly arrange for airport pickup by cab. At 300 RMB it was higher than the going rate, but the extra ensured a cab driver whose English was fairly good and (most importantly) who already knew how to find the hotel. Guests who decide to hail a cab themselves, or to take the soon-to-be-completed Metro line would do well to bring a printout of directions to the hotel in Chinese to hand to the driver. The hutong where the hotel is located is quite small and does not appear on many tourist maps.

I stayed in a superior suite for 5 nights recently whilst visiting my son who is studying in Beijing. It took me some days to recognise this was in a really great area and central to shopping and attractions in this huge sprawling city. This wonderful courtyard converted house is located in an historically protected hutong and has kept the ambience of old Beijing and yet still has the modern amendities. Covered in snow on day two was a memorable sight.!
My room was well heated and my cosy bed with feather doona and soft bedlinen was welcoming. The bathroom however was not well heated and and despite the "funky" decor the shower was not efficient but apart from that I loved the decor in the main living area and the main lounge where breakfast ,drinks at night and dinner on request was served. Enter through huge shiny red doors to a room-filled with modern art work, antique furniture, funky cushions and large bowls of fresh fruit .

The owner who was overseas during my stay, was so apologetic for her absence that she kindly left us a note and enclosed tickets to a concert in the Forbidden City...(very thoughtful). The breakfast, that is included in the tariff, was wonderfully presented and a surprise each day.
It was only when I returned to Beijing a week later and stayed in a western-style hotel that I remembered how peaceful the hotel was. I cant remember any traffic noise and felt I was in a secret oasis.
Despite the difficutlies getting a taxi driver through the narrow pathways to find the hotel, it is certainly worth the effort.
I am hotel addict and was wary at first of my son's recommendation (I knew there was the security of a 5 star hotel located around the corner,) but it was "perfect" and would highly recommend this hotel for the atmoshphere, the locality, the comfort and service and the experience of being in the old area of Beijing.