Raffles Beijing Hotel

Simply Amazing!

This beautifully restored and maintained hotel was an oasis from the moment we arrived until we departed for return flights to the US. The location could not have been more perfect - literally one block from the Forbidden City and two from Tianamen Square and Mao’s Tomb. On arrival, we were greeted by John (the hotel’s English-speaking "Ambassador") and the head Concierge. Throughout our stay, these individuals were a true resource to the sites, restaurants & everything that we needed. Our room was stunning with separate shower stall and marble tub, a true wet bar, formal sitting area with a sofa and a balcony which looked out onto the main street leading to the Forbidden City. Two of our evenings there we went down to the "Writer’s Bar" happy hour and enjoyed great rates on cocktails in a very cool circa 1940s era style lounge. It was a popular event with many of the hotel guests. Although we didn’t use them, the hotel is also equipped with a workout facility, a pool and a bowling alley! Taken together, this hotel is really everything one could want while visiting Beijing and more but it is the genuine "service"-oriented attitude which sets this hotel apart; I can honestly say we have never been better cared for or enjoyed a hotel more in all of our world travels than we were at Raffles Beijing! Thank you for a memorable and relaxing stay!

Check out these awesome restaurants: The first two, Asian Fusion style, "My Humble Place" and "Heaven and Earth" are within walking distance of the hotel and a third (Vietnamese) restaurant called "NuAge" which is on a small island about a 7 minute cab ride from the hotel. Nuage is set amongst a string of restaurants and nightclubs which "hop" with every type of music imaginable - jazz, rock, disco (with dancing), piano bars and of course, karoke. Think of the latter as a grown up, Asian version of Bourbon Street. Back to the restaurants - the settings were beautiful (infinity pool in the center of the first, platform dining with surrounding coy pond in the next and romantic dimly lit alcoves in the last. We ate delicious food served in the dim sum style (similar to tapas style) with 4-6 dishes at each, a glass of wine each and still spent less than $100 (with tip) every night! Also, don’t miss the food alley on the street behind the hotel - incredible!! My eyes were like saucers the entire time. They literally sell the most amazing foods (most on sticks) inc. scorpions, eel, sheeps’ stomach, kidneys, and livers as well as the more tame dumplings, chicken, veges, etc. Defintely a must-see!

Best Location in Beijing

Without doubt next time I’m in Beijing I’ll stay again at Raffles Beijing Hotel. Huge luxurious rooms, top class facilities (gym, spa, the great French restaurant "Jaan"), impeccable service, but most of all - perfect location. Only 10 minutes walk to the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square - and on the other side is the shopping street Wangfujing (there is a direct access through the Beijing Hotel), and the Wangfujing subway station on the main Line 1. The subway is fast, clean and cheap (only 2 RMB - USD 0.30 to anywhere), I found it much more convenient than the taxis, which are cheap, but the traffic in the city is horrendous.

Avoid restaurants and bars recommended in the travel books. We were greatly disappointed! Try your luck with places that look nice, but the best restaurants are in the big hotels (though very expensive). Well, ask the concierge for local favourites, but be careful, ask more questions... You will find excellent food - very cheap - at street vendors in the hutongs. It is not for the tourist, just for the locals, but hot fresh and the most delicious I ate in Beijing. Be adventurous.

Beautiful hotel

Excellent hotel with an unbeatable location...walking distance to forbidden city. The staff was very helpful and friendly. Breakfast was good with many choices and the room was very big and comfortable.

Traveler's tip on local attractions

Take taxi everywhere because it is very cheap compared to US. Walk to Forbidden city from hotel.

Very nice

Really enjoyed our stay!

Would recommend to my friends

Fantastic location, staff and building. Ate one of the best meals we have ever had at this hotel.

Traveler's tip on getting the most out of your stay

Plan your site seeing, do not under estimate what it takes to visit the mayor sites in respect to phisical fitness. even if your are very fit the wall can beat you, do it last not first.

Ghost of days gone by

In the past five years, I have traveled internationally at least 2-3 times a year. I decided to celebrate my 65th birthday with a trip to a "far away place with strange sounding name" as the old song went. The hotel lobby and room was lovely. When I checked in they had my reservation with no problem. My room was in the furthermost corner from the elevator, on the back side. I mentioned it immediately and they said they were full. Over the next six days, I woke up at 5:30 or so due to the construction on that side and if the hotel was full, I saw few guests anywhere, in the bar, in the lobby or in the restaurant. Food in East 33 was plentiful but mediocre. Felt bad for them, as there was so much food and so few people. I wanted to see the Great Wall and the trip from the hotel was quadruple the price of one I found on the internet. The location close to Wangfujing St.was excellent, hotel staff courteous but impersonal except for the last desk clerk as I checked out. He really went the distance. Seemed as though the energy of the hotel was gone. Perhaps, with all the new hotels, there’s too much competition.

Traveler's tip on getting the most out of your stay

Again, from the hotel, you can walk to Forbidden City, Tienanmen Square,and Wangfujing easily. Definitely do Wangfujing, it’s so interesting, especially the food court. If you go to the Pearl Market, go to the 3rd floor (less frantic). Cab drivers usually don’t speak English, so get the concierge to write where you want to go in Chinese. nI was there in May and the weather was terrific. All in all a trip to remember.

Great location, great rooms, great service!

Great location, great suites, great service! Watch the prices of tea in general when visiting Beijing... They can range from $5 to $200!

GREAT Hotel

Excellent service and excellent facilities. Stay in the lap of luxury! And close to the center of Beijing (Tiananmen Sq etc.) too.

Perfect choice for a Western tourist or business traveler

Immaculate hotel with excellent service and food. Walking distance from Tianamen Sq and Forbidden City. Hotel-consigned guided tours are very expensive.

November 2008

We had a great time!!!

Great Location; Great service

The Raffles delivers from the beginning: njoy cheking in will sipping on a cup of green tea. Rooms are spacious and new. Spa is excellent; incfreadible foot massages. Very friendly staff was so useful to get indications for cb drivers. Great overall experience.

great except language issues

best in beijing

Great location, helpful staff

The Raffles is a great hotel in a great location in Beijing. The rooms are nice and comfortable. The staff was helpful and friendly.

Traveler's tip on local attractions

Close to Forbidden City & Tiananmen Square, a few subway stops from Silk Market

Very nice hotel

Good location - at bottom of Wangfujing street and right on top of the subway station. I think all rooms (at least on my floor) are suites. They put fruit in room (although for some reason I didn’t get any). Bathroom is very nice! I stayed in back bldg which doesn’t have much of a view but I got the room with the view between the 2 bldgs behind so at least was open view. You have to put the key in the thing by the door for utilities to work which is a pain b/c I thought it was easier to take it out at night to shut everything off and then got up in night and couldn’t turn anything on! Had to find card key (in the dark) and then make my way to the door to put it back in. Seemed like a nice restaurant in lobby. There were some cool looking tables in center section but I never saw anything being served there and couldn’t find a place to get breakfast. Nice pool/spa/gym. Overall a very pleasant stay.

Excelent !!!

You will be a king

Superb Hotel

The service is impeccable, starting with check in which is done while seated at a table, sipping a cool drink. The hotel has been renovated and is elegant and tasteful. To walk into the Raffles lobby is to enter another world - calming and relaxing after a long day sightseeing amid the traffic of the city. Rooms are spacious and comfortable. The central location is also a great plus.

Traveler's tip on local attractions

Do visit the Temple of Heaven park in the morning. It is a wonderful experience. There are groups of people doing tai chi, dancing, playing cards, singing, etc. Will put a smile on your face for the whole day! I found it to be the highlight of our trip. We hired a local guide through the hotel and this is the best way to see the city.

Excellent Hotel Experience!

The Beijing Raffels was one of the best hotels I’ve had the pleasure of staying in, and I travel a lot. It was elegant without being pretentious, comfortable, and had exceptional service! I highly recommend this hotel to anyone staying in Beijing. It is walking distance to the Forbidden City, and major shopping areas.

Great hotel

Two suggestions for improvements: This hotel has a 4th floor lounge available for complimentary continental breakfast and evening cocktails, but we were not told about this during check in; we discovered this by accident, but it is a great feature of the hotel. Also, while the concierge is helpful, they tend to direct you only to services provided by them, rather than informing you about the cheaper options available. Otherwise, this is a great hotel and we would highly recommend.

Traveler's tip on saving a few bucks

We cut a deal with out tour guide for an extra day and then hired a taxi for the entire day to see the Great Wall. This saved us about US$100 compared to booking the Great Wall tour through the concierge.

excellent

All were excellent!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wonderful experience

We were given a large room with three separate areas: bedroom, bathroom, and a living + office space. The room is very well appointed and silent. We were particularly impressed by the treatment we received from the hotel manager, who went the extra mile to welcome us after an exhausting Shanghai-Beijing train ride. The workout facilities are very good, with a modern gym and 40m + pool. ADSL and WiFi are free and ubiquitous. The breakfast buffet has an enormous variety of high quality Western and Eastern foods, including a less prominently advertised Paris-grade cappuccino.

Traveler's tip on local attractions

The hotel is walking distance to the Forbidden City. Also nearby is a huge mall where you can find anything you could ever need. Try the foot massages at Raffles, they are a very good value! Also, take a cab to the Sanlitun area and have dinner at Alameda - an exceptional value.

Beijing’s Best Hotel

The Raffles Beijing is a great hotel, very god location in a walking distance from Tianamen Square, The Forbidden City and the best shopping in the city... All room in the hotels are suites with a large space for work, rest or sleep... The food is great too and all the staff very gently... In resume, one of the best hotels in Asia...

Loved the place: Great location, personal service, and elegant

Raffles is a boutique hotel ideally located a block from the Wangfujing pedestrian shopping street and walking distance from the Forbidden City and Tianamen Square. The rooms are spacious and the amenities are plentiful. Highly recommended if planning to tour Beijing’s historical attractions.

Best Location

Right next to Wangfujing and Tiananmen, this is a modern gem hidden in a 1900 building.

Very impressed

The hotel is beautiful and really well situated. The executive rooms are beautiful and the room service impeccable. You can feel the staff really is there to please you. Nice swimming pool as well. I would really recommend this hotel.

Best hotel in Beijing

The Raffles Hotel in Beijing is a quite, calm and very special place. I had a wonderful stay there.

Traveler's tip on local attractions

Great Wall of China is a must-do