Hotel Kapok Wangfujing

Clean, convenient hotel

Hotel is very clean and the location is close to the major tourist sites. It is also pretty low-key which we liked. It is about a 15 minute walk to the nearest subway, so we ended up taking taxis most places given the snow.

An excellent choice

The Hotel Kapok was the perfect choice for our two week stay in Beijing. We were there on vacation and found that it was centrally located for many of the places we wanted to visit while we were there - the Forbidden City, Tiananmen Square, Drum & Bell Tower, etc. For those places not within walking distance the staff was very helpful in hailing cabs and giving the cab driver directions. There were numerous restaurants in the neighborhood, and a pedestrian shopping mall with some Western restaurants within walking distance, The staff at the hotel was always ready to assist us and we had very few communication problems. The only negative I can think of was that cash from the ATMs comes out in 100 yuan notes, which are not always readily accepted by cab drivers and sometimes the front desk was unable to change a 100 yuan note into smaller bills for me.

Hotel Kapok - cute, boutique hotel. would return

liked this hotel. It was kinda IKEA-esque. Clean. Was on the 5th floor in a "fashion room". Had a street view. Was a 5-minute walk from Wangjuling Street (pedestrian-friendly mall + famous night market). Good location. Stafff’s English was mediocre, but check-in/out was fast, easy and hassle-free. Make sure the cabs waiting in front use metres. I walked to most tourist locations with no problem. Near to subway. I would recommend this hotel and would visit again.

1) Always make sure Taxi uses meter, OR agree upon price before hand (recommended only if you know for sure). 2) Badaling section of Great Wall is crowded; Taxi cost 450Yuan (11/09) 3) I took the tourist bus directly in from of the QuianMen building. The tour included Ming Tombs, lunch AND entrance to Great Wall. This tour group was government-run and highly professional 4) The "Underground City" is CLOSED/UNDER CONSTRUCTION (11/09). Do not let a peddicab take you there and try to rip you off (as they tried to do me). 5) Have the hotel front desk write your destination in Chinese as more than likely the Taxi does NOT speak English 6) Check out the street vendors and night market

Excellent design hotel in Beijings centre

The room is small but cozy. Very interesting bathroom with glass walls

Good but not great...

This hotel was in a great location (near Tian’anmen Square, Forbidden City, and the night food market.) and check-in was pretty smooth, but the customer service was somewhat lacking. I live in Asia and have travelled extensively around Asia; so I am fully aware that the customer service that I’m used to in the U.S. is not present in this part of the world. However, certain things - like not delivering my phone messages once they discovered that the phone in my room was not working - were even below what I expect for Asia. There was one concierge who was very helpful, but the others were not at all and it wasn’t just the language barrier, though that was part of it...I tried to work around that but in the end, I was better off getting cabs or finding locations on my own. Aside from that, it was a cute hotel and I’d consider staying there again.

Great Hotel

This hotel was a great experience and will be my "go to" hotel the next time I’m in Beijing. The location is great for "dual use" travel. It’s a 5 minute walk to the metro and always has lots of taxis out front. It gives you the feeling of old Beijing, being just ten minutes walk from Tiananmen through streets with peeks of hutong dwellings, from a boutique hotel. The breakfast is great and the there is a wide variety of restaurants close by. There is also a convenience store across the street if you want to stock up on water or snacks. Internet over an ethernet cable is free in your room. There is also wireless internet in the lobby area. The staff is friendly although their English is not good; but you can work through any translation issues with patience.

Fashionable Hotel in Fantastic Location

Hotel Kapok is in a great location with very friendly service. A pretty unbeatable price for the quality and stylishness of the hotel. We were very happy with our choice and the hotel’s amenities, though be sure to double-check that you have a non-smoking room, if that is what you booked. Smoking is allowed in certain areas, and we ended up having to change rooms during our stay to avoid the smoke. Having said that, in the non-smoking areas, smoke is undetectable. Location is a stone’s throw to not only the famous Wangfujing shopping district (with the amazing-looking food stands and ritzy malls), but you can see the Forbidden City from the front of the hotel.

Traveler's tip on dining

If you buy food from the convenient store across the street--be sure to check expiration dates on packages. There are many expired items! (unless they were "packaged on" dates...)

Great value-excellent service

Excellent value- great location... this hotel offers clean, large rooms and bathroom, staff is very helpful.free in-room internet.some reviews we read going in expressed concern about the ’window walls’ around the bathroom.. not to worry there are curtains that make it very private...will write whatever you need in Chinese to help you navigate the city--great location... just blocks to the Forbidden City, Tiananmin Sq, the Night Market and the shopping at Wangfujing.. Wangfujing subway stop is an easy 10 minute walk

Stayed an extra night

This hotel had everything: it was clean, modern, nice restaurant with Chinese and American breakfast buffet, and helpful staff. Probably one of the best features was its location. It was walking distance from the Forbidden City, The Square, parks, and (important for exchanging currency) the Bank of China. My friends and I booked an extra night before leaving China.

Good Choice

Quite location in local neighborhood close to Forbidden City and shopping

tough choices

The hotel was clean, pretty, and in a good location HOWEVER the front desk did NOT speak English...even those who claimed that they did could barely say hello. The beds were hard as rocks...basically a box spring with a mattress cover over it. I ended up placing all the blankets and comforters on top and sleeping with just the sheet over me and it was still uncomfortable. Also, the room drinks and the restaurant, though nice, were extremely expensive compared to the shops next door. Ex. the breakfast costs more than Peking Duck dinner down the street and a bottled water next door cost 2 RNB and in the room 20?!?! You got the feeling they were always trying to rip you off. Nice place, but could be better managed and more accomodating instead of just attempting to get another dollar from you. I think the Interpol hotel down the street would be beter.

Small boutique in good location

Rooms were small but sufficient. Very odd design. entire bathroom (shower, toilet, and wash basin had glass walls separating each area and glass walls separating from bedroom. Though the bedroom wall had a floor to ceiling wrap around curtain. Some light bulbs and the in-room safe didn’t work. I complained three times but it was not fixed in the 4 days I was there

Traveler's tip on local attractions

insist on maintenance fix

Great Value and Location

The Hotel Kapok was an excellent centrally located hotel for sightseeing Beijing. I walked to the night market, forbidden city and tiananmen square as well as the subway for going other places. The rooms were nice and clean but the beds were a bit firm for my taste. I’d stay again if i return to Beijing.

elegant hotel in the perfect location

this hotel is divine. it is quiet, elegant, clean and in the perfect location. if there is a downside, it is the lack of english spoken there. they don’t have the amenities of the big north american hotels (such as money changing and tour suggestions) but we loved it and would stay there again for sure.

Traveler's tip on local attractions

make sure you go to the Heavenly Gardens and wander off the main path. it is a city unto itself.

very good small hotel in Beijing

I have no hesitation to recommending Kapok - a designed small hotel- It is an original nice, clean and very well located hotel- at a few minutes walk from the Forbidden City and with a very helpful staff! We enjoyed it a lot!

Great hotel, great location

I was very pleased with my stay at Hotel Kapok. The staff was very helpful and everyone spoke enough English to answer any questions I had. The hotel is very modern and in a great location a few blocks from the shopping on Wangfujing Street and only a 10-15 minute walk to the Forbidden City. The neighborhood is decent and safe, but not necessarily a place to hang out.

The best Hotel for the Money

This hotel is 100% recommended, the breakfast is wonderful and the location is convenient. The service is also better than the chinese standard.

Great chic boutique, well located with good service

This contemporary boutique could compete anywhere in the world. Exciting design, comfortable rooms, good restaurant and pretty good service, as long as you don’t make requests beyond the usual. The best thing for tourists is the location, a half block from the East Gate of the Forbidden City and a block west of the shopping offered by Wanfujing Street.

Perfect Location and Staff

My husband and I went to Beijing for our first year anniversary. We heard very good things about the Kapok and decided to stay there. We were so happy to have found Kapok. The place is in a very good location, walking distance (1 block) from the Forbidden City and 2 blocks from the shopping district (Wangfujing?). The staff is excellent (most of them spoke English too) and the rooms are very clean and modern. If we go back to Beijing, we will stay there again. This hotel is perfect for single, business people and couples. I would not recommend it to families since it doesnt really have many amenities (no pool).

Great Hotel

I have stayed at other hotels in Beijing before, and I have paid more money, but this hotel is my new favorite. It is not perfect, but pretty darn good. My only complaint would be that the aircondititoning is turned off part of the day, but we Americans are just too spoiled. Staying here, I really felt the location was in the midst of things. Walk out the door and you are in the real Beijing, not an overly developed, sanatized area. If you want fancy, don’t come here. If you want the best bang for your buck, and then some, this is it. Go for one of the larger rooms, it is a little money well spent.

Excellent choice

The hotel and the services are excellent, at a very convenient location and for a reasonable price.

No good option

I use to go to Beijing. This time I select the hotel for mthe reviews and the location. The hotel is 3 blocks from great hotels like Peninsula and Novotel, but those 3 blocks move yo to a complete diferent reality. The Hotel is very low quality, for example they coud not get taxis for you after 6 pm, so you must walk 2 blocks to get it. Finally the idea of a bathroom with windows walls is not fashion, like they describe it in the web page, is real disgusting.

I took my new wife to this hotel.

I took my new wife to this hotel without seeing it first, It was not a disappointment. The room was very unscaled and the hotel service was good. Was very close to street food and shopping at Wangfujing. Next day we walked to Forbidden City and Tienanmen Square.

Traveler's tip on shopping

The sales people will not take no for an answer. They will just keep bringing down the price till you say yes.

Does no get any better than this

Excellent hotel experience. We arrived very late (3 am) and our room was not available, they gave us a free upgrade to a suite for the duration of our stay. We had the buffet breakfast (not included in the price) only the first day. Great variety at a reasonable price. Afterwards we prefered to buy something at Subway across the street and have a big lunch in a nearby restaurant. The food is just awesome in those restaurants. I would not consider any other hotel while in Beijing.

Traveler's tip on saving a few bucks

I booked all my tours and shows with a "Ticket Office" across the street, half a block to the left, we saved more than 30% compared with the prices quoted by the travel agency in the basement of the hotel. Remember, you have to BARGAIN!!!

We will back very soon

convenient to reach place of interest, shopping mall and restaurant

a save and clean neighborehood