EAST Beijing

How in the world is this a 5-star hotel?!! The room (city view king bed) was not bad. However, everything was a bit of a challenge to figure out-for starters, the doors do not even have handles. I thought my key card did not work but as it turned out, I didn't push the door hard enough to open it. Just give me a door handle already. Also, above all else, the breakfast was a HUGE disappointment. The selection was PATHETIC. There was not a single hot dish with protein/meat in it. Steamed items were lukewarm at best. None of the dim sum/bao type stuff tasted like they had any meat in them, or any flavor. If you're used to a high protein low carbs diet, then you're SOL. Service was almost non-existent. You could have a stack of dirty plates on your table and nobody would come around to clean them up. The gym was small but adequate with free weights, but it was not open 24/7. The best things about this hotel was the large bathroom, the filtered drinking water, the towel warming rack, and ice available at breakfast buffet (you'd be surprised that it's almost impossible to get ice in China). The worse things are the breakfast buffet and service, the inflexible room light control design, and the lackluster ambience for a 5-star hotel. Comparing to the Pudong Shangri-la we stayed at in Shanghai, this place is barely 3.5 stars in every aspect. I chose this one because of the location (near my relatives) and the raving reviews of the breakfast buffet but I am extremely disappointed.

Room was big and clean, bed comfortable and breakfast excellent. Lots of shopping and dining available in the adjacent, walking distance mall

Friendly staffs, room is clean and neat, gym is spacious enough. Next to indigo mall, very handy

Good location and good environment and good service

I have stayed at this hotel for 15 years. It was once my favorite hotel in China. In the past several years it has declined precipitously. The bathrooms smell of mildew or, on my previous stay, of sewage. The wheel on the one chair at the desk was broken. The plastic seam on the shower door fell off. After using the restroom in the VIP business lounge (which no longer serves a hot food buffet) I was literally locked into the restroom alcove from the outside and had to bang on the door until someone came to let me out. When I complained about these issues to the new GM Pieter Ham, he offered me a “preferential rate” on my next stay which was $25 dollars higher than the Expedia rate for the same room. It breaks my heart to see how such a wonderful hotel can be so poorly run after so many years of treating me like the loyal guest I am.