Family of four stayed at the Bamboo Garden Hotel. We booked two rooms and both were clean, modern, and lovely. My son spoke some Chinese and that was helpful with the hotel staff.

We booked a driver through the hotel to pick us up at the airport - but he/she never arrived. Fortunately, our son met us at the airport and we took a taxi to the hotel - for a lot less than we were quoted by the hotel website staff.

The grounds were magical - after sightseeing, it was wonderful to sit on the patio and drink a beer among the blossoms.

Hotel staff was helpful, friendly and attentive. Rooms had flat screen TV's and computers with internet access. Each bathroom had soap, shampoo, toothbrushes, toothpaste among other things.

The hotel was located down a hutong - with stores that sold food, beer, tea, etc. Each room had a fridge to eat left over goodies from dinners.

Hotel was located near many places to eat - all of them wonderful - and most importantly - the hotel was only a few blocks from the subway - a great way to travel in Beijing.

I fully recommend this hotel.

Fantastic experience. I frequently travel for business, but this time it was an holiday I took with my wife in China.

In Bamboo Garden Hotel we found nice and kind staff, English is spoken.

Western breakfast is available andThe internal restaurant is also good.

The hotel was an old noble house of a former imperial minister. Clean, quiet, nice with a wide garden and internal relaxing sight. The hotel is situated in the hutong area, and arriving by taxi, entering in the small street inside the Hutongs, you could have some doubts about your booking...Don't worry: the area is absolutely safe and secure, and entering in the hotel environment you think you are entering in a small paradise in a different time. There you can feel the real chinese life, living in a fantastic environment.

This hotel is different than the usual buiness or travel hotels, and we spent our days in Beijing in a non conventional excellent hotel. I recommended it to friends and, for sure, for my next time in Beijing I will reserve again in Bamboo Garden.

There was a lot to like about the Bamboo Garden. Lovely rooms, beautiful garden, great location in the hutongs with a lot of character. And free Internet!

The biggest drawback seemed to be getting back at the end of the day. We didn't have a car and driver while in Beijing, so we had our guide write out the name of the hotel (with directions) in Mandarin to give to a taxi driver. However, taxis didn't seem to want to drive to the hutongs, or to be clear on how to get there. One night we had four taxis refuse to drive us before we finally found one who would. And they never drove us down our hutong -- which I understand, as it was quite narrow -- but they never even dropped us off at the right one. Fortunately, the first night we showed the directions to a local resident, who was able to point us in the right direction, and thereafter we memorized how to get there!

The food at breakfast and the one dinner we ate there were average.

Although we liked many things about the hotel, I wouldn't stay there again unless I had a driver that I knew would take me back at the end of each day.

The Bamboo Garden Hotel was a wonderful oasis of calm in the hustle and bustle of Beijing. I stayed here on my first trip to China, and I had wanted to stay someplace a little "traditional" and this ended up being the perfect choice. The courtyard and gardens are pretty, the facilities in general are nice, the restaurant is good (note the long-spouted tea kettles!), and while the rooms aren't luxurious per se, they are comfortable enough for the jetlagged body. I laughed when I read one negative review criticizing the hotel for not having marble floors, or soft fluffy towels, but give me a break ... this is China! If you want soft fluffy pillows stay at the Grand Hyatt--this is probably not the place for you. If you want a bit more of a traditional experience, and are a little more adventurous, stay here!

A few other notes:
- As others have commented, make sure you have cash on hand to pay for a taxi into town (the taxi is not associated with the hotel, so it can't just be added to your room fee) ... the airport has an ATM, so I'd recommend using it before heading into town, but the hotel will also change money.
- The hotel is located very close to a subway stop ... Beijing's subway is a cheap, easy way to get around town.
- Make sure you have the hotel's name in Chinese and a map in case you can't find your way back (but that applies to all hotels in China).
- I have seen mixed reviews about the front desk staff ... personally the woman that helped us during our stay was very helpful in arranging activities like the Beijing Opera and transportation (we took a night train to Xi'an from Beijing).