I've stayed here twice now...Both times just transiting through Beijing on my way back to the states...Flew in the night before and left the next morning or afternoon. The first time I stayed there was about 2 years ago...I booked it through Crowne Plaza's website. I arrived 3 days after it dropped the Crowne Plaza affiliation...Which scared me a bit. I was thinking before getting there "Uh-oh, the place wasn't up to C/P standards!" I couldn't have been more wrong. A GORGEOUS hotel, so big, such great rooms--big, clean, comfortable, many amenities...I could go on and on.
My second trip there, I arrived late at night and was flying back to the States the next afternoon...Which allowed me to visit the Great Wall at BaDaLing in the morning and still catch my flight. I arranged a hotel car to take me there, wait for me for a few hours and drive me back to the hotel so I could freshen up before my flight...A GREAT experience. I had the hotel car for about 4 hours and ran me about US$100. Well worth it to finally see the wall. 4 trips to China each year X 10 years and still hadn't seen the Great Wall until that trip! Car driver was friendly, although almost no English spoken (thank God I speak some Chinese).
Superb hotel, GREAT value. Do yourself a favor and spend the extra US$20 and book a small suite. Well worth it.
Ate one meal in the Chinese restaurant...Great food, reasonable prices and fantastic service.
While it is relatively close to the Great Wall and the airport, it is a long way from the City Center. The PERFECT hotel for doing what I did--fly in quick for one night, see the wall and fly out. One of these days I will make it into the city, but will have a tough time staying away from Loong Palace!












