We stayed at the Spring Garden Hotel for 5 nights in April 2007 and had a wonderful time. It is a traditional "Si He Yuan" with 8 rooms located in a hutong. Since it is outside of the standard tourist district, we felt like we got to experience real life in Beijing. The photos on the hotel's website provide a fair representation of the hotel.

The staff is wonderful and speaks adequate English. They were extremely helpful with making sight-seeing arrangements. They also hailed a taxi for us when we left for the airport. They even made sure that we had extra bottles of water to take with us on our day trip to the Great Wall.

The rooms are located on a single level around 2 separate courtyards and were clean and nicely furnished with antique reproductions. They are also extraordinarily quiet. The beds contain traditional Chinese mattresses and might be considered hard by some. The bathrooms were new and modern and came with the standard amenities (toothbrush, comb, etc.). During our stay, one of the showers began to leak and it was fixed immediately upon request. There were televisions and air-conditioners in each room.

Breakfast was included in the price of our room and was served either downstairs in a breakfast area or in the courtyard. They were also willing to pack a picnic breakfast if needed. The choice for breakfast was either "American" or "Chinese" and included as much as you wanted. Dumplings were served in the early evening upon request. Bottled water was included with the room, but other drinks were available for a small fee. A karioke machine was also available for use by guests in the downstairs breakfast area.

The location is very central, near many shops and restaurants. A Bank of China with a cash machine is located within a 1/2 block from the hotel (on Xi Shi Street). It is an easy walk to BeiHai Park with its market, restaurants and natural beauty. The # 22 bus runs down Xi Shi Street, through the Xi Dan shopping area and then to Tiananmen Square. Another bus stops about a block away goes to the zoo/aquarium. It is also about a 15 minute walk to the subway (or an easy transfer from the bus to the subway at Xi Dan). Taxis are also easily hailed on Xi Shi street.

The 7 year old who was traveling with us wants you to know that the Spring Garden was the best hotel that she stayed at during her entire 2 week trip to China. The adults on the trip concur.