Beijing Friendship Hotel Grand Building

“Dated, quaint hotel from the communist time”

The hotel is well situated for public transport. The staff were very helpful. The food in the restaurant was pretty bland. Some of the poorest "Chinese" food that I have eaten. The bar "Fridays" is good for beer and bar food. The rooms were clean but a bit run-down.

“Chinese Government Hotel”

Room we had in Building 3 appeared to have been recently refurbished and was excellent. Intersting that others have commented on air-conditioning and it appeared that most hotels limited the room temperature to around 24C. After 3 days we finally got it to 23C. This was the only problem with the r… more

Room we had in Building 3 appeared to have been recently refurbished and was excellent. Intersting that others have commented on air-conditioning and it appeared that most hotels limited the room temperature to around 24C. After 3 days we finally got it to 23C. This was the only problem with the room as the doonas on the bed were "winter weight". would be great at around 10C but too heavy at 24C. This was our only complaint. The breakfast was good although in the restaurant that we used for the first two days, if you wanted fried eggs then you had to queue as they were only using 1 frypan cooking two eggs at a time. Canot comment on th eopther hotel facilities. Shopping centre opposite with suptermarket.

less

“Worthwhile for the experience of staying in a government hotel with a decades old vibe”

Staying in this hotel is as if one does a bit of time travel. It drives you back to China probably in the 1960s or 1970s, when it was for sure a deluxe hotel. This after all was an hotel built jointly by Russia and China. Today it is a rather dated hotel, but still it is worthwhile staying there, m… more

Staying in this hotel is as if one does a bit of time travel. It drives you back to China probably in the 1960s or 1970s, when it was for sure a deluxe hotel. This after all was an hotel built jointly by Russia and China. Today it is a rather dated hotel, but still it is worthwhile staying there, mostly for the location and experience. The experience is really the cherry on top of the cake. First of, it is a government hotel and if you observe the staff attentively, you clearly see that you are in a completely different hotel than any other hotel you may have visited before. There are a ton of staff for relatively few clients, and the staff tends to answer your questions in a rather militarized fashion - not warm or friendly but somewhat useful- and everybody is in some kind of uniform. Reminded me of being in a military barracks rather than in an hotel but it is worthwhile for the experience. The hotel is massive (but it has signs in English with directions which is really helpful) but most of the rooms seem unoccupied. This is quite nice because the hotel is mostly quiet and you can have a really good sleep. Working in the room is also great. The rooms are kind of past their best times, but they are still relatively comfortable, although the mattresses could benefit from some replacement because the sleeping experience is not the best. The air conditioning is also sort of controllable and one needs to have a lot of trial and error until one understands how the water in the bathtub works (some of the water taps work in a system that I have never encountered before).The grounds outside the hotel are also very pleasant for a stroll, and there are some restaurants inside that are worth visiting. I would recommend it for the experience.

less

“Old grand hotel. Beautiful outside, not so much inside (sometimes)”

Huge old hotel in Beijing. I have to admit it looks quite nice from the outside, in the Forbiden City style, and some of the facilities and rooms have been renovated, that is not the case for all of them. I stayed in the Grand building (which is supposed to be the best out of the 8 buildings) and m… more

Huge old hotel in Beijing. I have to admit it looks quite nice from the outside, in the Forbiden City style, and some of the facilities and rooms have been renovated, that is not the case for all of them. I stayed in the Grand building (which is supposed to be the best out of the 8 buildings) and my room was just ok. Carpet seemed old and with stains. Wifi is very slow and disconnects for no reason. Breakfast in the grand building (didn't go to main one in the Friendship building) was passable, actually subpar if compared to the room price. Apart from the above, it's conveniently located, lots of things to do inside and around the hotel, even has a beer garden and bbq in the park in the middle; which is perfect for relaxing.

less