Beijing Minzu Hotel

“Good Hotel”

Minzu Hotel has a very good location at thd center of Beijing very close to China Development bank along other high level organizations. The hotel is clean, well maintained and the helpful staff. Just make sure to have a translator on your mobile for ease of communication and transportation. The bu… more

Minzu Hotel has a very good location at thd center of Beijing very close to China Development bank along other high level organizations. The hotel is clean, well maintained and the helpful staff. Just make sure to have a translator on your mobile for ease of communication and transportation. The business floor is convenient for meetings. The hotel has very good value for money.

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“Comfortable enough”

I'd stayed here for 12 night. In parts, the hotel actually looks a bit dated and a tad worn out. The staff are helpful, courteous and while they do speak English, it's not very fluent but good enough for you to get your message through. However, most of them seem very keen to improve their English … more

I'd stayed here for 12 night. In parts, the hotel actually looks a bit dated and a tad worn out. The staff are helpful, courteous and while they do speak English, it's not very fluent but good enough for you to get your message through. However, most of them seem very keen to improve their English and do their best at speaking - A for effort! The room was of pretty standard layout. The TV had multiple channels, enough to watch the news and catch a movie or 2 daily. There is a hot water jug, hairdryer, mini bar but you'll need to ring up for an iron & ironing board to be sent over. Laundry service is also available but I don't if it's just me, but I though that it was a bit on the high side.The bed was comfortable and I had good nights of sleep. The only thing that irked me a bit was these cards for "room service of the female variety" that were slipped under the door every night! After day 3, I'd actually decided to do a stake out of sorts by the door and in that 1 minute that I went off to use the loo, a card was slipped in - amazing! I had most of my meals in the hotel and I'd actually enjoyed the daily spread. The crowd at breakfast was OK, dinner time was quite empty but chock-a-block at lunchtime! Apart from a Peking duck restaurant, there aren't any other food places available, especially in the evening/night. However, a short walk to the back of the hotel and there is a 24-hour convenience store (kinda like a 7-11) and a noodle place that's open during the day. The location is actually pretty good too as it's just a short walk to the subway station (Xidan) and shopping malls at Xidan Street. If you want to, you can also walk to Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden Palace, the National Canter for the Performing Arts and for food and a bit of shopping at Meishi Street. If walking's not your thing, you can opt to catch the subway from Xidan to Tiananmen West station. As mentioned, there's also the convenience store at the back. My overall experience was pleasant. I was here on business and actually had this hotel picked out for me. It's good if you're on business as it's a decent business hotel but, honestly, had I visited Beijing on my own, I probably wouldn't have opted to stay here.

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“Old hotel”

This hotel is old and needs renovation. The staff at the reception and in the hotel almost does not speak any English. The location is very good for the Central part of Beijing and the food was also good and various.

“Worn and smelly”

I booked this hotel mainly for its proximity to my meeting location and its low price. It's in the same price range as the Shangri-la Zizuyuan buy about 1/2 the price of Westin or Intercontinental nearby. Of the rooms (except suites) are standard rooms or executive floor rooms. Don't bother with t… more

I booked this hotel mainly for its proximity to my meeting location and its low price. It's in the same price range as the Shangri-la Zizuyuan buy about 1/2 the price of Westin or Intercontinental nearby. Of the rooms (except suites) are standard rooms or executive floor rooms. Don't bother with the latter: they are 1/3 more expensive but identical to standard rooms except you get the use of the executive lounge which puts out a poor quality afternoon tea - bulk-buy biscuits thrown into a glass jar and tea/coffee from a glass juice tank dispenser. You also get a banana and an apple on check in day. No not on a fruit plate, just placed unceremoniously directly on the desk. There is no hotel bar, no room service. There's a minibar (in the form of a fridge that's not cold) filled with some soft drinks and 2 bottles of water-like local beer. The coffee shop (where a buffet is put out for breakfast) is weirdly decorated, has no windows, and offer little in terms of a la carte choices. There are 2 other Chinese restaurants mainly targeting non-hotel-guests. The room is clean overall, but it smells upon entry - a heavy, nauseating drainage pipe smell fills the room that my turning on all the taps doesn't help alleviate. There is rust on all taps and drainage covers, and toiletries provided are of s poor quality. The furniture and fittings look like the hotel rooms were last renovated 20 years ago. The room is too hot even with the heating turned off (there's no cool air conditioning), and the windows of rooms facing the front of the hotel are sealed. I noticed the lock on the window in my room was hacked half off which allowed me to open the window - the lovely polluted air of Beijing breezes in, along with the sound of endless cars on the Main Street outside. It's a 4-star hotel, I suppose inside the room it is, and the attitude of the staff also great, but the lack of amenities, the tired and worn decor, the smell, make it seem more like a 3-star one. I think I would rather book another more expensive hotel and pay for the difference myself next time I come. Sorry Minzu Hotel, your staff are nice but your hotel needs to have a major overhaul.

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