Grand Hotel Beijing（the Forbidden City，Tiananmen）

The room's location is excellent. It was super convenient to walk to the National Museum, Tiananmen Square, and Wangfujing Street with the kids. The hotel is a bit old, so the facilities are a bit dated, but the cleanliness and service are both excellent. Great value for money, highly recommend.

The views are decent, and the service is excellent. Compared to other hotels, the location is pretty good. The rooms are lovely, and the environment is notably quieter than similar places, making it very suitable for a stay.

Staying here was really convenient for our trip near Tiananmen Square. From our room window, we could even see the golden rooftops of the Forbidden City. For an older hotel, the cleanliness was perfectly acceptable. It was just bad luck that we happened to be there for two nights when gas pipeline renovations were going on, which caused some noise that might bother light sleepers. The hotel did place a notice in the room about it, though. Overall, I was quite satisfied.

Of our entire family trip to Beijing, the Grand Hotel Beijing was, without a doubt, the absolute highlight and most memorable part of our journey. We arrived a bit early with our child, and the front desk staff were incredibly warm and accommodating, arranging an early check-in for us. To our delightful surprise, they even upgraded us to a suite (we had booked a Quadruple Ancient Capital View Room for four nights)! The room was simply stunning, with an elegant, distinctly oriental decor and a serene, tranquil atmosphere. The soundproofing was excellent, ensuring we got high-quality rest every night after days of busy sightseeing. I want to extend a special thank you to Ms. Jian Hongjuan from guest services. She kept our room impeccably clean every day, and her politeness, thoughtfulness, and meticulous attention to detail were truly professional. During our stay, there were some scattered showers in Beijing, and she even kindly lent me her own umbrella. Because of her, my positive impression of the Grand Hotel Beijing was elevated even further. From its prime location, excellent facilities, and high-quality dining to its human-centric service, every detail of this hotel made us feel incredibly comfortable. The overall experience far exceeded our expectations. This truly wonderful stay added a rich, atmospheric touch to my Beijing trip. In the future, whenever I return to Beijing, the Grand Hotel will always be my top choice!

The room was very clean, but I didn't like that the windows were sealed shut. The air conditioning noise was tolerable, but the temperature was constantly stuck at 23.5 degrees Celsius, which wasn't cool enough for me. The hotel's location is great, close to the Forbidden City, National Museum, Tiananmen Square, and Wangfujing, making it convenient to get around. The only downside was the front desk staff; they were completely humorless and unsmiling.

This hotel is located on Chang'an Avenue, very upscale. The room is spacious, and the decor has a strong Beijing feel, with views of the Forbidden City. It's within walking distance to Tiananmen Square, the National Museum of China, and Wangfujing, making getting around super convenient. There's plenty of complimentary water and drinks, and ordering takeout is also easy. The front desk staff were all very helpful and proactive. I was very satisfied with my 3-night stay.

The entire hotel has a charming, antique feel and a fantastic location. The exhibits in the lobby are truly impressive. From the room, you can see both Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. It's a shame I didn't have time to go to the rooftop for the views.

So, a 'different batch' is an excuse for defective products? No wonder there was no shower gel! I must sincerely commend the bellboys who helped with my luggage; they were the only decent thing about this place. Unfortunately, that decency lasted all of ten minutes because then I saw the four pillows on the bed. Two of the four pillows had ragged, exposed seams of varying lengths 'blossoming' from their edges. I called the front desk, expecting a quick fix, but instead, I got a meticulously rehearsed two-person silent play – starring a glib-tongued cleaning lady and a male attendant who played the role of air throughout. The lady glanced at the pillow and officially kicked off the 'zero customer service' performance with a line: 'This isn't broken, it's just from a different batch.' I was utterly shocked, almost thinking I'd discovered some avant-garde home textile design: apparently, torn seams are the new trend for pillowcases, and rips are chic? Seeing my skepticism, the lady quickly presented the 'new' pillowcases she brought, pointing to their equally ripped edges and comforting me, 'See? These two are also torn, so that's just how it is.' I almost burst out laughing at that moment. If identical gaping holes prove something is 'perfectly intact,' then if the bed collapses next time, will that also be 'structural innovation'? Realizing I wasn't easily fooled, the lady's demeanor shifted, and she began asking me in a tone usually reserved for refugees: 'Then, would you like some more shampoo? Do you have enough water? Should I send some water up?' Good heavens. I was complaining about ripped pillowcases, not begging for survival. This echoed another absurd scene in the hotel bathroom: three small bottles neatly arranged, and upon closer inspection – two bottles of shampoo, one conditioner, and the shower gel was mysteriously absent. Double shampoo, zero shower gel – is your hotel's amenity configuration determined by a lottery? Do you think guests only deserve to wash their hair but not their bodies, or did the finance department cut out the shower gel along with their conscience? Ripped pillowcases get you shampoo, and shower gel is simply not provided – this completely illogical service is practically performance art on the guests' bottom line. The attendant who stood there throughout, silent as a terracotta warrior whose acupoints had been sealed, perhaps existed solely to show guests: 'See, we don't just have eloquent ladies; we also have human-shaped standees for your viewing pleasure.' After they left, I fell into deep self-doubt, worried that I was simply uncultured and mistaking a special manufacturing process for shoddy goods. So, I cautiously opened Taobao and Xiaohongshu, reverently searching for 'pillowcases with torn edges.' The entire internet then gave me a harsh lesson: every similar item with torn edges was, without exception, branded with large 'defective product' or 'flawed product' labels by sellers. I scoured the internet and couldn't find a single fashion item marketed with 'rips' as a selling point. This is quite embarrassing because that mysterious 'special batch' your hotel mentioned, translated, means – you've bulk-purchased unwanted defective products, then used a unified narrative to try and pass off flaws as style and explain away poor quality as custom design. This isn't running a hotel; it's conducting an immersive 'lying through your teeth' training session on the guests' bottom line. You might as well rename the hotel 'Different Batch Grand Hotel,' and your welcome greeting at the door could be: 'Welcome to our establishment, where all damage is design, and all problems are just a different batch. Our amenities operate on a blind box mechanism; you'll never guess if tonight you're missing shower gel or our bottom line.'

Great location, within walking distance to Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, and the National Museum. You can also easily bike to Qianmen and Wangfujing. The hotel facilities are quite good, and the staff, from the front desk to housekeeping, provide excellent service. The complimentary drinks and snacks in the room are replenished daily.