News Plaza Hotel, Beijing

Advantages: Frenzied energy of chaotic city, many worldclass tourist attractions, delicious food, incredibly safe & ridiculously cheap.
Disadvantages: Gruesome pollution, occasional racism targeting foreigners & lack of freedom for those who take an organised tour (not recommmended).

...is desperately simple. Book air tickets (I would recommend www.cheapflights.com as the ultimate booking resource), choose a hostel or hotel with an address from a guide book (I would recommend the Lonely Planet as usual, but the Rough Guide’s Beijing specific guide has some good day trips detailed that the Lonely Planet does not have) and saunter along to the Chinese embassy at 49-51 Portland Place, London W1N 4JL. There is also a consulate of some kind in Manchester where you can apply for visas. The new visa is a decent full-page affair with a print of the Great Wall. If you get a long term or working visa you’ll also get a rather fancy hologram. It should cost 30 pounds I think. A note on money before anything else. The Chinese currency is the RMB and there’s about 13 RMB to the pound. Given how cheap China is, and the fact the prices you... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: wonder full service
Disadvantages: a little noise arrounding

...a good hotel in beijing i think ,the charge is not very expensive ,good service and it is convienent to get many famous place from hotel,very capacious and bright room,good service facilities,the workers can give you a excellent help and they are always ready to help you .if you are a foreigner from all over the world ,when you get beijing ,you can give them a call and they will arrange the car to receive you if possible. of ourse this fees will be included in your staying charge ,but very little . it is easy for you to call a taxi when you come out of the hotel.usually,you can ask the workers in the hotel to help you ,and they can help you to bargin with them and save you much... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: Raffles! Friendly staff, immaculate rooms
Disadvantages: Expensive bowling alley

...Wow, what an amazing hotel - and a true bargain at that. It is actually now owned by Raffles with one part of the hotel being Raffles and the other Beijing Hotel. We visited Beijing in January this year staying for six nights in the Raffles section of the hotel. You know that you are arriving somewhere nice when your taxi door is opened as soon as you get there and friendly men smile at you and welcome you to the hotel. They grabbed our cases and brought them inside for us. The reception is clean and warm (a must as it was minus five outside!!!). The staff welcomed us to the hotel and could not have been more friendly and helpful. An added bonus was that we had booked through Expedia (therefore only paying £60 per night) and been told that we were not getting breakfast included. The reception staff said that as it was low... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful