Lianjie Hotel

For a stopover at PEK airport, this is a great hotel, especially for the price. The rooms are large and the service was impeccable. There are two restaurants across the street that stay open 24/7, plus a 7-Eleven nearby. The staff don't speak English, but they do know how to check in foreign guests.

The rooms were really nice, but dealing with the staff was awful. The hotel says it welcomes foreigners, yet nobody on staff spoke English. My friends and I spent over three hours at reception for a routine check-in, even though we had a reservation. The receptionists ignored us, used a translator, then forgot about us while serving other guests. A woman tried to translate for us, but they still couldn't help. We then called our Chinese friend to translate, with no luck. In the end, all six of us blocked the reception area and refused to let more guests through until staff dealt with us. That was the only way we got a room. Smoking seemed to be allowed everywhere. I know that's China, but although our room was nice, the corridor reeked of cigarettes.

The place was very dirty. They moved me to another room twice, and I ended up cancelling my reservation.