Regent Beijing Hotel

I loved the location, and the staff were very hospitable, but the rooms felt stuffy and outdated. The bigger problem was that there was no way to adjust the temperature. I stayed in September when it was still over 80f, but the guest rooms were set to a standard temperature that couldn’t be changed, and ours was stifling. When I asked the managers, all they could do was get maintenance to unlock the routinely locked windows and send up a fan and a bucket of ice. For a supposedly 5 star hotel, that felt like a really primitive non-solution.

The location was good, and the staff were friendly and approachable. But the ventilation and window design are a major flaw. When the central aircond isn’t on, the rooms don’t cool down. It was 25 degree Celsius and they still hadn’t turned on the aircond. Even with the window open, the design makes it feel like the air has to "climb into the window". We booked two rooms and could only get morning sun or afternoon sun. Both of ours faced the morning sun, yet the rooms were like furnaces at night and hard to sleep in. If you’re used to controlling your room temperature individually, look elsewhere.

A big hotel right in the heart of Beijing, with what I expect from one of the Regents: a comfortable bed, friendly staff, and a well-maintained 25m sports-grade pool. My only issue was that the room was too warm and I couldn’t adjust the temperature. They fixed it by unblocking the window.

The rooms were very well maintained and met the standard of a typical 5 star hotel. We especially liked the on-site Italian restaurant, where both the food quality and service were good. Breakfast had a varied buffet with Western, Chinese, and vegetarian options. Service was very good throughout, and most staff spoke enough English that we had no major difficulties. They were also eager to help. The hotel is in a safe, easy-to-find area, close to many major tourist sites, and the metro station is right by the entrance. A fantastic stay.