Stey Sanlitun Boutique Hotel

The room was quite decent and spacious, with a microwave and some kitchen items that could come in handy for cooking. The bathroom was a good size, though we thought the bed could be a little better. There were lots of light switches, and even after four nights we still couldn’t tell which controlled each light or the blinds and curtains. The fridge door wouldn’t shut properly and had a small leak. It didn’t affect us much, but those are areas they could improve. We paid $171sgd, close to 1000rmb, per night for a one-bedroom apartment, which didn’t feel cheap, so we expected more. The tiny reception was the first thing we saw, and it made the place feel far from hotel standard. The receptionist was friendly and helpful, though. The address on Google definitely needs fixing, even if China doesn’t use it. We only got one cleaning during our four nights, on day three, which may be what to expect in an apartment. But we thought we’d booked a Stey Hotel. By that day we were running low on toilet paper, bin bags, and drinking water. Getting more water wasn’t hard, but they only gave us two small bottles each time. We ended up buying our own 4l water from the nearby pacific place m Supermarket in the basement. If you know the shortcut through the building, it’s a 2-3 minute walk instead of 5-6 minutes along the main road. The location also wasn’t what we wanted. It’s fairly close to the train station, which some people may like, but we specifically wanted to be nearer the mall and expected to use Didi ride hailing most of the time, so the station’s proximity didn’t help us. We booked thinking it would be closer to Sanlitun Taikoo, but Google Maps had the location wrong. The Agoda listing called it Stay Sanlitun Boutique hotel, though it should be Stay Sanlitun serviced apartments. It was confusing, and we nearly argued with our driver over being brought there. It’s not a bad place, just not where we expected it to be. There’s a shisha bar on level 1, and if you don’t like that smell, you’ll notice it as you walk past at night. I’d give it a 6 out of 10 at best. It’s not the worst, but manage your expectations.

The spacious apartment and its location near Sanlitun’s shopping and bar area left us very satisfied. It’s easy to get around with DIDI/Grabnya China, and there’s a community room and shared kitchen with free-flow coffee and tea. Cleaning is only once every three days. I’d recommend it to anyone looking for a place to stay in the Sanlitun area.