From Miles to Smiles Stylish travel for professionals seeking luxury at affordable prices
The Beijing W Hotel surely must stand for ‘wow’ hotel. From the minute you escape the Beijing summer heat and wander into the brightly lit lobby, you will be amazed. Funky neon lights create the semblance of a trendy nightclub, whilst a saxophonist serenades guests enjoying afternoon cocktails.
Location
It’s the epitome of cool and just a stone’s throw from Jianguomen Gate, and only two stops on the Metro to the Forbidden City and Tiannamen Square.
Bedrooms
Our room was a ‘wonderful room’ and boy, did it live up to that title. Sometimes on web booking sites, the pictures of the hotel room are not reflective of the actual type of room you will be staying in. Not so in this case. I booked through hotels.com (as I needed one more stay for a free night) and the pictures were spot on.
The room was possibly the most amazing room I have stayed in outside a luxury beach resort such as the Residence in Tanzania and the Evason Zighy Bay.
As you open the door, your eyes feast on views of the skyline, followed by a pick n mix of equally fascinating attractions. You can feel like a movie star as you soak up the view from your daybed lit by movie set lights, or laze on the oversized super-king size bed.
The decor is hip with a bright blue panel adding a decorative touch to the bedroom and a selection of pre-set lighting options on your bedside panel. Select from low to bright to night.
That same panel also has buttons to open and close both your sheer curtains and the fuller curtains. Boy, I have been spoilt on this trip as frankly I am never going to want to open my curtains by hand again!!
Bathroom
The piece de resistance is the incredible in room bathroom. A huge round tub takes up a platform to the side of the bed and is adorned with a smaller sink, make up area and dressing table. A huge mirrored light continues the movie theme. Ladies will love the other full length mirrors dotted around the room.
Finally, the toilet and shower are enclosed in their own separate cubicles. Of course, if you want some privacy, you can pull the curtain separating the bath from the bedroom but why deny yourself a city view while bathing?
Even if you hate everything else about this hotel, the room alone is worth a visit. If you plan on proposing, or want to treat your loved one to a weekend away, then this hotel should be a contender for your cash.
Facilities
W Fit Room
The fit room is on an elevated floor with views over the city. There’s weight machines, a boxing and mat area and plenty of cardio machines. The ability to people watch is also a nice distraction during your workout.
Each station has towels and fresh water is available in a fridge. It’s air conditioned although the air con could do with being a little stronger.
W Pool
The pool is stunning. It has an unusual tiled pattern which looks super cool. It also has a whirlpool and day bed area should you wish to chill out.
Note that swimmers need to wear a swimming cap which you can borrow from the lifeguard.
Food and drink
The W lounge
The W Lounge is in the lobby and exudes cool. Bright neon lights and comfy seating areas attract the in crowd (and us!).
Yen
We dined in Yen and were not impressed. The menu was a little too wild for our taste with chicken feet, intestines and other animal parts we prefer not to eat.
Our dish of noodles, vegetables and chicken was lacking in taste although the service was good.
The kitchen
There was a further restaurant offering dinner buffets and breakfast in the basement but we did not sample this. The buffets seemed quite pricey a around 250 yuan.
X25 Bar
This is a sky bar on the 25th floor with a dance floor and DJ. There’s a bar area and table service and the lighting is ridiculously trendy.
You can catch views of the city and its landmarks lit up by night, not to mention beautiful people watching. It seems it’s not uncommon for Chinese couples to enjoy a night out on their phones and iPads, rather than actually talking to one another!
The service
The service in the hotel was fantastic in every respect bar one. The check in was especially slow and laborious.
SPG Rewards
A member of SPG, guests can earn SPG Rewards on both their room and spend in the hotel. For more information on SPG Rewards, check this post out.
You may also wish to consider applying for the SPG AMEX Reward credit card, details of which can be found in this post. I bagged three free nights with my sign up bonus.
Verdict
This hotel is certainly one of the more expensive hotels we looked at in Beijing. However, the W Beijing Chang’An is one of the hippest places I’ve stayed, albeit possibly targeted at a younger demographic than us.
If you plan to visit, I recommend you make a night of it and enjoy the facilities of the hotel. This hotel is meant to be the star attraction and not your base.
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When in China do what the Chinese do. Chicken feet and other innards are everyday snacks and apps for us Chinese, too bad you were not able to enjoy these tried and true dishes.
Each to their own but I did not even enjoy looking at them never mind eating them!
Do they supply gas masks? You’ll need one if you’re visiting Beijing. The pollution will take years off your life.
Yes that was definitely one of the aspects of Beijing I did not like. Stay tuned to find out our recommendations for coping with some of the challenges of travelling in China. Pollution is one of the, although I did find Beijing similar to LA (but I’ve not been back there in twenty years and am hoping it has improved,)