Ex-pat friends recommended this hotel to us as I was staying on my own in Beijing whilst my husband was working elsewhere in China, and I wanted a hotel that was central, comfortable and safe. The Jinguao was all this and more.

It is definately worth booking into the executive rooms on the fourth floor. You have your own check-in desk, happy hour bar and breakfast toom and excellent concierge service, away from the hustle and bustle of the main hotel lobby. The only reservation I had about the hotel, was the fact that main breakfast restaurant was very busy with coach parties.

The hotel facilities were excellent. The pool was always empty and I visited the beauty salon for a manicure, pedicure, massage and a hair do - all excellent service and great value for money.

Unfortunately, the excellent French restaurant 'Justines' was closed for refurbishment, but the adjacent coffee shop sold the most scrumptious cakes and pastries, which did make up for it somewhat.

The hotel has a great location, close to a department store and the silk market, and is a great place to be in this ever-changing city. A few minutes walk away there are several international restaurants (Mexican, Italian etc) and I felt perfectly safe visiting them alone at night.

Once my husband joined me, we upgraded our room to the split level suite, which had a balcony overlooking the hotel garden. It provided a very comfortable workspace for my husband and the most luxurious bathroom for me.

An excellent hotel, which will definately our first choice in Beijing in the future.

Stayed here from 2/15-2/20 then again from 2/23-2/27. It is an older hotel but has gone under extensive renovation recently. Some rooms have the traditional beautiful Chinese garden setting. The location is unbeatable - it is right on Jianguomen Street and close to the World Trade Center, a major shopping area as well as the subway (right in front of the hotel). Very popular hotel for foreign guests.

I got different rooms during my stay - be sure to request a room in Building A as all rooms on this side were recently furbished and nicely decorated (equipped with mini-bar, tea/coffee station and a nice bathroom). Many rooms in Building B are old and dingy looking, I was put in a room on Building B side for one night and had to request the room change the following morning due to its filthiness and noise. Other than this minor problem, I had a very pleasant stay. Hotel staff is professional, good room services, wonderful selection of breakfast and free in-room broadband internet access. There are many newer hotels on Jianguo Men Street/Dong Chang An Street but this one seems like it's always one of the favorite hotel for foreign guests. Wouldn't mind coming back again.

We stayed at this hotel for five nights and had a very pleasant experience. The hotel is rated four-star according to the local system and it certainly lived up to Western four-star standards. Our room was not huge but nicely appointed with a good sized bathroom. The bed was a comfortable king-size and the TV provided local and international channels including BBC, CNN, French, German and Italian, as well as ESPN and Star Sports. Bottled water was provided to our room each day. Staff were very freindly and helpful and spoke enough English for simple conversations and requests. Staff at reception and in the restaurant spoke more English than others. For more complicated issues, such as the location of an ATM, we found hand gestures got the message across. The entrance to the hotel was being refurbished for the 2008 Olympics but this had no effect on our stay and management provided a 50 yuan voucher for use in the hotel restaurants to compensate for any inconvenience. The hotel is located very conveniently on the main road which runs east-west through Beijing past Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City. Under the building next door is a subway station only four stops from Tiananmen. The only drawback was the lack of places to eat in the district. We found a noodle restaurant and an Indian/Thai resturant but that was about it. The hotel itself has several restaurants including an excellent Chinese.

Good hotel overall. Kind of a lowrise, 9 floors maximum. It has really pretty gardens (see photos) good for people on the first floor. Nice lobby for hanging out very large with many tables, you can order drinks and food. Very good breakfast with cooked to order crepes, salad, fruit and cereal, among other things. Very good location being only a block away from the silk market. Lots of things around hotel, such as Starbucks, Mcdonalds, and Pizza Hut, also other good local restaurants as well. Check out the grocery store in the bottom floor of the Silk market. Safes in room, also coffee maker, and refrigerator which is very handy. Tianenmen square/Forbidden City on same road. Try the Subway which is half a block, it is clean and safe, costs .37 1/2 cents US and they announce stops in English. The hotel does need some work as the carpets are a little worn, but overall I was very comfortable here and would definitely stay here again.