30 Best Hotels in Beijing, China

Modern, minimalist design—pure white interiors, freestanding bathtubs, individual courtyards—meets old Beijing at this intimate four-bedroom boutique hotel within the quaint alleyways (hutong) near the historic Drum and Bell towers. This is the perfect refuge for the style-conscious visitor looking to escape the big city bustle. Or, indeed, those wanting to experience Beijing's increasingly forgotten traditional surroundings while having access to the benefits of contemporary technology, such as iPod stereos and in-room Wi-Fi. Service is discreet; guests get their own front door key, so you'll soon feel like a local wandering home. The owner also operates Cafe Sambal, a Southeast Asian restaurant nearby.

Occupying a third of the original Grand Hotel de Pekin complex (with Raffles and the Grand Hotel the other tenants), this venerable hotels retains a modicum of old-world charm, its impressive lobby and enviable location next to the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square making up for the rather outmoded decor. Grandees and high rollers have stayed here since it opened around the turn of the 20th century—Nixon was a guest on his historic visit, and China's long-time premier Zhou Enlai lived and worked in room #1735. The guest rooms, many adorned with classically French touches, are comfortable enough but overdue for a spruce-up.

An iconic 1901 residence houses the original lobby and historic rooms, and a newer addition offers rooms with amenities for business travelers at this hotel, formerly part of the Raffles brand; it's now overseen by the luxury NUO group, which has ensured that the standards for service remain high.

For dining, choose between classic French and international, while the Writer's Bar is replete with large leather armchairs and a polished wooden dance floor dating back to the 1920s.

Located on the city's main east–west central axis and close to Beijing railway station, this white monolith—curved like Miami's Fontainebleau hotel—symbolized the rebirth of China's tourism industry in 1987; these days, reliable service and decent facilities continue to draw tour groups and business travelers. Make sure you ask for a renovated room, as some of the older ones still suffer from the odd problem here and there (especially in the bathrooms). What with the endless hallways and gigantic ballrooms, you need to look hard for special, quiet places, but there are delightful garden nooks and smaller salons with Chinese antiques to escape to. The pool and gym are top-notch, but the hotel's dining options are overpriced, and breakfast can be repetitive. The hotel is only a couple of stops away from Tiananmen Square on the subway.

At the edge of the only remaining scrap of Beijing's once-mighty city walls—there are great views from the lobby coffee shop—this hotel is in a good location, relatively near key tourist sites and the Beijing railway station. It's reliable choice for those wanting clean, spacious rooms and excellent service. Other pluses are the comfortable beds, the well-appointed bathrooms (complete with marble finish, modern showers and tubs; a blind shields the view from bath to bed should you demand a bit of extra privacy), and the three dining rooms, which offer Cantonese, Mediterranean, and Southeast Asian menus.

Small, quiet, and cute, this appealing courtyard hotel—inside one of the city's hutong and featuring a centuries-old date tree, red lanterns, and other such traditional Chinese decorations—may once have been the home of Mei Lanfang, the legendary male Peking opera star known for playing female roles. All guest rooms are furnished with rosewood beds, antique bureaus, and modern gadgets (like satellite TV), but the VIP room, as you would expect, is the largest and best, and worth reserving in advance. If that's not available, request one of the executive rooms. Bicycles are available for free.

The best thing about this mid-range choice is its central location on Wangfujing, Beijing's most famous shopping street, where there's a mix of traditional stores, international chains, and a touristy "food" market—scorpions on a stick, anyone? The standard guest rooms, however, are small, and although the place provides everything you'd expect from a Crowne Plaza, it lacks knockout design details or killer features, as the rather uninteresting lobby makes plain. Craving more space? Try the executive floor, where guest rooms have extra work space and sprawling bathrooms.

Functional rather than fancy, the Day's Inn is about as close as it's possible to get to the Forbidden City without staying in the palace itself, and though guest rooms are tiny, they are definitely inexpensive and relatively comfortable. Built in an unfussy style with the slightest of architectural nods toward the city's classic courtyard houses, it does feature such alluring touches as its grey-brick walls inlaid with traditional carvings of chrysanthemums (the Chinese national flower). Beware of booking the cheaper basement rooms unless you can live without a window. If you have time, visit the Worker's Cultural Palace next door, laid out like the Forbidden City but on a smaller scale and without the crowds.

The rooms in this atmospheric warren of wooden corridors, courtyards, and rickety staircases are fairly spacious, with Chinese-style beds, wooden furniture, and small bathrooms, but it’s the friendly, English-speaking service, central location, and good rates that make it so popular. All rooms come with a flat-screen TV, tea and coffee facilities, and a computer. A couple of family rooms sleep up to four people, and a trio of rooms have delightful private balconies. Located midway along a hutong lane close to the center of town, the neighborhood has some good local restaurants and is just about walkable to the Forbidden City. In the evening the breakfast room becomes a simple restaurant serving Chinese and Western food.

One step beyond the striking Moon Gate doorway of this 18th-century hutong home—once owned by the Minister of the Imperial Household to Emperor Xianfeng (1860)—and you're transported, thanks to swaying bamboos, flickering lanterns, blazing red walls, and a chic lobby, to a nobleman's courtyard house. Each of the six guest rooms has its own unique look, from the ancient Chinese four-poster beds and tints of gold in "The Imperial," to the rich red, old-Shanghai feel of "The Peony Pavilion," to the sheer drama of the "Golden Lotus," with black-glass chandeliers and shimmering lotus mural. The emphasis on design means that much of the furniture and decorative pieces at Du Ge were custom-made (and can be bought from them). The availability of French wine and Cuban cigars, along with the small bar in the courtyard, add to the contemporary feel. The room rate includes an airport pickup service, refreshments, and bicycles.

On the north side of Chang'an Avenue, and adjoining the ritzier Raffles, the Grand offers a decent blend of luxury and comfort without the international brand price tag. The classic Chinese gateway at the hotel's entrance is a nice touch, and Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City are a short hop away. If you want to splash out, book the Emperor suite and prepare for an extravaganza of antique carved furniture, landscape scrolls, and fiercely carved wooden room dividers. A range of dining options is at hand (note: the non-Chinese food isn't up to snuff) but you also should plan to enjoy sunsets on the terrace bar, which has an impressive vista of the Forbidden City (only from May through October, from 5 to 9:30 pm). The breakfast buffet is recommended.

The wow factor at this top-notch hotel—close to Tiananmen Square and the Forbidden City—comes from its huge glass facade and extraordinary lagoon-like swimming area: above its lush vegetation, waterfalls, and statues, a "virtual sky" ceiling imitates different weather patterns. Guest rooms, decorated with comfortable cherry-wood furnishings, and many with floor-to-ceiling windows, aren't quite as inspired, but they're still grand and Hyatt enough. Big draws are the seven restaurants and bars, most notably Made in China, one of the best places in the city for Peking duck. The hotel is part of a mammoth complex that includes an upscale shopping mall, cinema, and a wide range of places to eat—so the wows keep coming.

Cheap and cheerful does it at this value chain close to Sanlitun (Beijing's lively nightlife center)—yes, it lacks a pool and gym, and guest rooms are somewhat small, but the lobby gleams, the beds are surprisingly comfortable, and the free-to-use Macs next to the front desk and a games console are thoughtful touches. This hotel offers both meeting rooms and a self-service laundry room, so both businesspeople and backpackers have what they need. Next to the hotel entrance is a handy tour operator that can help organize trips to the Great Wall and so forth.

This boutique courtyard hideaway claims to have once served as a rehearsal space for Imperial musicians during the Ming Dynasty; renovated rooms wrap around an attractive old courtyard and feature antique pieces, comfy beds with feather duvets, and the usual Western comforts. A pair of suites have freestanding tubs, sofas, and a good deal more space. A roof terrace (above the breakfast room) kitted out with lounge chairs comes with nice views of the surrounding low-rise hutong neighborhood.

Designed by Studio Pei Zhu (who also worked on the Olympics), this minimalist-style offering helped kick-start the boutique hotel movement in Beijing—it has large, design-conscious guest rooms, internal courtyards enclosed in glass, and bamboo and pebble gardens, as well as a quirky exterior lattice wrapped around the entire building. Though showing signs of wear and tear, it remains in a fabulous location for sightseeing (a few blocks from the East Gate of the Forbidden City), the service is friendly enough, and the price is right.

The faux European spectacle that is the Legendale screams nouveau riche, but this château-like hotel, with its sparkling chandeliers, gilded staircase, and Parisian fireplace in the lobby, is genuinely comfortable and luxurious. Looming over some of the city's best-preserved hutongs, the hotel has enormous guest rooms with acres seemingly devoted to boiserie (carved-wood) panels, Oriental carpets, and brocaded fabrics (all in rich blues, golds, and burgundies). Guests are spoiled for choice when it comes to dining, with Camoes offering Macanese and Portuguese cuisine; Petrus, a French restaurant with a large wine collection; and Macao focusing on Chinese fare.

The wooden entrance to this delightful courtyard hotel, on the site of an old Mandarin residence, is guarded by two menshi (stone lions), an indicator that this hotel offers a classic old-Beijing experience: good, affordable accommodations with few modern updates and little in the way of fancy design. The guest rooms are basic, the windows are large, there's plenty of dark wood and red pillars, and five courtyards offer delightful escapes in the forms of pavilions, rockeries, and greenery. It's all about location here: you're in the middle of an ancient neighborhood, within walking distance of Houhai, and just a block away from many restaurants on Nan Luogu Xiang.

This tower of shimmering glass has rooms with floor-to-ceiling windows that afford decent views, but, other than that, there's nothing spectacular here: service is fairly basic and the ambience is decidedly low-key; the big plus is the surrounding area, with plenty of shops and restaurants nearby (as well as Wangfujing and Tiananmen Square), making it a solid base at a good price for the location. Be warned, however, that some rooms have been updated while others have not, so ask to be put in the newer part of the hotel. For dinner you could opt for one of the three Chinese restaurants—or Le Cabernet, a French-style brasserie—but our vote would be to head out into the street to try one of the many restaurants found in this bustling neighborhood.

Hidden behind the swankier Regent on Beijing's glitziest avenue, this popular mid-range option, especially good for first-time visitors to the city, has clean and compact rooms with decent-sized bathrooms, English TV channels, a pleasant tree-shaded garden, and a fantastic location close to the Forbidden City and Wangfujing. There's a Starbucks opposite and a selection of great restaurants, including the famed Peking duck eatery Dadong, within walking distance. Dining in the hotel isn't recommended; the breakfast buffet, with omelets made to order, is a little pricey for the quality.

Guests enjoy an impressive combination of modern facilities and traditional luxury, and though rooms are a little small for this sort of hotel, they're superlatively appointed, with teak and rosewood flooring, colorful rugs, and high-tech touches like custom bedside control panels to adjust lighting, temperature, and the flat-screen TVs. The service is excellent, as is the spa. Yun Bar, on the roof, is a lovely spot for sundowner cocktails in clear weather. Get in some exercise in the fully equipped gym the swimming pool, or a 10-minute walk to the Forbidden City.

This comfortable, good-looking mid-range hotel offers modern facilities wrapped up in a slick, business-friendly package; it's close to the Temple of Heaven and Pearl Market, and surrounded by shopping malls. The immediate area isn't much to look at, but a subway nearby will whisk you away to Beijing's beauty spots in no time.

Each of the four rooms at this boutique courtyard hotel—located in a carefully restored home in Dongsi Hutong—are decorated with antiques and according to different themes, such as the Chairman's Suite, in playful homage to Mao, and the two Author's Suites (one inspired by Edgar Snow, a 1930s US journalist who lived in Beijing, and the other by Han Suyin, the Japanese novelist who wrote Love is a Many-Splendored Thing, among others). There's also a cigar lounge where you can sit on original furnishings used by China's early revolutionary leaders, as well as a wine bar housed in a Cultural Revolution–era bomb shelter. You'll know the hotel when you find it—Madame Mao's Red Flag limousine sits outside.

Though it can feel a little in the middle of nowhere, near the 2008 Olympic area, the Sheraton Dongcheng, with its cubic glass facade, great-value lunch deals, and spacious, clean, and up-to-date rooms, is a decent high-end choice. Some good restaurants (Yue does particularly good dim sum) and views of the architecturally impressive "Bird's Nest" (National Stadium) help make up for the lack of good eats in the area, and the guest rooms themselves serve as perfect cocoons, with soothing colors and woods on show. It's near the Beijing International Convention Center.

Five hundred years in the making, this beguiling combination of boutique luxury and heritage architecture is one of Beijing's most romantic hotel experiences. The eight guest rooms here are housed in a once-forgotten Tibetan Buddhist Temple, painstakingly restored and strewn with thoughtful art, custom furniture pieces, and major creature comforts. The temple, called Zhizusi, or The Temple of Wisdom, was commissioned by the Kangxi Emperor in the 1600s and was one of a trio of Beijing temples designed to print Buddhist religious texts. Later it became a private residence to a prominent Tibetan Buddhist religious leader. The Dragon Phoenix room, the largest, is in a cavernous former prayer hall with tall ceilings and polished beams (and, most important, cozy under-floor heating). More modern rooms are housed in stylishly restored 1960 annexes, built when the complex was a television factory—Mao slogans inciting workers are still visible hanging from the main temple wall. The hotel is also the home of Gathered Sky, the first permanent light installation by artist James Turrell in China. Guests can attend "Sunset Session" viewings for free, and anyone can go along at sunset every Sunday to view it. Breakfast is served in-room in custom designed "bento" boxes; the Temple Restaurant Beijing shares the complex and is open for lunch and dinner.

Lauded for its lovely rooftop bar with views over the Forbidden City, the Emperor's has a traditional exterior that belies guest rooms seemingly inspired by the film 2001: A Space Odyssey: minimalist white decor, sunken beds with tube pillows, lozenge-like sofas, and minibars that rise up from concealed cabinets. The effect is rather sterile, but at least the hotel sits on a tree-lined avenue among traditional temples and houses, making it a tranquil spot in the middle of a fast-evolving metropolis.

A firm favorite among travelers looking for somewhere hip but still down-to-earth, The Orchid is a serene spot in the heart of Beijing's most vibrant hutong district, with two tiers of flower-strewn terraces, ludicrously comfy beds, a complimentary à la carte breakfast menu, and friendly staff who have an infectious love for their gentrifying neighborhood. The standard Courtyard rooms are housed in Qing-era buildings with lovely wood beamed ceilings, while the best rooms have private gardens (and one has its own terrace with views of the Drum and Bell towers). Throw in some nifty facilities (free Wi-Fi, movies on demand, under-floor heating, cell phones), great events (weekly dumpling-making classes, regular wine tastings), and a walking map painstakingly created by the co-founder that plots the tastiest traditional eats in the area, and you can see why the Orchid's 10 rooms are always in demand.

Luxurious (if businesslike) rooms, a prestigious location on the corner of ritzy Jinbao Jie close to Wangfujing, and a spectacularly soaring glass-walled lobby are reasons why the Regent is a top choice for high rollers. The impeccable decor features dark teak woods, beautifully carved furniture, couture bedspreads, sleek daybeds, artist-designed rugs, and mahogany-encased walls. But nothing can compare with the fabulous views out of those floor-to-ceiling windows: witnessing the twilight hour here, as Beijing lights up for the night, can be wonderful. The hotel also houses a branch of excellent Hong Kong restaurant Lei Garden as well as a Morton's steak house.

No expense has been spared on this stunning, boutique-inspired hotel in central Wangfujing; the public areas have walls of Suzhou silk, staircases of gold-flecked Italian marble, and countless pieces of art, while guest rooms strike a delightful balance of contemporary style and high-tech luxury, with Apple TVs, Bose sound systems, Nespresso machines, Japanese toilets, heated bathroom floors, and a Samsung tablet beside the bed to control the lights, TV, and curtains, and also order various services. The building itself is astonishing—it's a gleaming latticework of copper and bronze, designed to age and oxidize over time. Brasserie 1893, the flagship eatery, is impressively kitted out with a pair of spectacular custom-made Italian ranges. Behind the main hotel building, a cluster of renovated siheyuan courtyards houses the Waldorf Hutong Villa, a palatial suite with its own swimming pool, underground cinema, and a dining room for 12 guests.

The charming "Bamboo Garden" was actually once the residence of Kang Sheng, a sinister character responsible for "public security" during the Cultural Revolution, who nevertheless had fine taste in Chinese art and antiques (some which are still on display). Still, as the hotel's English name suggests, the beautiful and peaceful grounds are the real highlight here. The neighborhood is perfect if you want to experience the lifestyles of ordinary Beijingers. Sure, this spot can't compete with the high-rise crowd when it comes to amenities, but its bamboo-filled gardens make it a treasure for those looking for a true Chinese experience. It's within walking distance of the colorful Houhai lakes area.