Luxury Serviced Residence Beijing - Beijing 39.90327, 116.4369

Stayed in the 1 bedroom loft apartment. Huge space with living room, bathroom and separate fully-equipped kitchen downstairs and large upstairs loft area for bed, 2nd bathroom, separate office area and even a clothes drying room! It was great to be able to spread out after enduring numerous other tiny hotel rooms on our China trip. Modern IKEA style furniture (some of it looking a little worn), but large comfortable bed and room clean and extremely quiet. Location is good - 10 min walk to Silk Market and nearest metro stop; $2 taxi ride to Forbidden City and T. Square. 24 hour 7/11 directly across road and street with many "western" restaurants catering to local expat community about 10 min walk (street directly behind "Friendship store" at top of the road)

I booked into the Luxury Serviced Residence on the basis of positive internet reviews and very reasonable cost. My wife and I were very happy with this quiet and spacious apartment which provided all the facilities needed to become our Beijing home for 10 days. Kitchen facilities were very good and the apartment was efficiently serviced daily. The bed was firm just like at home with an inner spring mattress on a slat base, the way we like it. Security was excellent. Desk staff had limited English but helped us wherever they could, and always with a smile. A display of tourist pamphlets would have been helpful but it seemed that in this city tourist are left to find their own way. Fortunately my extensive internet research prior to leaving Australia proved invaluable as a tourist. Neither the downstairs or upstairs ensuite had a bath but we showered comfortably. Breakfast in the downstairs cafe was cold and terrible so we used hotel vouchers wisely and didn't pay for breakfasts that were barely better than nothing. Buses (10 minutes walk) and subway (15 minutes) were regular, cheap and handy for city access although very crowded. If I return to Beijing I'll again stay at the Luxury Residence without hesitation."

First tip: If you spot a (24hr) 7-11 convenience store, turn down that dead-end road and you'll find hotel opposite 7-11. We missed it a couple of times & locals didn't know where it was. As for the hotel, it was a good one here. Top floor, duplex unit - very spacious: living/dining room combined, kitchen (gas cooking), two very good sized bedrooms/beds (albeit, mattress too hard for my liking). Kitchen equiped with basically all the useful items (cutlery, wok, bowls/plates, etc). No internet in rooms unless you pay for it (£10/day!), but there is an internet cafe round the corner (ask reception). Food in cafe is poor, so don't go for 'Breakfast Included': cup of coffee and free internet, if need be. They have a self-service laundry (washing and drying machines). Helpful staff although limited English. The nearest Metro underground is about 10-15mins walk, and is an interchange station which is very handy. There are a couple of restaurants very close by on the main road. A big-brand department store with restaurants and (fairly expensive) supermarket for foodstuffs about 7mins on the major road. There are also a number of smaller shops dotted around the block within which the hotel sits. The cheap-looking restaurant is worth checking out for immediate authentic Chinese food. It's in a quiet district, mainly for business types, so it's quiet during the evenings. Kept being woken in the mornings (about 7:30) by people chanting on street.