Bejing, in my view, is working hard to catch on to western ways...while it's very western in some ways, many times I felt this must have been much what Japan was like, shortly after the war.
The spirit is there, but the culture is so different. I always felt the Japanese can do whatever they want, more or less, in western, or their own style. China, isn't quite there...like looking in a funhouse mirror sometime. If the above doesn't quite make sense to you, you will understand after visiting China.

The hotel is a mirror of the above opinion....smart, stylish, and well located, it truly is a four star hotel....and in some ways, perhaps more. Comfortable beds, spacious room, great view...but with natural stone bath surfaces, the shower door still leaked profusely...but into a conveniently placed drain on the floor outside the shower...intentional design ? Beautiful stainless steel accents...apparently attached with rusty bolts, as the rust leaked out from beneath the stainless steel. Huge dept store sized windows...covered the the soot/haze that descends upon Bejing each day.

A sumptuous buffet, rivaling the four/five star Japanese hotel(s) I've reviewed...and an enormous lobby. A basement level indoor pool (but you MUST wear a shower cap....ah the '50s live !)
I would stay here again.

Hint to the traveler: Don't drink the Bejing water...the locals are used to it: You aren't ! The 7-11 behind the store is a great place for price and quality for fresh sandwiches and liquor (and bottled water...the hotel furnishes one small bottle to you each day).

We stayed at the Capital Hotel in late April with a SmarTours package. The hotel was great and the location was very close to the Forbidden City. Hotel was very clean and the staff was very friendly. Sure the beds were hard, but it really was not much of an issue. I would stay here again. Taxis are very inexpensive and make getting around the city very easy. They always have taxis right up front at the hotel. We did book a car for two days because we wanted to head out of town and go to the great wall and didn't want to relay on taxis to try to get back. We looked on Trip Advisor and found lots of driver recommendations for John. We e-mailed him before we went and booked his services for two days. The night before we were scheduled to go to the great wall John called our hotel and advised us we might be better to switch days so we will have nicer weather for the great wall. He was right, it rained the morning we were scheduled to go and was a beautiful day when we ended up going. John's English isgreat and he was full of information regarding Beijing. We really enjoyed our two days with him and would highly recommend his services. We e-mailed him at [--] and he has a website at www.beijing-driver.com. All in all, it was a great trip at a very reasonable price thanks to SmarTours. It was our first time using SmarTours and were very pleased with the service and hotels they provided.

This hotel is perfectly located. You can easily walk to the Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, a subway station or the famous Wangfujin Street with all its shops. It is really convenient in such a city locked by endless traffic jams.

I stayed in the new tower where rooms are very comfortable and perfectly clean. The breakfast buffet was delightful, served in a quiet garden-type restaurant. I also went to the Italian restaurant on the top of the main bulding: beautiful sight over Beijing and a good quality restaurant.

This hotel is definitely a must in Beijing at a very reasonnable price. Do not hesitate to book there.

The Capital Hotel is located on a quiet residential street not too far from all the action. A 15-20 minute walk will bring you Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, Wangfujing pedestrian street and night market. The hotel is also conveniently located between two subway stations and we used the subway quite a bit to get around (subway fare is equivalent to $0.35 US). Cabs were always lined up outside the hotel ready to take you wherever you wanted to go.

Our room had two double beds with an over sized bathroom. The room was very clean and modern. The beds were extra firm by North American standards but very comfortable. Also, the bedding was nice white cotton duvets. The white towel robes and slippers were a nice extra. The room also included two free bottles of water per day and there is a kettle for boiling your own water. Don’t drink the tap water, not even to brush your teeth. The room did not have a digital clock so it was tough to see the time in the dark.

We found the staff of the Capital Hotel to be quite helpful and spoke good English. I had inquired about a certain attraction with Ann from the Information Desk and she was able to call them for me. However, the number was wrong so she said she would look into it further and get back to me. Later that night, I received a handwritten note under our door informing me that she had done some further research and the attraction was not going to be open until late spring. I was quite impressed with her customer service!

We ate breakfast in the buffet on the ground floor and found it more than adequate. Selection was ample and the food was always fresh. We really enjoyed the congee with condiments and fried doughnuts, warm soy milk and fresh fruit that included cut cantaloupe, watermelon, mandarin sections and canned lychees! There was a made to order omelet bar and traditional breakfast fare including bacon, sausages, toast, bagels, cereals and fruit juices. We also found fried rice, noodles, dumplings, steamed buns, bread pudding and fish and chips.

Across the street, you will find a small convenience store open 24 hrs with basics such as beer, water, and snacks for very little in price.