I attended a conference at the hotel and found it to be grand, flashy and another really big, expensive hotel. There was nothing wrong with it but it offered an experience that was repeatable at virtually any big hotel in the world. It had Chinese folks working and a Chinese garden but had that "global" feel that is universal. The location is a bit remote, and, given Beijing traffic, a good hike to the central sites. But taxis are readily available and inexpensive. On the night I arrived, it was late and rainy so I went to the cafe for food and spent as much for a plate of spaghetti as I had for four really excellent dinners in Shanghai at a local place. Regardless of the location, I rarely feel that there is much value in this kind of hotel. They are very friendly in that "here's what you do" kind of way as they charge outrageous sums for virtually every transaction. The room was lovely, the pool and other facilities were excellent, and the kitchen provided tasty meals but otherwise I could have been anywhere on the globe.

Booked this hotel as an Oceania pre-cruise option, hence I didn't choose the hotel, it was the only one offered. This hotel and its sister in Kowloon where we stayed after the cruise, couldn't be more different.

Where Kowloon was in the thick of it, this hotel is so far removed from the centre of Beijing that you might as well be in another city. OK, so it's not a million miles from the Summer Palace, but you couldn't walk there so that doesn't help much. No, with the exception of the Great Wall at Badaling (where you're nearer to it than from any other top hotel in Beijing, the only problem being that the Great Wall at Mutianyu is far superior and is in the opposite direction!) there is NO reason to stay in this location. If I ever return to Beijing (and it would have to be a damn sight warmer for me to do this) I want to stay within walking distance on Tiananmen Square.

Where Kowloon had the world on its doorstep, here there are virtually no worthwhile shops or restaurants within walking distance - although the one eatery we found (where they spoke no English, hence lots of pointing) provided a halfway-edible meal, with several courses and 2 large beers for change out of £7.00 sterling.

Where the staff and admin in Kowloon was a well-oiled machine, this one needed some maintenance. Exception: Justin the concierge who found us a driver out to the Wall at short notice and who knows his stuff.

Where the view from our room in Kowloon was awesome, in Beijing it was ghastly (see photo). Room quality also not up to much, but then it was a better quality room we had in Kowloon.

Where the Kowloon (Horizon Club) breakfast was fantastic, and included in the (admittedly high) price, here it was mediocre and damned expensive for what you got, which is why we skipped breakfast one morning out of two.

Only bright spot was the in-house Chinese restaurant, where we had a nicely presented meal, with a good bottle of wine, for less yuan than I was expecting.

All in all, forget this hotel as a place to stay in Beijing if you're paying and you therefore get the choice. I suppose that if you're in Beijing on business and if you have absolutely no interest whatsoever in what is outside the front door of your hotel, and your contacts come to you, then there might just be some point. But if this is where you fit in, why not stay nearer the airport? Or better still, stay at home and use video-conferencing!!

I can not believe that this hotel does not fall higher up in the ratings for hotels in Beijing.

Over the past few years, we have stayed in quite a few Shangri La hotels, but was least looking forward to staying here becasue of the reviews.

The hotel itself is smaller than some of the others and is a taxi ride out of the city. (never costing more than £2 to travel anywhere, usually about 50p!)

When we arrived at the hotel, we were shown to our room by a lady in guest relations. It was our anniversary and there was a cake, box of chocolates, red roses and a bottle of wine waiting for us. The lady wanted to take our photo, but declined due to 15 hrs travelling. Felt really bad about this later. Everywhere we went in the hotel, we were greeted by name. The service really was exceptional!

We had a high floor looking over the city and gardens. We even had blue sky on one day!

Breakfast was fantastic, so much to choose from. We also stayed at the Shangri La in Shanghai, but preferred this one.

Highly recommended!

We spent 3 days here at the end of March. Our room was in the tower and was, by American standards, a little small. In UK terms it was quite spacious. The bed a full kIng size was very comfortable and the room was very quiet. The bathroom had a shower separate from the bath a real personal plus point.
Our view was out of the back of the hotel over the gardens and was fine, I expect rooms on the south side overlooking the highway intersection may be a little noisier. Others have remarked on the proximity of the intersection but we did not find it intrusive. We've stayed in far noisier city hotels elsewhere. In fact on a positive note the location on the third ring road made it easy to travel away from the hotel. But the location is quite isolated - we had transport so for us this was not an issue. But without it I would expect this could be a problem. In fact the only problem with an otherwise flawless hotel.
Service was excellent - attentive, friendly, and everyone we encountered had enough English for us to successfully communicate our requirements.
The breakfast buffet was enormous and I would defy anyone not to find something to eat either Oriental or Western in addition there was an a la carte menu we didn't need to sample. We also ate here - a light meal in the Yi cafe late one evening and even though they were about to stop serving we were not rushed and watched as they dismantled and removed the ice sculptures from the buffet for repacking in the freezers!
Check in was quick and efficient, and I was addressed by name, always a nice touch.
All told this was a great first 'Shangri La' experience and one I would repeat without hesitation.