Dongsi Hotel

We are 2 friends and both are new to Beijing and let alone China. We are first time here. For me the room is great enough, light was all working fine. The toothbrush and soap provided but need to get from reception. I was using iPhone so I cannot use the WiFi as it only works with Android due to firewall. Location wise I think it is easy to find even with Google Map. For those using Metro, Dongsi Station Exit G is the nearest one, while Exit D is the second nearest. Two main metro line to Dongsi Station is Metro Line 5 & 6. But we normally use line 6 because it is nearest to Exit G. The area is close to Forbidden Palace, you can get there with one change of metro service. When I went to Forbidden Palace, I did go there using Metro then walk back as it is only around 1.6km walking after the Exit at Forbidden Palace and took about 20 minutes walking. I did use Baidu map to walk to the hotel from Forbidden Palace and you will take short cuts which will end up at the back of Renaissance Hotel. Tips : mark the hotel in Baidu map so you can easily get the map working especially if cannot speak Chinese like me. On Dongsi West St there is National Art Museum and it is free. I did went there alone after checkout, there are 6 floors of exhibits there. Walk to Wangfujing shopping st would take you around 15 minutes. The famous Prime Hotel Beijing is like 5 minutes walk from the hotel. Not much to do at night as shops literally close early at around 8PM to 9PM except for McDonald’s which close at 11PM like 5 minutes walk from hotel. There is a mosque near hotel if you are Muslim like me but the mosque is a bit run down and closes its door and you need to ask the caretaker to open the door if you want to pray. Overall I’m satisfied with the hotel which I think is very basic and fits our budget. I wish there is a cupboard inside the room for us to hang out clothes and fridge. The toilet however is spacious and hot water can only be used for 20 minutes then we need to wait again for 30 minutes for it to replenish which is a problem if there are a lot of people to take shower at same time. Improvement for hotel : 1 Put small cupboard in room for guest to hang clothes. 2 Change the curtain as it is very old and looks like not wash for long time. 3 Better if room has small fridge for guest to store food. Getting there : Metro from took like 50 minutes with 3 changes in metro line. For me it is very easy, and cheap cost like 40RMB in Alipay. Overall the surrounding maybe take 2 days for you to be familiar with but I think it is good enough as there are McDonalds, Luckin coffee and also bakery near the hotel like 5 minutes walk. Small convenience store is there in the back alley but close like at 8PM. Reason I chose this hotel : 1 Your taxi can get there straight in front of hotel as it is not in Forbidden Palace area where some place taxi cannot get in and you need to carry your bag through busy street 2 Easy access as you walk 10 minutes from Dongsi Station Exit G/D to get to hotel 3 Near Dongsi mosque if you want to pray if you’re muslim 4 Very quiet area as a bit far from Forbidden Palace area or Wangfujing 5 Lots of shops to eat and cafe on Dongsi N st or Meishuguan E st near the Prime Beijing Hotel 6 A few halal muslim restaurant for you to eat if you are picky eater and not familiar with convenience store food 7 When go out of hotel turn left at end of the Dadoufu Ln there is small convenience you can buy food but close early around 8PM.

It's a good hotel by the price. Not deeply clean but more than enough for a few nights. Free water and clean towels everyday. The staff very welcoming despite the language barrier. The only small thing is that the room smelled like cigarred on the first night. But they provide a solution really fast.

Hotel was clean and in very convenient location. Nice neighbourhood and easy to access shopping centre and street food.

Dongsi Hotel is located in what is known as Da Duo Fu lane within a hutong. It is within two train stations (DongSi & Zhongguo Meishuguan). It is also surrounded on 4 sides (5 mins walk), by streets filled with small food outlets, cafes and bakeries. There is also a supermarket near by for drinks & snacks. Those who need pre-paid card there is a China Mobile outlet nearby. The rooms are clean. Towel, shower gel & shampoo are provided. NOT provided are disposal like toothbrush, toothpaste, shaver & shower cap. The toilet bowl is the seating type. The receptionists (Gu & Huang) were helpful. Huang even taught us to book DiDi without local HP via WeChat. Do have Google translate in standby, as they can understand & explain only in Chinese. There are two zones on ground floor, so take note of zone (A or B) & room no to get into your correct room. Else room card will fail. Order Taobao if you stayed at least 4 days, as it takes at most 4 days to delivered to hotel. All Taobao orders go into a white cupboard at entrance.

Excellent location. Good value for money and Good service.

Hotel was in disgusting condition, mold EVERYWHERE. STUNK. DIRTY. Cold. Had to sit in the hallway to get wifi connection. Would never book again. 1 positive was the location.