Shichahai Shadow Art Performance Hotel

Excellent value boutique hotel in a fantastic loca

Plus: Comfortable, Western-style beds, clean and functioning Western-style bathrooms (where the entire bathroom does NOT convert into a shower), and close proximity to central Beijing, subways, and general walkability were our priorities. This hotel hit them all, and also managed to be a great value compared to hotels. I'd say the amenities were on par with maybe the top 1/4 tier of Western chain hotels, but the price was that of a middle tier Chinese hotel. The friendly and helpful staff (many of whom speak English) and cultural aspect was a bonus as well.

Minus: The rooms are on the smaller side; they definitely fall under the "boutique" category, but the bed and bathrooms were all very large and comfortable, so we didn't mind the lack of "common" space. You're not able to control the air conditioning, but we found the temperature comfortable. Bear in mind that, as an energy saving measure, you need a hotel key card to turn the power on in the room, so you can't, for instance, leave something charging all day while you're out.