Stayed here for 8 nights in May 2008 with The Travel Dept, Ireland. Contacted reception during stay on 2 occasions looking for help and they dealt with my requests in a friendly and efficient manner. Hotel staff are very helpful regarding info on travelling in Beijing and will give you a paper slip with address of anywhere you wish to go for taxi and also slip with hotel address for your return. Swimming pool complex located on 4th floor which is clean and friendly with poolshoes and towels provided. "Paddys" bar located out main door of hotel, turn right and after 200 m across the road is a tiny bar with excellent host named Paddy. Also you can get taxi for about ?2 to "Bar Street" which has a lot of bars (drinks are expensive here, from ?5 up for a pint of beer) Subway station and shopping mall located as follows:out main door turn left and left again, go over pedestrian bridge to diagonally opposite side by McDonalds and here you will find these. Good safe area with Bank of China ATM located around corner from hotel with english instructions. Excellent hotel that I could not fault in the least.

I can think of no better compliment to pay the Presidential Plaza than to spread the word that it must be the best hotel in Beijing. When our tour of 19 souls arrived late that evening in April, tired and weary after a long flight from North America, we were immediately shown to the escalator where our check-in was fast tracked through the reception desk on the second floor. Thoroughly enjoyed my room with the double bed, safe, tea things and the multi -channel television. It was quiet in the room and everything worked. There was plenty of bottled water to drink but I boiled the water from the tap to make my tea so I could use the bottled water (along with mouthwash I'd brought from home) to clean my teeth. Thought the colourful black and white mugs added a special touch to the everyday tea tray. We stayed at the Presidential four nights - mostly we ate our lunch and dinner when we were "out and about" touring the city but our tour did have one dinner in the Nile Room of the hotel. My journal says that it was quite the banquet. Found the front desk staff to be very polite and welcoming towards me each time and goodness knows I had reason enough to bother them with buying stamps, changing money, asking for directions etc. Not once was I ignored, sloughed off or given insufficient information. Enjoyed my breakfasts in the Garden Cafe off the lobby. Lots to eat and plenty of it. Liked the fact I could slice my own bread from the variety on offer. Like everything else, the early bird gets the worm and I found that having my breakfast before 8 a.m., to avoid the mainstream crowd, resulted in a good seat by the window. There was shopping within walking distance of the hotel. About a 10 minute walk away if you stop and gawk at the traffic. Less than that if you head straight for the pedestrian overpass. It was a delight to find the market with the colourful vendors and their merchandise at the ready in the Bank of Beijing building. I went through the breezeway and entered through the rear of the building. Think it was up on the third floor. The doorman at the hotel will give you a little map of directions if you ask him. Very obliging. Perhaps because I was on a tour we were treated differently but I can hardly believe that. I think the employees at the Presidential are just a well-trained fine bunch of people and I can hardly wait to return in two years for more of the same hospitality and service. Try saying "ni hao" (hello) or "Zaoshang hao" (Good morning) to the staff. You will be pleasantly surprised to get their response.

The room was clean and neat but this is definitely NOT a 5-star hotel. The breakfast was done in western style and the same everyday. However, the waiters and waitresses left much to be desired. They were slow in service, showed no acknowledgment of your request and liked to throw the things (i.e. spoons, sugar, etc) on your table. Even a 3-star hotel in Bangkok is much much better!

The room was clean and neat but this is definitely NOT a 5-star hotel. The breakfast was done in western style and the same everyday. However, the waiters and waitresses left much to be desired. They were slow in service, showed no acknowledgment of your request and liked to throw the things (i.e. spoons, sugar, etc) on your table. Even a 3-star hotel in Bangkok is much much better!