The Park Hyatt Beijing is showing some signs of wear, but remains an excellent choice for a luxury hotel in the heart of China’s capital city.
After arriving from Helsinki on Finnair, we proceeded to the hotel via taxi from Beijing Capital (PEK). Uber/Didi Chuxing is difficult to use in China so we just stuck to a metered cab. Well, not exactly. John felt it a better deal to negotiate with one of those guys who come up to you inside the arrivals hall. Oh well…it still set us back only about $25 for the 45-minute journey so he didn’t do too bad.
It was only 9:30a by the time we arrived at the hotel, but the hotel was not full and we were granted early check-in. An attendant from the front desk escorted us to our room. The lobby is located on the 63rd floor and features impressive views of the city below.
Park Hyatt Beijing Deluxe Guest Room
We were upgraded to a deluxe room, equating to a 538-square foot (50 square meter) corner room. True to Park Hyatt’s style, the room was open with a shower, soaking tub, and bedroom all in the same area without doors (a partition did provide privacy in the shower). A two-sided vanity featured sinks on one side and a mini-bar and storage space on the other side.
Bravo to the hotel for offering a deluxe Toto toilet: my favorite bathroom amenity! No LeLabo at this hotel. Instead, soap, shampoo, and conditioner is provisioned by Aromatherapy Associates.
I also appreciated the office supplies in the desk, the extra toiletries, and Nespresso coffee machine.
There is no doubt this was a spacious room and I liked the floor-plan.
Lights and the thermostat were controlled by wall unit:
All rooms also feature electronic blinds to control natural light. Unfortunately, the blinds in our room were broken. They did not fully close and upon inspection, it was clear that many of the blinds themselves were just broken. I’m sure the system was beautiful when new, but is starting to show it age. I mentioned this at check-out and was informed this was a common complaint. The views from the room were still pleasant:
Park Hyatt Beijing Room Service
John had slept through breakfast onboard and was hungry, so we ordered lunch at about 11am. A nice Beijing duck? Nope. John wanted steak…and I was happy to order the same. It arrived about 40 minutes later, was cooked exactly as requested, and tasted great…and cost about $60. It feels almost criminal to pay that much for food in Beijing.
We had our meeting, but finished too early for dinner. We returned to hotel and took a nap for sever hours, waking up at about 9pm. So dim sum on our own? Nope. Room service. I had a hamburger. John had pasta.
I’ve been to so Beijing so many times I think I can justify skipping Chinese on this visit, but it certainly did feel funny to eat overpriced American food from the Hyatt.
Who am I kidding? I do this all the time…
Park Hyatt Beijing Fitness + Pool + Wellness
The next morning I got up early for a workout and swim. The hotel offers a nicely-equipped gym with modern equipment. After a 60-minute workout I went for a swim, then used the sauna and steam room. These are gender-segreated and found in each locker room.
Park Hyatt Beijing Breakfast
Breakfast, served at China Grill, was even better than I remembered it from my last visit. If you’ve read my prior reviews, you know how much I enjoy a “liquid breakfast” and this hotel not only served excellent coffee but offered a full juice bar. I loved it.
The buffet offers a huge Chinese breakfast as well an extensive selection of western choices. There’s even some Indian and Japanese items. Come hungry to breakfast and leave content.
Park Hyatt Beijing Language Barrier
I’ve stayed at Hyatt hotels across China including the Park Hyatt Guangzhou, Hangzhou, and Shanghai. Never have I experienced such a language barrier than at this hotel. The lobby staff seems well-versed in English, but the bellhops downstairs were not. This is critical because those bellhops are the ones who communicate with taxi drivers for you and offer directions.
Park Hyatt Beijing Internet
The Park Hyatt Guangzhou had a Hong-Kong based ISP and the Park Hyatt Hangzhou had a Taipei-based ISP. That meant Google and Gmail worked. Not so at the Park Hyatt Beijing. The cyber police were working overtime, because even my VPN did not work. Perhaps this has improved since my 07/2016 stay?
Park Hyatt Beijing Shoe Shine
The hotel offers shoe shine service and did particularly great job cleaning up my rain shoes which had become dirty during a summer shower in Berlin. Kudos for that.
CONCLUSION
Next time I will try to the Grand Hyatt for a chance of pace, but overall I liked this hotel very much. With a spacious rooms, nice amenities, and a great breakfast it satisfies what I care about most. But there is certainly room for improvement. It was sad to see blinds in a state of disrepair…it reminded me of a cat that no longer grooms itself.
Also check out Carly’s positive review of the Park Hyatt Beijing here.
Beijing is expensive. I paid 350RMB/$70 for lamb shack 10 years ago at Outback near workers stadium. It is probably $30 in US
may i ask if this trip was taken in 2016.. from the view of your room it certainly seemed that this was taken in the summer of 2016.
You are exactly correct. July 2016. In my intro to this trip report I posted this was a 2016 report, but I’ve also added that to the hotel review above.
haha thanks. kinda fascinating to see how in developing countries you can determine the “vintage” from the views
i think 350 rmb 10 years ago in usd would be closer to $40…
Great hotel, great review. It’s a shame that Peter’s Tex Mex down the street has closed — would have been another option for you.
Good thing we have eaten there several times.
Interesting how much the view outside has changed. I’m here now and it looks so much better.
Also, no issue with bellhops downstairs. All spoke excellent English. Maybe they listened?