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We are forever being impressed by budget hotels in China. During the May day holiday break we made a visit to Beijing, to see the Great Wall and explore some of the city sights, while staying in possilby the best budget hotel in Beijing called the Kaidehua International Hotel.
We don’t often do hotel reviews unless they’re either unique, for a special occasion, or are great value. This hotel falls into the great value section, and although I wouldn’t label this hotel perfect – I would recommend it based on price.
Here’s our Kaidehua International hotel review, which in our opinion is the best budget hotel in Beijing.
Best Budget Hotel In Beijing: Kaidehua International Hotel
Before heading to Beijing I searched furiously on Ctrip to find a budget hotel that was not only in our price range but also up to our level of quality. There are certain things I can look over in a hotel room – lack of windows, bland decor, and a few other things when we have to travel on a budget, but I don’t do hostels, or rooms with bugs. This budget hotel in Beijing seemed to fit the bill so we booked for 3 nights.
DECOR
As I said earlier we’ve been really impressed with budget hotels in China. The hallway leading up to our room was impressive, with tiled walls and ornaments lining the sides.
The front desk area was very nice with high ceilings and comfortable couches to sit in while preparing to check in or out. We nearly forgot it was a budget hotel, it certainly looked a lot more stylish than anywhere we had stayed for the same price previously.
OUR ROOM
Our room was a nice surprise for the small amount we paid. There was space for us to move around, a small chandelier type light on the ceiling and a separate chair for us to fight over resting our camera gear on *wink*.
The bathroom was a moderate size, but had enough space to move around without feeling crowded.
NOISE LEVELS
After reading one of the reviews complaining about noise from the trains I was a little concerned about noise levels but we didn’t hear anything during our stay. Surprisingly, we found the train station to not really be near the hotel at all, so I’m not sure what that review was about.
SAFETY
We felt quite safe in this hotel. The hotel has daily maids, which we didn’t realize at first, so we had left some of our loose cash, cameras and laptops lying around the room. We returned after our trip the the Great Wall to find everything where we had left it, but in a much tidier room.
The area seemed safe at night as well.
BREAKFAST
This hotel offers daily breakfast (at least with our room type) which they give you coupons for at check in. I insisted on getting all day’s coupons at once as I didn’t want the hassle of having to mime what I wanted each morning. You won’t have this problem however if you speak Chinese, but if you don’t I suggest trying to get all of you coupons up front when they offer – use your fingers to show how many you want.
The breakfast itself wasn’t really my cup of tea, mostly because it was a Chinese breakfast. Not that I’m complaining, I don’t expect a budget hotel in Beijing to cater to the small amount of western tourists they get through the year. It just wasn’t something I loved, but it was free and saved me from searching (and paying) for breakfast elsewhere.
There were a lot of empty dishes each morning, regardless of whether we came at the beginning, middle or end of service, which was strange. I feel like they do this to give the elusion of having more options but I’m not sure. Again, not really something that bothered me, but it was noticeable. Apart from that, the restaurant was quite comfortable to sit in and again, the staff were friendly.
Quality wise it seemed good, so really my dislike is just down to my picky taste buds.
STAFF
Staff were quite helpful, keeping in mind that we do not speak Chinese and they, or atleast the staff on hand, did not speak english. With a little mime-ing we had them write us the name of the train station in Chinese quite easily.
We didn’t have any problems with check in or check out – we knew the procedure so there weren’t any hidden surprises. You will need to hand over your passport so they can check your visa and / or photocopy it, pay for the room if you haven’t already and pay the room deposit (which is returned on check out).
LOCATION
Again, on hearing in the review section that the hotel was noisy because of the nearby train station we were a little confused as it was a good 15 to 20 minute walk from the train station (which is near the Temple of Heaven). The hotel was near both western (Pizza Hut, KFC) and Chinese food, which was handy.
The main reason we picked this hotel was become it was not too far away from one of the attractions we wanted to see – the Temple of Heaven. This was a 15 minute walk or 5 minute taxi ride away. It was also only 20 minutes drive away from the big train station, where we had arrived (and departed) from Zhenjiang.
Please beware of the tuk tuks in Beijing as every time we caught one they tried to rip us off, initially quoting 4rmb, then on arriving insisting they said 40rmb (which is crazy considering the taxi costs 11rmb). If you find yourself in this position do what we did, chuck them a fiver and exit the vehicle. But, personally I would suggest sticking to taxis with a meter or use the very easy Beijing subway system (plenty of English signage).
WHAT WE PAID
We paid about 189 rmb a night, which at the time was $33 AUD/ $27 USD, but exchange rates fluctuate so it’s best to check the current prices on the website.
Would I Recommend It?
Yes! The hotel was comfortable, the room was nice and we loved the exotic decor. If you’re looking for a budget hotel in Beijing that doesn’t actually look like a budget hotel – this is the spot.
However if a western breakfast buffet is a must for you, you will be disappointed as this is only really common in China at higher priced luxury hotels. However, if you’re searching for a budget hotel in Beijing you probably aren’t accustomed to fancy buffet breakfasts anyway, so I don’t see this as a major problem.
For more details on the hotel visit the website.
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