You wouldn't expect a Holiday Inn to be good, i've always thought of them of average on the outside but had never stayed in one up until this very pleasant stay at the Central Plaza Holiday Inn in Beijing.

This was the last leg of our holiday in China and i really wanted this hotel to be good and it was.

Pretty much everything was superb, the lobby, the contemporary colour schemes and ambience, the business facilities, the breakfast buffet, the attentiveness of staff, the room, the beds etc. It was all superb and we really could not have asked for more out of a hotel which is moderately priced (think we payed about £400 for a week) in July.

Recommend this hotel to anyone who wants to stay in a 5 star top hotel but can't justify the price, it's as good as many 5 star hotels i've been into thats for sure.

So this hotel does deliver on all counts - the reason for this review is to illustrate why you might pick this hotel from one of the many hotel chains on offer in Beijing.

The hotel itself has everything you would expect and is a great place to stay but the main reason someone on holiday should choose this hotel is simple it is their employee Storm.

We cannot emphasis enough how helpful and considerate Strom was to two people who had a lot to do and see and a very short time in which to do it. Let's just say that he went above and beyond what Holiday Inn probably expect - to the extent that when we left he insisted on escorting us to the (incredibly large) train station to ensure we found the right train for Xian. This was at the end of his day when most employees would be more interested in going home.

If you are going to Beijing - stay here and you will be looked after.

Holiday Inn take note - without Storm your hotel might have all the usual offerings but you are No.1 because of this guy's efforts.

Beautiful clean marble entrance. Rooms were clean and spacious. Morning buffet was huge. The real reason to stay is the concierge, Storm. We emailed him a month before our stay and told him what we wanted. He met us at the airport at 5am and took us to the hotel. He gave us a cell phone and said if we ever need help we just call him. That was a life saver.

He arranged a rickshaw ride that took us places we would have never seen any other way. We also had a driver take to take us all the places we had asked for. At the Great Wall we took a ski lift up and a toboggan ride down. We even got lost one day and he came and got us.

Storm personally took us to dinner every night because it is hard for a foreigner to read the menus and met us for breakfast every morning. He never ate with us but always made sure we were taken care of.

Our last day we had to get to our ship which was a 2 hour journey away. Again he went with us to make sure we got there. He bought train tickets on the nicest, cleanest, smoothest train we had ever been on. When we got off the train he negotiated with a van driver to take us to the dock. He never left us until we were checked onto the ship.

Storm would be a 15 on a 1-10 scale. We have never had service like that. It turned a good trip into a fantastic trip. We have made a new friend! Thank you Storm.

I travel a lot in my work so I am used to stay at good hotels but I must admit that Storm (the guest relation manager) takes this hotel to another level. My girlfriend and I just came back from a perfect weekend in Beijing that was organised by Storm and his assistant Alice. Without charging anything extra (which is otherwise standard for everything in China) they organised trips, set us up with nice restaurants etc etc. The weekend in Beijing could not have been better.

The hotel itself and the rooms are nice (location could be better but you always have to take a taxi anyway so the extra 5-10 minutes doesnt really matter) but the reason you go here: Storm.

We always consult Trip Advisor before booking any holidays abroad, relying on the experiences and reviews of others before making hotel reservations. Our experience at the Holiday Inn Central Plaza in Beijing not only met our expectations, which were shaped by prior reviews, but exceeded many of them.

The hotel has many sought-after qualities, but chief among them is their Hospitality Director and Concierge, Storm. Never in all our travels through Europe, Asia and N. America have we encountered a more attentive, helpful staff person at a major hotel.

Three generations of our family gathered for an independently-planned tour of Beijing and three other destinations in China. Storm made our 4-day stay in Beijing seamless, arranging for taxi and other ground transportation services to all the sites we wanted to see. We received excellent value for every trip, knowing they would have cost us more if not for Storm's suggestions and advice.

Awaiting the arrival of our daughter and her family from Japan, my husband and I spent our first day visiting the Temple of Heaven and the immense park that surrounds it. Storm arranged for a taxi to drive us to the park's east gate, letting us know how to obtain a return cab if we wanted to explore the nearby Pearl Market after visiting the Temple of Heaven. The entire visit was a success, and was timed perfectly to coincide with our extended family's arrival at the hotel when we returned.

The next day Storm arranged for a driver and minivan to take our family (2 1/2 yr. old toddler included) to and from the Great Wall at Mutianyu. En route to Mutianyu our driver took us past the major Olympic Games venues, stopping to let us stroll and explore the areas between the celebrated Bird's Nest stadium and Water Cube. The remainder of the day at the Great Wall (clear skies, high temps. around 65F) was ideal. Does it get any better than this?

Well, it did. Storm had arranged for our family to go to a traditional family-style restaurant for a hot-pot dinner. The restaurant was not located in the tourist heart of the city, but rather in a neighborhood not far from the hotel. Storm escorted us there for the evening, doing all the translation for us since we have no Mandarin speakers in our family. The meal was outstanding -- vegans take note -- the hot-pot began with a purely vegetarian stock and included nine different types of mushrooms.

Tienmanen Square and the Forbidden City were on our list for the following day. Wanting to see more of the city ourselves, we took the #10 bus from its terminus, about 3 1/2 blocks from the hotel, and enjoyed the adventure of riding with everyone else to work. The bus went directly to the square at a cost of 1 Yuan each way. Our little granddaughter had the best time running around Tienmanen Square; we have many photos to remember those moments. We strolled into the Forbidden City and, after visiting its grounds, split up according to our individual interests to explore other venues in Beijing. Storm had provided us with English (and Chinese) guides to assist us back to the hotel via taxi or bus. The bus had been such a success on the outgoing route; when all of us had returned to the hotel we found that each family member had chosen to return that way as well.

An elegant dinner of Peking Duck at another local restaurant -- clearly patronised by local residents and not clusters of out-of-towners -- capped off another perfect day.

Every visitor / family's narrative is different, because every traveller seeks something that speaks to him or her individually. I simply chose to report the above events so readers could see how this hotel's Hospitality Director tailored our Beijing visit to suit our family's needs and wants.

The hotel itself is an overlooked treasure. It is not located on Beijing's busiest (and noisiest) hotel boulevards, yet is in an easily-accessed quadrant of the city that has rapid taxi, bus and underground links. The quiet setting in this huge, ever-busy city is a godsend. After touring very busy venues during the day it is a pleasure to return to a hotel that features no blaring horns in the streets below, yet offers all the amenities that seasoned travellers expect: spacious rooms, well-appointed baths, excellent business services and high-speed internet hookups in all rooms, pool, exercise room, and much, much more. Our daughter and her family were especially impressed beccause the hotel had provided a child-sized bathtub and potty seat for their (almost) potty-trained 2 1/2 year old.

Did I mention the food? The breakfast buffet at the lobby's Salt & Pepper Restaurant is opulent; it would take a stay of several days to sample all of it.

Without reservation, I would recommend this hotel and its staff to tourists and business travellers alike. It offers a very comfortable stay, in well-appointed rooms, at an extremely good value. If you go to Beijing, by all means consider staying at the Holiday Inn Central Plaza.

We just finished conference over in Guanganmen and we had booked 14 rooms up in Guoman and we had to do a lot of liasing with the staff to coordinate many ongoing events and we have been very happy with staff.

We visited Beijing with another family and when we arrived we didn't have any trips planned (Great wall, Forbidden city, etc...). We were greeted by a hotel employee named "Storm" upon arrival. He was very pleasant and helpful as we herded the 6 kids in our party into the lobby. After getting our rooms we discussed our plans with Storm and he sat down with us to lay out our short 3 day stay. I would have to say that without his help we wouldn't have seen as much as we did. We live in Southern China, but our friends traveled 15 hours to visit us and they were very pleased with the hotel and the activities while in Beijing. It is no wonder that this hotel is ranked very highly in Beijing. The food, the rooms, and the staff (Storm and others) made this a very memorable trip. All of this and the price is also very reasonable.

If you are going to spend a few days in Beijing and looking for a hotel with great breakfast, excellent service, spacious room, easy to going around and with a very reasonable price, this is the best hotel to stay!

We are a 6 people family group from Norway (including 2 kids aged at 8 and 10, 2 Grand parents aged over 60), by carefully reading the reviews on Beijing hotels from different travel agents, we finally picked up Central Plaza Holiday Inn (which is #1 on trip adviser list) as our one week stay in Beijing from 18th, sep. We made contact with Storm prior to our arrival via his email to help us book the hotel, he quickly made us a reservation with a very reasonable price, he also asked us if we need to be picked up in the airport and our arriving time, we did not use the pick up since we need meet our relatives first in the airport.

When we arrived in the hotel, Storm surprised us by being there waiting for us (he actually worked additional hours just to wait for us and make sure everything is OK). He quickly asked our plan and also suggested a local Chinese restaurant which turns out to be our favourite place to eat during the week stay (Qing Nian Can Ting), 5 minutes walk from the hotel, and right besides a small supermarket.

Once we checked in the hotel room, we felt immediately relaxed, specially my mother- in-law, she has been worried about the hotel standard in China all the time ever since we start travelling, now she had a big smell in her face. We felt to sleep right away on the comfortable bed (some people complain the bed is hard, but we love it.) The bed in the double room is about 1.35 meter wide each, which is perfect for one adult and one kid to share, so this double room is perfect for 4 of us. The grand parents also loved their king-size room; they love the “Hard” bed too.

All the room are very clean and well designed. Every positive comment from Trip adviser and Forum regarding the Hotel standard is very true. Great pool, we used it everyday, kids love it.

Service on this hotel is the best among all the hotels we had stayed around the world; they have no problem to beat the Five Star hotel on this point and much better than them. You can see and feel every people worked in this hotel love his jobs, they are very happy to help you from the bottom of their heart.

Breakfast is great with large selection of western and Eastern food; our kids specially liked the fresh squeezed juice from different fruit and vegetables, and the fresh made milkshake. Good coffee! Each day we spend nearly an hour in the breakfast charting and eating, very enjoyable.

Storm is the Gold Key of this Hotel, and he deserve more than that. During our stay, he arranged us a trip to MuTianYu Great Wall, a Beijng Duck dinner (LiQun KaoYa) in a very local small Hotong area, great experience, and delicious Beijing duck! We booked to ducks, I think my father-in-law eat at least one of it by his own. . Storm also helped us booked 6 bullet- train ticks to QingDao at no additional charge!! He makes our stay more relaxed other than just be busy tourists.

We spent next 2 weeks in QingDao, HangZhou ,Xi’An, also stayed in several 4-5 star hotels including a Holiday Inn in HangZhou, none of these hotels we stayed can beat this one, they are good, but Central Plaza Holiday Inn Beijing is the best! When we were back to Beijing in October 8th, a day before we leave to Norway, my mother- in-law specially asked us to book this hotel as her last night in China. We enjoy every minutes we stay in this hotel.

Thanks again, Storm and every one working in this Hotel!

Haugen family

Norway

We loved everything about this hotel, from the very classy marble lobby with water features and candles, to the food, our beautiful room 711 and helpful, attentive staff. Nothing was too much trouble for them. They were all incredibly cheerful and polite and obviously enjoyed their job very much.

Everything you have read about the amazing concierge Storm Li is true!! He spent every morning wondering amongst the breakfast tables talking to customers and helping them plan their days by suggesting places to visit and arranging excursions on their behalf. His knowledge of local restaurants and out of the way gems helped make our excursions memorable and our trip unforgettable. On my 30th birthday Storm organised for Balloons, Flowers and Chocolates to be in our room when we got back from a meal at a restaurant Storm suggested (It was an amazing and really made my day!!) Storm is a credit to Holiday Inn and our trip would not have been the same without him or the rest of the Holiday inn staff (Dexter, Antony, Jacky, Shirley, Lisa to name but a few!!!)

Taxi's are cheap and readily available so although the Hotel is far out it is not a problem. The average taxi is 20-40rmb (£2-£4 or $3-$6) so very cheap. It is approx 800rmb to go to great wall which is (£70 or approx $105) but due to distance and time needed for excursion it is very good value!!!

Western toilets are few and far between (Mcdonalds and Pizza Hut have them). Mainly hole in floor type and not fun. Also you will need to take your own toilet roll as it is not readily availbale. Drainage system is not very good and you can not usually flush paper, most toilets have a bin.

Being Western you may get stared at as they are not used to seeing Westerners. However, it is just curiosity and is nothing to worry about. The Chinese are very friendly.

The smell of drains is disgusting and older people spit frequently and with gusto so be WARNED!!!

Please make sure you visit Hou Hai bar area as it is very pretty and Nuage Vietnamese restaurant is very romantic and lovely food.

There is a restaurant near the hotel that serves Hot Pot which you must try as it is delicious. I think it was called Apo Qiao?!

Also take a pedicab tour for approx £350rmb as good fun and you get to see the Hutongs where the locals live.

Make sure you visit the Night market at Wanfujing street as the food they sell is stomach turning and definitely worth seeing!!!!

We would definitely recommend this Hotel without a doubt. Beijing is a fantastic city which comes alive at night!!!!!

This is deffinatly the best hotel I have stayd at so fare. My girlfriend and I stayed there for 8 nights, and we enjoyed every minute. The staff was very polite and helpful, the rooms were excellent, the pool was great, and the food was really god. The location was not so god, so prepare for some taxi-journies. Taxi is cheap, so don't wory. The hotel is also very cheap, and it is well worth the money. It is not very chineese, if you prefere that.

My husband and I recently returned from an 8 night stay at the Holiday Inn Central Plaza. We chose this hotel because of the wonderful reviews. The hotel facility is wonderful. Very clean, nice size, and in-room high-speed internet (although you pay about 90 RMB/day for access). All of the amenities of a Western-style hotel and everything was very clean. We ate everyday at the hotel, which has a East-West restaurant with a buffet at breakfast and dinner, called Salt and Pepper and a Cantonese-style restaurant called Zen. Both were good, although we often found ourselves at Salt and Pepper for the wonderful breakfast buffet (approx 180 RMB/person, a bit pricey but included in our package). The room AC was very effective and very quiet. The bed was on the firm side. It was a mattress on a board frame. We were given 2 firm and 2 soft pillows, which was a nice touch.

The staff is peppered with those who speak reasonable English. There are plenty of staff who do not speak English or who only speak a small bit of English. Although I have read that the concierge, Storm, is wonderful, do not expect that level of service from all of the concierges as we found the variability in concierges very high. The front desk staff was good.

The hotel has a currency exchange machine in the lobby, which we found very very handy! The rates were very reasonable for exchange.

The hotel has what looks like a very nice indoor pool and exercise room with newer looking equipment (we did not use these services).

The location is not convenient to public transportation and there isn't a whole lot to do within walking distance of the hotel. It is very easy to get a cab from the hotel but not always easy to get back. Although the hotel provides a card with their name and address with a map, do not expect cab drivers to immediately know where the hotel is. If you catch a cab from a different section of the city to return to the hotel, you may encounter some puzzled faces.

This hotel was a wonderful base from which to experience Beijing as we had booked private tour with Wild China for our first 4 days. I highly recommend Wild China for their professionalism, attention to our needs, and ease with which we saw some very crowded and sometimes distant attractions. They picked us up and dropped us off at the hotel everyday.

All in all, we were very pleased with our stay and would stay there again.

I just returned from China and spent about 9 nights at this hotel, using it as my base as I traveled around China. The one main reason for staying is the Concierge "Storm" - he made sure we had a unique experience. The first week I thought the hotel was too far from the center but by the second week we realized we were actually in a great little community, restaurants and local life a mere 5 minutes walk. Laundry service too - just ask Storm.

For the price this can't be beat! We chose the Executive floor so it gave us a place to hang out and free breakfast everyday - which during the first week was a real plus until we got our "jet lagged" bodies into gear.

Contact Storm - goodstorm@188.com to make your trip unforgetable.

We had a little trouble initially with our reservation but the Holiday Inn more than made up for it by giving us a room upgrade with access to the executive club (free wireless, free food) and free breakfasts each morning! We stayed for 3 nights and the rate was incredibly low. Then there was Storm, the incredible concierge. He would listen to what we wanted to do each day and then lay out a few options, complete with relevant advice (don't take such-and-such cabs, they'll rip you off, etc) and dining reservations. One day he walked us to the bus and paid our fare; one night he beat us to the restaurant to translate and order for us since the place he recommended didn't have any english speakers; the last night he set up dinner and a show (don't recommend the show) and then SHOWED UP even though he wasn't on duty just to make sure everything had gone well. This man makes the hotel. Definitely recommend the Holiday Inn Central Plaza!

Spent 4 great nights at the HICP. When we came in at 9:30 pm from New York, we were utterly exhausted. The front desk was helpful, and check-in moved quickly. We ordered room service, which came quickly, and the food was delicious. We collapsed, and slept very well. The hotel was quiet, the room had plenty of space and amenities, and we enjoyed our time - recovering from our daily tours. (We had already booked a tour guide through Dragon Delight, so did not use the concierge services very much..). The highlight of our stay was the delicious breakfast served in the hotel every morning - they had everything from kimchee to Danishes, Chinese dishes and European cheeses, toast, cereal, waffles, a variety of fresh fruit, you name it. The servers brought coffee and tea to our table, and we stocked up for the day ahead.

Although we stayed in several hotels during our trip (Guilin, Yangshuo, Hong Kong), the HICP breakfast was the standout way to begin the mornings. There's a coffee shop in the lobby serving coffee-to-go at prices that make Starbucks look affordable, but at least it's available.

The location is fine. We took cabs to ManLianDao (Tea Street), the Pauliner Brauhaus (great German food 40 minutes away!), the Quanjude Duck house (what a restaurant!), and a number of other locations. The concierges helped us enormously by writing out the destination in Chinese for the cabbies, and making sure we had a return direction card.

Check out was fine...no surprises AND I received extra points on my Holiday Inn/Priority Club card because I had signed up for a summer promotion. Sweet!

I highly recommend this hotel and would happily stay there again. I'd stay there just for the breakfast if nothing else!

HInn Central Plaza was so disappointing!!

As mentioned in many other reviews, cabbies dont know of the whereabout of HI Zhong Huang (in Mandarin) nor whereabout of Caiyuen jia, the address in Chinese.

The physical property still seems ok. Ooooh the TripAdvisor 2006 trophy takes pride of place in the lobby. BUT this hidden gem of 2006 is fast fading..

Service from porter to check-in to housekeeping is sloppy. And I write factually without any secondary agenda ( in fact just sent a favorable review for their group hotel in Qingdao ).

Evidents : inspite of after 3pm arrival, room was not ready. After check-in at 4pm into room 627, had to call housekeeping to re clean the toilet seat - bits of excrement from the previous occupier left uncleaned!!!!!!!!

The "water not for drinking" sign was unglued n it was left dangling on the basin ledge thru all 4 days of my stay. The shampoo+amenities box pull-handle was missing and again nothing was done. Night lite didnt light up, neither did the desk lamp. Holder for shower head doesnt hold well anymore.

No free internet connection, charged by the minute or abt US$15 a day.

Bedroom slippers - the worse quality I had seen any of their group properties.

The much raved concierge Storm - bumped into him once at the coffee shop - he gave me a map of Beijing. The receptionist had earlier said they dont hv any give away map.

Coffee shop staff and cooks were somewhat a shade off.

And oh the coffee shop closes at midnite; at half-past-ten was told the kitchen is almost closed - except for rice, all dishes on the menu were not available. Not even a pizza, muffin nor cake. No choice, other than a foot massage shop across the driveway, the entire neighborhood is dead quiet after 9pm.

Forget about staying here! For location, there's nothing like choosing a hotel around Wangfujing or Chaoyang Sanlitun.

For once I totally disagree with the high ranking racked up at TripAdvisor for the HInn Central, Beijing. There maybe a root cause for the 'i-cant-be-bothered' looks on the staff.

My hasband and I had a really relaxing stay at this hotel. I will come back agian!

Stayed at the Holiday Inn Central Plaza for two separate stays, first for three nights in King room, May 115th-18th, 2008 and again for two nights in a double room, May 19th-21st. Upgraded to Executive floor for both stays. Terrific room, great design, free internet wireless in room. No great views to speak of, but this seems typical of Beijing hotels. Hotel was spotless and buffet breakfast was the best we had in Beijing, including the Hyatt Regency and other five star properties.

Although the location is not wonderful, taxis had no trouble finding this hotel with a taxi card. Taxis are incredibly cheap in Beijing, so this is not a problem. Subway is a good 25 minute walk, but several convenient buses run right outside hotel, and Storm provided two metro/bus passes for our stay and they did come in handy. Buses are comfortable and the ticket takers are happy to help with getting you to the right stop.

Now, for the best thing about this hotel, Guest Relations Manager Storm Li. Storm arranged airport pickup for us, and the driver was waiting when we cleared customs. Storm immediately rang up the driver to insure that we had been properly meet and that all was in order (even though it was past 10 pm.)

Storm arranged to meet us the next morning at breakfast and when he did he had plenty of recommendations for us to do on our first day. Since we had a tour guide arranged for the second and third day in Beijing, Storm recommended a pedicab tour of some of the lesser known sites around Beijing. The guide he found was great, although he hardly spoke any English, and he took us to some very interesting sites, and made sure we returned to the hotel in time for our other plans.

We also enjoyed chatting with Storm in the evening about the culture of China and Beijing and its history. He is a kind and interesting man, with many talents. He is a true gem and gives this hotel all its character and charm.

Unfortunately, although the rest of the staff is caring and attentive, their lack of good English skills leaves you feeling somewhat helpless in the few hours a day when Storm is not on duty.

I look forward to visiting this hotel again the next time I visit Beijing and most look forward to seeing Storm again!

Hotel is equivalent to a 3-4 star hotel in the States. Very comfortable, clean, modern. Great staff. Only downside is that it's not in a very pretty neighborhood and it's a longish cab ride to get anywhere. Had I the choice next time, I might stay in a more central location.

My husband and I stayed at this hotel for 4 nights at the start of our trip to China, and one night prior to leaving. We chose the Holiday Inn Central Plaza after studying Trip Advisor. The hotel rooms were well furnished, spotless, with fairly comfortable beds. Two bottles of water, and usually 2 pices of fruit were complimentary daily. We had several meals at the main restaurant, the buffet choice was comprehensive and tasty, but did seem a little expensive. One night we chose from the menu but we were both disappointed with the quality

We had the perfectly adequate 'Two egg' room service breakfast (coffee extra) several times, the cost was reasonable, and the eggs were usually still hot on arrival. The location of the hotel was OK, we found it very interesting going for walks to check out the neighbourhood. There is a nice bakery a short walk to the left of the hotel, bottled water/soft drinks were very cheap locally (approx 100yds to right). Taxis were very easy to find, and we were only turned down once one evening. The hotel was well staffed, they were very polite, and most had a reasonable command of English.

We had read many positive comments about Storm, we were pleased when he introduced himself to us on our second day, and asked how he could help. The next day he arranged a Pedicab ride from the hotel to the Hutong to finish with Peking Duck lunch. That evening he arranged tickets for the excellent Acrobatic Show. When we returned to the hotel for the second time he arranged a driver to meet us at the airport, and detour via the Olympic Stadiums which we had wanted to see.

Storm really went up in our estimation when he took time out of his busy day to accompany us to catch a train to Zhengzhou. It was a huge relief to have him guide us through the massive Beijing West Station. When we discovered we had been booked on the slow instead of the fast train he managed to find 2 people to exchange trains with us! Lastly he helped us onto the train and made sure we were able to sit together. We just feel so grateful to him for all his help. There is a world of difference between someone who says "have a nice day" and Storm, who takes the extra trouble and time to make sure it is.

I booked this hotel partly because of its location.

If you look at Google Earth and like me assumed it was bordering the Forbidden City, you would be completely wrong. The Google Earth indicators are wrong.

This hotel is a good 20 mins drive from the Forbidden City. You will be able to get a taxi there, but getting one back to your hotel will be almost impossible (the drivers will refuse you). Have fun sitting in backwards in a motorised rickshaw weaving through 8 lanes of peak hour traffic.

You will probably be offered an upgrade to the Executive Floor. I can't say I got too much benefit from it.

There is nothing in the immediate vicinity that would entice you to leave the hotel.

If I was returning to Beijing, I'd find somewhere closer to The Forbidden City.

We spent 3 nights at this hotel. It is not close to the center, but taxis are so cheap that this is not an inconvenience. We did not have problems to find it.

The room was incredible, big, confortable, nice. The bed was huge and confortable. The window was very big but it had not dark curtains, so we woke up early in the morning. Moreover, our room was in the second floor (the same floor of the pool and the gym) and it was a bit noisy.

The bathroom is OK and you can find an advice about the tap water (it is not safe to drink it) and 2 free bottles of water each day.

The staff is kind and efficient, but they do not speak fluent English and there is a man who speaks some words in Spanish. Anyway, they do their best to help you in a proffessional way, specially bell boys. They are nice and helpfull.

You can find an ATM inside the hotel and the restaurant is very well assorted. The hotel is comfortable, nice and clean and the staff is very nice. This hotel is a very good choice.

We chose to stay at this hotel based on other reviews. I was particularly interested in meeting the infamous Storm, whom I've now dubbed the best concierge - EVER! Storm made our stay in Beijing unforgettable.

The hotel itself is amazing. It had every amenity possible. The food was delicious. We tried the massages and my boyfriend got his haircut. Everything was totally impressive. The only thing lacking from out standpoint was an ATM. Luckily there were a couple of options not too far from the hotel.

Now, back to Storm. We travelled to Beijing without much a plan except a list of sights we needed to see. Storm helped us plan each trip as well as suggesting other off the beaten path options. He took us to a GREAT Peking Duck restaurant and overall provided a level of customer service we have never experienced.

I would definitely recommend this hotel for travellers on a medium budget and looking for really be taken care of.

Thanks Holiday Inn and especially Storm for a visit we will never forget!

I recently stayed at the Holiday Inn in Beijing and the overall experience was very nice. They keep everything very clean and when I reported that my refrigerator was having problems, they replaced it promptly when I was away from my room. The food was good and the service was great. I paid for the Business plan which allowed for unlimited Internet access in the room and in the lounge and free outgoing local faxes.

It was a tad confusing when I accessed the Internet from my room as it said that it was going to charge me but I just figured that if it did that it could get straightened out later. In the end, it did not appear on my bill but it was just confusing. I sent one fax while I was there but was charged for it but I didn't even mention it since the amount was so little. The business center helped me to get a rush fax out in the nick of time but they were slightly confused when I inquired about sending something via FedEx. So I did not end up shipping out the item that I wanted shipped.

Ok, now everybody mentions Storm at least once in their post so I was interested in how good the service was to say the least. My phone ran out of minutes so I went downstairs and Storm greeted me when I approached the concierge desk. I asked about how to buy minutes for my phone and he advised against purchasing minutes because I would be leaving the next day and that the Beijing minutes cannot be used in Shanghai or something like that (the entire system there is very confusing). All the while he was discussing this with me, it seemed that perhaps the questions were bothersome and he was preoccupied with something else...kind of like when you're talking to someone and they're looking for someone else to talk to because they are done with you. Well, you know, everyone has an off day and I guess he just wasn't living up to the hype but I really didn't think about it much more.

Fast forward to today, I am now in Shanghai and I realize that I forgot, in my haste to get to the airport, my souvenir photos from The Great Wall and some of my clothes hanging up in the closet. I contacted the hotel and they said that they could send it to my hotel but they may cut it close as I am checking out tomorrow back to the U.S. They finally contacted me to let me know that the courier service or shipping company was unable to make the deadline to get it to me so quickly...Ok, here's the kicker...Storm just called my room at the hotel in Shanghai (not a Holiday Inn) to let me know that he is on a TRAIN bringing my belongings to me...FROM BEIJING!!! Are you kidding me??? Who does something like that...People like this do not exist in the real world. I am completely flabbergasted and cannot believe that someone would go through this much trouble just for me. The only words I have left..."If you come to Beijing...stay at this Holiday Inn!"

I just returned Friday from a six day trip to Beijing with my Mom and Step-Father. I had read all the reviews and have to say they are all right on the mark. This hotel was perfect. It's not the ultimate in luxury but definitely a very nice hotel. It is the ultimate in service. I was very surprised at how friendly the people are in China, considering communist (and formerly communist) countries are not known for friendly or service oriented people. Everyone was wonderful from the people at the front desk to the bellhops to the restaurant staff to Storm, the famous concierge. His wife just had a baby so be sure to congratulate him if you see him. He was off the first three nights we were there because of this but we were finally able to meet him on our fourth night. In his place at the concierge desk when he was not there, were the bellhops who were equally as friendly and helpful. Almost everyone understood and spoke some English. If you want to go anywhere they will write it on a card in Chinese for the taxi driver. By the way, the taxi drivers will often take you to your destination the long way to make more money and unfortunately if you don't know the city and don't speak Chinese there's know way to stop them. Fortunately the rates are still very low compared to cabs in the US.

Our room was larger than I expected, considering we have stayed at other hotels in Asia, namely Hong Kong, with tiny rooms. It was comparable to a room here in the US. The room was very clean as was the bathroom. The beds were firm but not hard, and actually very comfortable to sleep in. There was a pillow menu which appears to be standard at Holiday Inn now, and is a really nice touch. There were robes in the room as well as slippers. The furniture was modern and appeared new. The bathroom had marble counter tops and the water pressure was excellent. Don't drink the water though, it says so on a little plaque above the faucet. They do leave bottled water in your room outside the mini-bar because the water is undrinkable, and there is no charge for it.

The buffet breakfast was excellent! It was not included in our rate but it was $15 per person, which I thought was expensive, especially when compared to the food at restaurants in China, but was worth having at least once. It was huge and they have both western and Chinese breakfast items. We had room service as well for breakfast a couple of times, the service was quick and the price of the breakfast itself was only $5 for eggs, bacon or sausage, toast, and hash browns. They make there money on the coffee and juice which costs the same or more than the food.

The hotel has a nice gym with cardio machines as well as weights and machines, they have an Olympic sized pool and steam rooms and a sauna as well.

We took a couple of tours the hotel offered, the one which takes you to Tienanmen Square, the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, and the Summer Palace was a full day tour which was well worth the money, though booking directly with the tour company is about $15 less per person. The tour that takes you to the Great Wall of China was enjoyable because of the Great Wall, but our tour guide wasn't very good. He didn't tell us anything about the wall while we were there. He did tell us a little bit about it on the way but I was very disappointed with him.

Overall, I don't think there is really anything I can complain about at the Central Plaza and I highly recommend the hotel without any hesitation. Enjoy your stay!