My husband and I stayed at this hotel for three nights. The service was great and they let us know all the great spots to eat at and visit in Beijing. The staff was very personable and friendly and spoke very good english. The beds were nice and comfortable. The free western breakfast was extremely fresh and very good. The only negatives we experienced were the room was very humid but cool at times and our internet access didn't work in our room. We had to take our laptop to the lounge so the wireless would be close enough. Also there was a sick child a couple rooms down. My husband and I felt so sorry for her because she didn't get much sleep one night and neither did we because we could hear her crying very well. We closed our bathroom door and it was a little better because I think it may have been coming from the shower drain or the shower wall. All that being said, this was probably the cheapest hotel we've ever stayed at with the 5 star service we received. I'm not sure if I'd go back but I'm glad we stayed there and were able to save money. Also, the architecture was gorgeous and the attention to design was superb.

My girlfriend and I stayed here for 6 nights and we loved it. The staff and management were extremely friendly and helpful. We were easily able to plan a trip to the Great Wall through the hotel and it's central location made it very easy to see the various sites of Beijing. This hotel provides all the comfort and amenities of a major chain hotel (lounge area, wireless internet, modern rooms, etc) but it's small size and decor gives it an authentic Chinese feel. We highly recommend this hotel.

Arriving by taxi (ahead of the rest of my party) down a long, very narrow lane way, I was a bit apprehensive on what I would find on arrival. What a wonderful surprise. Staff were so welcoming (many spoke English) and the boutique hotel is a beautifully restored walled house, with well appointed rooms and bathrooms. We wanted to see and experience "old Beijing" and this small hotel in the hutong area provided a glimpse back into the past. It was the perfect place to stay.

I stayed in several hotels, of varying types and sizes during my 5 weeks in China and this one was my favourite. As a boutique hotel, its surroundings, warmth in atmosphere, excellence in service and personal touches far surpassed some of the facilities other large hotels offered.

Location is very central and public transport was easy to find and use. Many of the laneways in the Hutong area are closed to motor vehicles after 10pm however, Beijing was very safe and we made the most of taking a couple of walks late at night to walk off the wonderful food.

Breakfasts at the hotel were great and not too heavy and the chef prepared an unforgettable dinner for our small group one evening in the dining room.

Special thanks to Jerry who made everything easy, providing directions in Chinese for taxi drivers, hand drawn maps when required, restaurant recommendations and generally interesting conversation in the courtyard. We also met some great people and enjoyed their conversation over drinks in the courtyard.

Will definitely be going back.

Fantastic hotel right in the middle of Beijing. Being located in one of the hutongs, we got to see a completely different side of Beijing. The hotel is beautifully decorated and feels very peaceful. Staff are really friendly and extremely helpful in suggesting things to do, restaurants etc.

I chose this hotel for my recent trip to Beijing (2 days of which were on my own for work and then joined by my husband for the weekend) as I'm fed up with the personality-less places I always seem to end up staying in whilst travelling for business. In many ways, it was the perfect antidote; the bedrooms are individually and beautifully decorated and very spacious. The bathrooms are also fab with a wonderful deep bathtub and a separate walk in rain shower which made getting up in the morning a pleasant experience! The lounge area where the yummy breakfasts are served is also a stylish and relaxing room. I would also echo other comments on here about the great service - Jerry on the front desk in particular was knowledgeable and incredibly helpful throughout my stay.

On the negative side - one of the things I did miss from the larger hotels was room service. Dinner is available if pre-arranged, but arriving back unexpectedly late from a long day of meetings at 9pm and not wanting to go out on my own, I was rather stuck. On day 1, fortunately the chef was still on site and prepared me a fantastic bowl of noodle soup but on day 2, I was out of luck and left tired and hungry - and wishing I was at the Shangri-La...

The hotel location also caused a few problems - despite having a card from the hotel with a map and the address written in Chinese, quite a few taxi drivers had problems finding it and one outright refused to drive down the narrow alley leading to the hotel....not fun as this was late on Friday night after a lovely meal at Made in China (absolutely worth a visit). Certainly put a dampener on the evening having to walk through the hutong in the dark on a cold February night.

However, I would absolutely stay here again - certainly if in Beijing for fun again.

I stayed in a superior suite for 5 nights recently whilst visiting my son who is studying in Beijing. It took me some days to recognise this was in a really great area and central to shopping and attractions in this huge sprawling city. This wonderful courtyard converted house is located in an historically protected hutong and has kept the ambience of old Beijing and yet still has the modern amendities. Covered in snow on day two was a memorable sight.!

My room was well heated and my cosy bed with feather doona and soft bedlinen was welcoming. The bathroom however was not well heated and and despite the "funky" decor the shower was not efficient but apart from that I loved the decor in the main living area and the main lounge where breakfast ,drinks at night and dinner on request was served. Enter through huge shiny red doors to a room-filled with modern art work, antique furniture, funky cushions and large bowls of fresh fruit .

The owner who was overseas during my stay, was so apologetic for her absence that she kindly left us a note and enclosed tickets to a concert in the Forbidden City...(very thoughtful). The breakfast, that is included in the tariff, was wonderfully presented and a surprise each day.

It was only when I returned to Beijing a week later and stayed in a western-style hotel that I remembered how peaceful the hotel was. I cant remember any traffic noise and felt I was in a secret oasis.

Despite the difficutlies getting a taxi driver through the narrow pathways to find the hotel, it is certainly worth the effort.

I am hotel addict and was wary at first of my son's recommendation (I knew there was the security of a 5 star hotel located around the corner,) but it was "perfect" and would highly recommend this hotel for the atmoshphere, the locality, the comfort and service and the experience of being in the old area of Beijing.

We can only agree with the previous writers.

The setting in the Hutong makes the fresh hotel like an oasis in the desert of Beijing. This is only accentuated by the wonderful habit of offering a glass of water, as the first thing when one arrives and are shown around the small, exquisite and charming Hotel (the water was offered every time when one came back to the hotel a sign of attention to detail and genuine care).

The personal and closeness of the service, setting and environment in combination of the attention to details created an ambiance that made us feel so welcome, as we were visiting a friends wonderful house.

The elegant, intelligent and friendly owner Shauna greeted us at our arrival and was very much a part of the experience. With wonderful suggestions on dining and shopping as well as a source of information on Beijing and present day China.

The personal, direct and simply wonderful service and atmosphere created by Michel, Jerry, Sam, Kathy, The Chef and all the others at the hotel cannot be praised enough!

We truly and wholeheartedly recommend this hotel!

We are currently on an around the world trip and had the great opportunity to stay at this hotel. I really can't say enough good things as it exceeded our expectations in every way. The attention to detail, amazingly decorated rooms and service rivaling any 5star hotel made our stay awesome.

We really enjoyed the fact it is located in one of the small neighborhoods (Hutong) where you walk outside and are immersed in the local Chinese culture.

The staff always went above and beyond to make sure we had everything we needed and to guide to many of the local treasures.

The only negative I can think of is one of the standard rooms is a bit on the small side but an upgrade to a larger room is still a great value for what you get at this place.

Let me preface this review by pointing out that I tend to hold hotels to a very high standard. As a case in point, I would refer you to my appropriately-scathing TripAdvisor review of the widly-overrated Lizard Island Resort in Australia:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g255082-d258042-r4014062-Liza...)

As part of a nine-month around-the-world trip, my wife and I spent three days in Beijing in late April 2007. In one exceptional stroke of luck, I happened to do a Google search of "Beijing Boutique Hotel" in the hopes of finding a truly intimate luxury lodging experience at a reasonable price. The search yielded one interesting link (listed below), from which I made our reservation:

[--]

After a 40-minute taxi ride into Beijing from the airport, my wife and I started having doubts about the decision when our cabdriver pulled into a cramped alleyway bordered on both sides by gray stone walls. We would later come to learn that this particular setting was a hutong -- a historical district of traditional Beijing stone houses surrounding interior courtyards -- that happened to be smack dab in the center of Beijing's high rent district, no more than a 5-minute cab ride from the Peninsula or Grand Hyatt or a 10-minute cab ride from the Forbidden City or Tiananmen Square. At first blush, you would never guess that the CEO of China's largest company just so happens to live on the same block.

Stepping in through two large, bright-red Chinese doors, we were greeted by the Cote Cour SL's exceptionally-kind and thoughtful front desk manager, Michael. As we stepped into the hotel, we breathed a huge sigh of relief as the aesthetic was exactly what we were looking for -- a chic, luxurious and beautifully-appointed boutique hotel created from a restored historical area. My wife, the design and fashion buff of the family, became ecstatic at the sight of the contemporary design with antique Chinese touches.

We were shown to our room on the right side of the colorful and cheerful courtyard (the boutique has 12 rooms total) and I, the technology and creature comfort buff of the family, became ecstatic. In terms of technology, our room had a large flat-screen plasma television with more U.S. and English satellite channels than any other hotel we've seen in China (including the Shangri-Las and the Sofitels) and wireless Internet access. As far as creature comforts, our room featured a king bed with plush pillows, soft cotton sheets, terry-cloth bathrobes, an electronic safe and a bathroom with a raised porcelain bowl sink and a walk-in rainshower.

This was just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the experience. After seeing the room, we were shown to the very cool and stylish guest lounge featuring some of the owner's private artwork, amazing music and very comfortable seating. The lounge was also where we breakfasted each morning on fresh-baked French pastries, fresh fruit and the most delicious Swiss mueslix we've ever tasted.

So, it goes without saying that the hotel facilities were tremendous. But the facilities were dwarfed by the service and attention to detail. We truly felt as if we were staying with close personal friends as opposed to in a hotel. Michael, the front desk manager we alluded to earlier, repeatedly bent over backwards for us in every imaginable respect: arranging for restaurant reservations (and confirming that they accepted credit cards and served vegetarian dishes), obtaining quotes for private car service, hailing taxis, researching Great Wall tours, calling our airline to amend our reservation on our behalf, transcribing restaurant names, addresses and directions into Mandarin and fielding calls from us and our cabdrivers when we lost our way in Beijing.

As if that wasn't enough, the hotel's owner, Shauna, was among the most amazing, talented and friendly people we have ever met, anywhere in the world. In our three days at her hotel, she obtained for us last-second reservations at the renowned Made In China and People 8 restaurants (and went so far as to preorder Made In China's famed Peking Duck for my wife), escorted us to see galleries in Beijing's up-and-coming 798 arts district, took my wife shopping and helped her negotiate some hip clothing purchases and took us to dinner with some of her friends.

We literally looked into changing our plane tickets to extend our time in Beijing solely because of Shauna and Michael and our amazing stay at Cote Cour SL. Unfortunately, we weren't able to this time around, but we will definitely come back (and hope that she's not so wildly-successful that she doesn't have room for us).