We stayed here after the Olympic rush for pleasure and found the Ritz Carlton to be very comfortable. The service is very professional--we were constantly greeted and asked if we needed anything. Although the decor is very traditional Victorian the hotel is actually almost brand new--rooms are quite spacious, and the usual high end comfort items are here (towels, cosmetics, robes/slippers, etc.). We found the king bed to be very comfortable and, thankfully for the jet lagged, the sound insulation worked well. Our package included the buffet breakfast downstairs next to the lobby and we found it to be quite good, except for some rough spots (the asian dishes tended to be better than the Western food--cardboard pancakes and burned waffles??). It's located next to Shin Kong shopping mall, the hot "it" place for shoppers. You've got to eat in the restaurant floor upstairs where some of the best food in Beijing is located. There's a branch of Din Tai Fung--soup dumpling heaven!!--along with several other excellent restaurants. The hotel is located approximately 20 minutes by car from the Forbidden City and Tiannemen square, and the subway system is just around the corner, so the location is quite convenient. Overall we found the hotel to be very nice, perhaps not 5 star, but in Beijing it's probably the best combination of comfort, class, and location.

The main reason we booked the Ritz Carlton was because we were seduced by photos of the decor... which does not try to be too obviously Chinese. Instead, the designers have opted to go with touches of Chinoiserie, which make is very refined and elegant. We were certainly not disappointed and there were actually few things to fault about the hotel. Our room was really fantastic—very big, very comfortable, very refined, with lots of beautiful details. The bathroom was great and very luxurious (although having the toilet simply behind a glass partition is not necessarily that practical if there are two of you!). We used the laundry service a couple of times and it was really efficient. The breakfast selection is also really incredible—among the best we've ever experienced (and we've travelled a lot). The service overall was also the best that we experienced throughout China. The only question mark about this hotel for me would be its location. It's situated in a new district to the east of the city (near the 4th Ring Road), where there are lots of luxury boutiques. We were there just after the Olympics and the system of alternate number plates was still in place. So, there wasn't too much traffic on the roads and it took us only about 20–25 minutes to get to Tian'anmen Square in a taxi. However, once all the cars are back on the streets, I reckon the that location could be a little more problematic. Solely for that reason, if we went back, we'd probably try the Grand Hyatt, which is so much more conveniently situated for the tourist sights.

Stayed during the opening weekend of the Olympics, so perhaps some allowances should be made for a full hotel and an excitable clientele. But at $850 a night, I am not so sure.

The hotel is in the middle of what? A faceless, souleless zone of high rises and high-end shops peddling international branded items at super inflated prices. No character, no thought to planning and as memorable as an airport terminal.

Nothing intrinsically wrong but nothing particularly right. The well established faux English furnishings seemed completely out of place in this anonymous environment. Comfortable but depressing. Finish was poor, everything slid off the bathroom shelf, bath tiles cracked and not properly fixed. Walls were paper thin. Not built to last.

Lobby is designed to keep people out being very small but then of course becomes very crowded as there is nowehere else to wait.

Had a very poor and expensive dinner at the Aroma restaurant. Food indifferent and appaling wines from a very limited list at an average price of $130 a bottle. Not much better at breakfast. But what a contrast at Barolo, the hotel's Italian restaurant which was superb under the tutored eye of Ronnie Rizzi and his German-Greek co-maitre whose name I didn't catch but who supervised a great dining experience.

Pool meets the length test (25 metres) but narrow as a strand of spaghetti so seemed full with only a couple of other swimmers. Wet part of the spa: steam etc was good and had a large terrace from which to survey the bland tower scape.

However, the biggest failing was that the staff were not that well trained and English was a real struggle as is my Mandarin. Simple requests either didn't get met or had to be presented in a variety of ways to build an understanding. Willing but not very capable.

Calling the concierge was immensely frustrating as they never answered the phone, particularly important as I was outside the hotel and needed to change pick-up times. This happened repeatedly. Not good enough.

Hotel transfer to the airport is twice the price of the Peninsula: RMB 1460 vs 700 in an Audi 6 vs a BMW 7 series and it's closer, so how does that work?

All in all a disappointing experience and management just weren't ready for the Big Event.

I was initially booked in elsewhere (Raffles Beijing) but it sounded like it was trading on its reputation so i did some homework on here and thanks to a detailed review by somebody who sounds as picky as me i chose the ritz carlton. note there are two in beijing. this is the newer one, opened in q4 2007 or q1 2008. anyhow.....the location is OK, chaoyang, right next to a v upmarket shopping centre, but quiet and has nice fountains etc in front of it. from the moment i arrived i never regretted my choice once. had a club room which means permanent access to the club floor with free internet, food, coffee, drinks etc which was v convenient altho obviously you dont want to spend all day there with so many fine places to eat in beijing. room big good bathroom, usual ritz carlton standard. great views. pool on top floor superb and usually empty when i was there. spa and gym also very good indeed. but most importantly the staff were just soooooo helpful and friendly. nothing too much trouble, all smiles and ni haos.everyone knows your name somehow pretty much from the moment you arrive. i am a very tough customer and i did not want to leave. i was so impressed i even sent the manager a gushing email before i left telling him he is doing a great job and that i will return. now that is something i have NEVER done before and i have probably stayed in 80% of the top 100 hotels in the world. Literally couldn't find anything to fault. Hilariously, on leaving Beijing I passed the Raffles Beijing where i was initially booked. Due to the Olympics and the fact that the IOC was staying there there was a police cordon round the whole place and tanks, yes big real tanks on the lawn outside. Nice. A lucky escape!

Thr Ritz Carlton Beijing at China Central Place is fantastic. Service was absolutely stellar. We live in Beijing and often go for weekends "away" in the city. This is now our favorite spot and highly recommend it for anyone who likes a luxury hotel with personalized service and a terrific location. Can't say enough great things about this Ritz.

We recently returned from a 5 night stay at the new Ritz-Carlton Beijing (not the Financial street Ritz-Carlton). It was a superb hotel, very small by Beijing standards (305 rooms). It was 5 star all the way. No negatives. Easy and inexpensive to get taxis to center of city.

I stayed at the Ritz Carlton Beijing at Chaoyang District with 4 other friends. We booked the Club Floor - one Suite and one Deluxe Room. Both rooms were of large size, very comfortable and well appointed with all the modern amenities you would expect of a 5 star business luxury hotel.

Getting to the hotel however, can be a bit of a challenge as many taxi drivers do not know where the hotel is located. The trick is to tell them that the hotel is behind the new "Shin Kwan Tian Di" shopping mall, which is just opposite the "DaWangLu" Train Station. The Ritz Carlton stands next to the equally good looking and new JW Marriott Hotel.

The staff at the Rtiz Carlton are exemplary, always trying their best to meet all your needs and more. Perhaps this is because the hotel is still relatively new (it opened only in Dec 2007) and trying to impress.

When I was there, I was surprised to see some tour groups staying in the hotel - this made the small lobby noisy and rather chaotic at times. Perhaps the hotel management would reconsider having large tour groups stay in the hotel especially since the hotel itself is a smallish to medium sized establishment catering to a primarily upmarket and discerning clientele.

Having said that, I would definitely stay here again the next time I'm in Beijing.

We stayed at the Ritz Carlton Beijing (not Financial) for 3 nights and had an amazing experience there. The hotel is fairly new and we experienced incredible service. The room itself was very large and the bathroom was huge! Complimentary bottled water is left for you every day, which came in handy while touring Beijing. After a full day of sight seeing and shopping, it was always nice to know that you would be returning to a calm, relaxing, home away from home.

The breakfast buffett was plentiful with a variety of options. Service is a little too over the top, in that as soon as you are done with a plate the servers hover by to take it away. Still can't complain though.

As mentioned by another reviewer, due to the hotel being very new, taxi drivers had a hard time finding the place. The directions cards that the hotel provides are unclear somehow to the drivers, so would recommend asking concierge to write down directions in Chinese vs. English.

I definitely recommend staying here and hope to revisit on our next trip to Beijing!