Asian Adventure: Regent Beijing Hotel

Asian Adventure: Roof of the World Tour Overview
Asian Adventure: Cathay Pacific B777-300ER Business Class San Francisco to Hong Kong
Asian Adventure: Cathay Pacific Lounge Review: The Cabin at HKG
Asian Adventure: Cathay Dragon A330-300 Business Class Hong Kong to Beijing
Asian Adventure: Regent Beijing Hotel
Asian Adventure: Beijing - Dongcheng District
Asian Adventure: Beijing - The Great Wall
Asian Adventure: Beijing - Run-ze Jade Garden
Asian Adventure: Beijing - The Sacred Way of the Ming Tombs
Asian Adventure: Beijing - The Legend of Kung Fu
Asian Adventure: Beijing - Tiananmen Square
Asian Adventure: Beijing - The Forbidden City
Asian Adventure: Beijing - Hutong Tour via Rickshaw, Tea Tasting, Flying to Xi’an
Asian Adventure: Hotel Shangri-La Xi’an
Asian Adventure: Xi’an - Qing Dynasty Terra Cotta Warriors
Asian Adventure: Xi’an - Tang Dynasty Dinner and Show
Asian Adventure: Xi’an Wrap-Up, Flying to Lhasa, Lhasa Home Visit
Asian Adventure: Shangri-La Hotel Lhasa
Asian Adventure: Lhasa - Jokhang Temple and Barkhor Market
Asian Adventure: Lhasa - Canggu Nunnery and Sera Monastery
Asian Adventure: Lhasa - Potala Palace
Asian Adventure: Leaving Lhasa and Flying to Chongqing
Asian Adventure: Viking Emerald
Asian Adventure: Shibaozhai Temple
Asian Adventure: Cruising the Three Gorges
Asian Adventure: Three Gorges Dam
Asian Adventure: Jingzhou City Walls Tour
Asian Adventure: Wuhan - Hubei Bells Performance and Provincial Museum
Asian Adventure: Shanghai - Shanghai Museum
Asian Adventure: Fairmont Peace Hotel, Shanghai
Asian Adventure: Shanghai - Old Shanghai and Yuyan Gardens
Asian Adventure: The New Otani Tokyo Hotel
Asian Adventure: Tokyo - City Tour
Asian Adventure: Mt. Fuji and Hakone Tour Returning by Shinkansen
Asian Adventure: ANA Suites Lounge Review, Tokyo Narita
Asian Adventure: All Nippon Airways B777-300ER First Class Tokyo Narita to Houston

J, M and I arrived at the Regent Beijing in the early afternoon and we were quite impressed with the elegant hotel.  While their website made the hotel look great, sometimes websites can be deceiving but that was not the case here.  The reception desk was to the left and to the right was an elevator that led up to a Morton's of Chicago steakhouse.

Regent Beijing Lobby

Regent Beijing Lobby Chandelier

There were several different seating areas in the lobby and in the afternoons and evenings it served as their lounge but it also made it convenient for people to meet up before leaving the hotel.

Regent Beijing Lobby Seating

Out the back door was a green space with a water feature.

Regent Beijing Patio and Water Feature

The very young staff members (this would be a continuing theme - or maybe I'm just getting old!) greeted us promptly and we were thrilled to learn our rooms were ready, despite arriving well before the official check-in time.  Within our group of 12, those of us in the twin rooms were on lower floors while those with one bed were on the very top floor which normally would have offered great views, but during our first three days in Beijing it was overcast and/or rainy so the low cloud cover kept things hidden.

After receiving our room keys we took the elevator to the seventh floor.

Regent Beijing Seventh Floor Elevator Lobby

Regent Beijing Seventh Floor Hallway

Hotel Rooms

Our Room

I didn't visit the rooms on the top floor but was generally pleased with our room.  Like many hotel rooms, the room follow a basic layout of a small entry hall with the bathroom on one side and then the roomed opened up into the area with the beds, desk, chair and ottoman.

Regent Beijing Twin Room Beds

Despite being labeled as twin beds (and, in fairness, there were two of them) these were a good bit larger than twin beds here in the US, which was nice.  The pillows appeared to be king-sized and there were two of them, something I really appreciated.  We had a single nightstand between the beds but it was disappointing that there were no electrical outlets available on it or on either side of the bed.  Don't they know we need our phones and tablets near us all the time?!  Like all of our hotel rooms there were smoke masks available.  It's something I found odd at first but the more I thought about it, the more I thought it was really a good idea.

Across from the bed nearest the window was the glass-topped desk, which was actually built into the series of cabinets but at a 90-degree angle.

Regent Beijing Twin Room Desk

Along the wall were several different cabinets housing electronics, the mini-fridge and tea set along with a low cabinet that doubled as a suitcase rack along with a couple of drawers.  Our bottles of water were refreshed each day as we were instructed not to drink the tap water - and we received this instruction at each hotel we visited.

Regent Beijing Twin Room Cabinets

Inside the wardrobe were bathrobes and slippers, some more drawers and the safe.  A fairly large umbrella was stored there as well and if you needed more umbrellas, they were available from the concierge desk.

Regent Beijing Twin Room Wardrobe

Like other places we'd stayed the bathroom had one of those giant picture windows that opened into the bed area.  Does anyone (who's not an exhibitionist) really like that?  At any rate the Venetian blinds worked quite well to give the bathroom's occupant some privacy and our blinds stayed closed the entire time we were there.

Regent Beijing Twin Room Looking to the Bathroom

On the left side of the bathroom, nearest the window, was the large soaking tub.  I didn't try it out but it appeared to be nice and deep - though the edge did not look comfortable to sit on.  If you guys can't figure out why we'd need to do that it's because you've never tried to shave your legs while standing up in the shower.

Regent Beijing Soaking Tub

There was only one sink but there was enough counter space for each of us to claim one side.  We also utilized the shelf below and each side had a drawer.  The hair dryer was actually affixed in one of the drawers I guess so you couldn't steal it?  Is this a problem in China?  I guess it's really no different from US budget hotels having hair dryers affixed to the walls but it's not something I'd expect in a luxury hotel.

Regent Beijing Bathroom Sink

There were two glass doors on the right.  One was for the toilet.

Regent Beijing Toilet

And the other was for the shower.  We had our choice between the rainfall showerhead (not my preference) and the hand-held nozzle which we could easily adjust on the wall to our desired height.  I wasn't thrilled with the water pressure but few places pump it as hard as I'd like.  There were built in shelves for the toiletries and we were disappointed to find mold in the back corners there.  Again, that's not something we thought we'd see in a luxury hotel.

Regent Beijing Shower

I'd never heard of Damana brand toiletries but they were fine though not spectacular.

Regent Beijing Damana Toiletries

We did get housekeeping each day and turndown service about 4 PM or so.

Fitness Facilities

The hotel has a room for aerobic or yoga classes.  Across the hall were a couple of rooms with weight machines and cardio equipment.  The rooms were not crowded the evening I took these photos but they were much busier the next morning.

Regent Beijing Exercise Room

Regent Beijing Exercise Room

Regent Beijing Gym

Regent Beijing Gym

Regent Beijing Gym

Regent Beijing Gym

Other facilities

The hotel has  a spa that I didn't use and a pool which I tried to visit but because it required a foot bath to get to the pool area and I didn't feel like taking off my shoes, I did not get a photo.  B did try it out and managed to get her exercise for the day.

Restaurants

There are three restaurants in the hotel.  As I mentioned earlier, Morton's of Chicago is available via its own lift or stairs from the lobby.  Since we knew we'd be eating Asian for at least the next two weeks, M, J and I (who arrived first) dined there on Saturday night.  It was good but, of course, pricey.

By the Sunday night everyone had arrived and we all went to the Italian restaurant, Dacappo.  It, too, was good and not cheap.  Included in our tour was breakfast at the buffet, Jinbao 99.  It was quite extensive with both Asian and Western offerings.  As a creature of habit I appreciated being able to start out the day with something familiar which made me more confident to branch out during other meals.


We saw quite a few business people at our hotel and there were two Viking groups of 25-30 people each staying here as well which led me to believe that this hotel was well located for business purposes.  We were reasonably close to Tienanmen Square and the Forbidden City.  There was also a shopping district nearby that we were able to walk to.  In March, IHG (the parent company of Holiday Inn, Intercontinental and others) bought a 51% stake in Regent Hotels so if we ever visit Beijing again it may be possible to do so using IHG Rewards Club points, which would be nice.  I would be fine with staying here again if I ever return to Beijing.