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Raffles Beijing Bags Awards From Conde Nast

Where: 33 E Chang An Ave, Beijing, China, 100004

Conde Nast magazines in the US and the UK have been giving out gongs to the Raffles Beijing Hotel (often just referred to as the Beijing Hotel): it made the Hot List 2007 in both countries, plus its Jaan restaurant gained a place in the US version's Hot Table list.

The Raffles Beijing Hotel is in a 1907 building but was taken over and fully refurbished just last year. The location is great for sightseers, less than half a mile to the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square, and many of the 171 rooms and suites have good views over Beijing.

Facilities include an indoor swimming pool (and the fact that complimentary cell phones are available while you're by the pool is apparently a big selling point), a 24-hour fitness center, a library with free snacks, and chocolates on the pillow every night.

Not all recent guests would agree with the Conde Nast awards: a few of the complaints have included unfriendly staff who don't speak English well and a lot of extras on the bill--including the nasty trick of offering two bottles of water in the rooms, one free and one with a horrendously inflated price, yet not clearly labeled. A gripe that can't really be blamed on the hotel is the traffic problem in central Beijing--many guests gave the tip of leaving plenty of time to get to appointments or the airport.

[Photo: yohanes.budiyanto]

Related Stories:
· Raffles Beijing Hotel Comments [TripAdvisor]
· Conde Nast Traveler Hot List Hotels 2007 [HotelChatter]