Just got back from a four night stay in April 2008. The hotel is a great value and the staff are truly exceptional. The staff was very attentive to our needs and very helpful. The concierge arranged drivers for eight of us to go to the Great Wall before sunrise. The transportation was there as planned at 1:30 am and we arrived in time to catch the sunrise.

The rooms were very nice and comfortable. The only issue I had was with the air conditioning not keeping the room cool enough for my taste 20C. I opened up the windows and allowed the outside air to come in and the temperature was fine. I would reccomend getting the business upgrade for the room which includes internet and breakfast and snacks in the evening.

All in all I booked this hotel on recomendations from this site and I have to say I was not disappointed. I would definitely stay here again.

Everything with the hotel was as expected, fantastic. The breakfast in the morning was very good and had a varied menu. The fitness center was perfect for my needs and the business club on the 16th floor was a perfect was to relax after a busy day. Great rates and the room was exactly what I needed. The location was nice with a Market down the street where we could buy supplies. The staff was very helpful in calling cabs, providing directions, and making suggestions for activities.

The real treat with this hotel was the concierge staff. They went out of their way to accomodate even our strangest request. Our group decided that we really wanted to see the Great Wall at sunrise. Rather than telling us that was not possible because the wall does not open until 8:00 they simply asked when we wanted to leave. So we met in the lobby at 2:30 and they drove us out there by 5:00 and we had the wall to ourselves for 3 hours! We watched the sunrise on the Great Wall and had the most amazing time! This was the highlight of my entire 3 weeks in China and it was made possible by the great service of the concierge staff at the Holiday Inn Central Plaza. These guys exhibited the very definition of customer service!

My brother and I were in Beijing from the 17th to the 22nd of this month and loved the hotel. The facility is spacious and spotless, the rooms are large, clean and the room service was prompt. The concierge service was very helpful and the Dutch girl Linda went out of her way to be friendly and helpful. The hotel was a very nice surprise, I can see why it's #1 on Trip Advisor

My husband and I just returned from a week trip to Beijing. We had a lovely time and we were very pleased with the Holiday Inn Central Plaza. I would definitely give it more than a three star that the Tripadvisor has given it, however there are few things about the hotel that I should mention to the readers who are debating whether to stay at this hotel or not, it all depends to whether they are there for business or pleasure. I’ll first give you the Good Points followed by the NOT SO GOOD points.

GOOD POINTS

There are many good points about the hotel. Rooms are very clean and modern. There is a safe in the room plus a mini bar and you get 2 complimentary bottles of water each day. The breakfast was included in our room price and it was actually very nice and adequate with a variety of choices. The Café in the lobby has good lattes and it’s a great place to relax after a busy day. Please note only GOLD Priority Club members would be upgraded to the executive room for free, we were not gold members so we were asked to pay an extra 300 RMB per night which we chose not to. All the staff members were friendly and willing to help; we saw the famous Storm from a distance helping other travelers but didn’t get a chance to talk to him. There is a currency exchange machine in the lobby that is very convenient and offers exchange at a normal rate. So all together the hotel was great, I would say if it wasn’t for the location it would definitely be a four and half star. We had a wonderful time in Beijing and I should also suggest that the famous John Yellow Car service to the Great Wall that are mentioned in the tripadvisor forum was amazing, John was very nice and professional and took us to the Mutayanu Great Wall…highly recommend him.

NOT SO GOOD POINTS

The location is relatively far from most of the sightseeing and shopping malls/restaurants. I guess if you go to Beijing for few days for business it won’t be a problem, but my husband and I were there for 8 nights and almost every day we had went toward Forbidden city/Tianamen and Wangfujing as most of the things were around that area. Some people on this site suggested it was only a 20 minute drive to Forbidden City/Tiananmen Square/Wangfujing Shopping and food district for about 15RMB HOWEVER I guess they must have been lucky because the traffic was crazy for most of the day when we were there and from what we heard it is of course very normal for Beijing (at times we were stuck in traffic for nearly 35-40 minutes and ended up paying 30 and even 50 RMB). Many taxi drivers were reluctant to drive out there and often we had to really bargain and offer more money especially if you go out at nights you’ll find it difficult to take a taxi back to the hotel as it is not in the drivers ideal location so be prepared to pay more otherwise good luck finding one. Other than the location I would stay the hotel is great for a Holiday Inn, although next time in Beijing I would pay a little more and stays at another Hotel in Wangfujing area simply because the malls and food courts/food markets/restaurants there offer better and greater food variety at much cheaper prices. For example a dinner at the hotel buffet restaurant would cost over 400 RMB but outside at any other decent restaurant would be around 150-200 RMB, so as you can imagine the location of the hotel is the reason the prices are lower, but because of lack of option for restaurants nearby you end up spending just that much in the hotel more for food/coffee at the hotel. The Spa is mediocre, we went there for a foot massage and it was not really a smoky dark room with a plastic bucket filled with water and didn’t feel too clean either, so don’t bother with the spa. The Zen restaurant is not too good, it’s overpriced and the food was really bad. My husband ended up getting sick at night after having diner there.
That’s it about the hotel, please note other than the few negative things it was a pleasant stay and if I had to stay there again, I would. Feel free to ask any questions you may have.