Gracie Art Hotel 798

The staff was extremely friendly, but they seemed to be on their job for the first day and without prior training. (I meant the *entire* staff.) Despite being in District 798, the blocks surrounding Grace is completely dead at night. The bathroom is disappointing: the entire bathroom floor was soaked for hours after I took a shower and made the toilet and sink rather difficult to get to. And what's with giving me a bottle of used body wash - left over from the previous visitor? I didn't notice until it was too late to request a new bottle.

The receptionist was helpful in providing directions to the taxi driver at Beijing International Airport who did not know where the hotel was located despite me passing him the address. The room I had was comfortable although the design of the open shower/toilet meant there was water everywhere on the bathroom floor after each shower. This meant there was water damage to the bottom of the (timber) bathroom skirting/door. The staff at reception on my late arrival were friendly, patient and helpful. The male staff member at the restaurant in the morning was also very polite and more than accommodating to my request for a 'fast' breakfast as I had a flight to catch. It's a pity I only literally stayed for about 10 hours overnight on a transit stop in Beijing. Would have loved to stay longer at the hotel otherwise.

terrific

Grace Beijing is a beautifully designed hotel in the heart of the 798 Art District of Beijing. This is convenient for the airport (only a 20 minute taxi ride) and for wandering around the lovely art district, however it is not particularly convenient for Beijing in general. Taxis do not frequent this area as often as other hotels I have stayed in. This means that sometimes you have to wait up to an hour for a taxi, and in bad weather even longer. Taxis are also reluctant to return you to this hotel, especially late at night. The hotel is also not very well set up for tourists in terms of booking trips etc. On the positive side, the decor is stunning, the breakfast is delicious and the restaurant staff were very pleasant and helpful.

A true boutique hotel with excellent service and a few extras such as champagne and strawberries on arrival. The only downside is that the hotel is quite far from the centre of Beijing.