Hotel Review of Jade Palace Hotel (Cuigong) in Zhongguancun Beijing
I have some UpTake U.S. colleagues who are going to visit the UpTake Beijing R&D team in September. They asked me for some hotel recommendations. I will probably just introduce them to Winser Zhao (Twitter) of SinoHotelReservation who has helped me in the past and provided some other recommendations on Chaoyang vs. Zhongguancun Hotels. But I thought I’d share my experience with one hotel.
The Jade Palace Hotel (also known as Cuigong Hotel) is one of the most well known hotels in Zhongguancun (中关村). It’s easy to arrange meetups with people because everyone knows where it is. In short, this is a great hotel option for entrepreneurs and people working in information technology who need to visit Haidian (海淀).
It is a good 4 star hotel: standard rooms are generally clean (ask for non-smoking), deluxe rooms are very nicely appointed, sound-insulation and air-conditioning is up to Western hotel standards. Prices tend to be reasonable especially compared to Chaoyang District (朝阳区).
Basic Information on Jade Palace Hotel (Cuigong Hotel, 翠宫饭店)
Website:http://www.jadepalace.com.cn/
Address:
76 Zhichun Road; Haidian District, Beijing, P.R CHINA 100086
北京海淀区知春路76号 (100086)
Phone Number:
Tel:86 10 6262 8888
Fax:86 10 6263 8255
Nearest Metro:
Zhichunlu Station(知春路), Line 13
Hotel Location:
Here’s a handy map showing the local area that I got from the Microsoft Research Asia site:
click to see larger image
Elliott’s Review of Hotel:
Pros:
- Well known. Easy to tell taxi-driver where it is. Easy to arrange meetings with other people.
- Close to Beijing Subway Line 13. Short walk to the station. Great in case you need to get somewhere and the roads are totally congested.
- Close to Microsoft Research Asia and other offices.
- Rooms are nicely appointed, at a Marriott or Hilton level. Air-conditioning is similar to Western hotels. Sound insulation is similar to Western hotels.
- They have no-smoking rooms.
- Amenities, including a nice swimming pool in the basement. They also have a bar that stays open late, a KTV lounge (which I have not gone to), and a small bowling alley (which I have not seen operational)
- There is a McDonalds (which I have not eaten at) diagonally across the street from the hotel.
Cons:
- Staff speaks English at the level of a typical 4 star Chinese hotel. Not at the same level of more expensive Western hotels like JW Marriott, St. Regis.
- Breakfast is super expensive for what you get, around RMB120 last time I went.
- Drinks in lounge are expensive, similar to high-end Western hotels. So it is more expensive to have meetings in the lounge than to go to a Starbucks or other meeting place.
- Internet is extra charge, typical for higher end hotels but most lower end hotels give it to you for free
- Location: great for Zhongguancun, far for meetings in Chaoyang, Guomao, or CBD. Also, it seems that most expats and many returnees live on the east side of Beijing, so if you spend the weekend in Beijing and have an active social life, you may find yourself shuttling back and forth to Chaoyang, which can cost 60-90 RMB each time (I’m not sure about this, approximate)
- I personally misremember the name of the hotel. It is not Jade Garden Hotel Zhongguancun, its Jade Palace!
Other Hotels to consider:
- Park Plaza Hotel (formerly Tianhong Plaza Hotel) - same quality, very near line 13 subway.
- Shangri-La Hotel - not as convenient location, I have not been there
- Yanshan Hotel - I have not been there
- Beijing Friendship Hotel - I have not been there
- Sariz Hotel - WARNING: site has a malware warning in Google at this time! I have not been there, but recommended by Winser Zhao at SinoHotelReservation.
- Ease Hotel - BUDGET OPTION - I stayed here, but I don’t recommend it unless you are both on a budget and need to be in this exact location. (Gene and Clive, this is the one I mentioned where I left with bug bites. But maybe that was just my room, because Min had another room and didn’t get any bites at all).
- Xiamen Commercial Hotel - BUDGET OPTION - I have walked by this hotel. It is very near the Line 13 subway, Microsoft Research Asia, and the Jade Palace. It is about half the price of the Jade Palace.
- I have some other recommendations from Winser on this post about Zhongguancun Hotels and Chaoyang Hotels.
Jade Palace Hotel photos
This is the exterior front photo of the Jade Palace hotel, standing on Zhongguancun Dong Lu (Zhongguancun East Road).
Jade Palace photos - photo of the lobby looking in from the street.
Jade Palace photos - Photo of the meeting place and cafe with very expensive drinks (typical price of Western hotels). Lots of people smoking here too. They have a small non-smoking section in the back.
Jade Palace Hotel photos - photo of the lounge looking down from the lobby.
Jade Palace photos - photos of the guest rooms. This is a standard room on the 6th floor, facing away from the main street. The deluxe rooms are more nicely appointed. Carpet has some cigarette or other stains, but room was generally clean.
Jade Palace bathroom photos - size of bathrooms is pretty standard for a Marriott, Hilton, or standard 4 star Western hotel.
Jade Palace hotel photos - photo of Bank of China ATM. There is an ATM in the lobby.
Jade Palace hotel photos - photo of bar entrance and interior
Jade Palace hotel photos - Looking out the 6th floor front window, you can see the Zhongguancun Dong Lu and Zhichun Lu intersection. The McDonalds is visible with the only red sign in the picture, right at the intersection. This is the northwest corner of the intersection, and the hotel is on the southeast corner of the intersection.
Jade Palace hotel photos - this is a photo from the McDonalds, looking southeast toward the Jade Palace hotel. You can see the entire building here.
McDonalds Zhichun Lu
I never waste a meal at McDonalds when I go to China. I love Chinese food and the Chinese food in China is generally better, more interesting, more regionally varied, and cheaper than in the US. But some may miss Western food, and McDonalds is definitely cheaper than the Jade Palace breakfast buffet. Maybe my colleagues can take a rest from Chinese food if they must at the McDonalds!
