Sinorama Holidays booked the West International Trade Hotel Beijing for our first three nights of the Dream of China itinerary. It was non-descript from the outside but the lobby was impressive.
I couldn’t get all the lobby in one photo because it was so large. Behind me were upholstered benches to sit on while waiting and to the left of the long check in desk was the bar.
General Features
This wasn’t the hotel listed on the Sinorama website so I didn’t know what to expect other than the information I gleaned from the hotel website. It is marketed as a business hotel although there were lots of tour groups there. I think most, if not all, were Sinorama groups.
I would say it was a 3-4 star hotel by Western standards. Facilities I didn’t use that were available include:
- coffee bar
- lobby bar (some of my tour mates did visit)
- ATM
- Pool
The hotel was next to a strip mall where one could buy drug store items including snacks and beverages.
Room
The room was larger than expected and I think the video below gives you a good sense of the spaciousness. There was a shoe box that included two pairs of complimentary slippers.
Although I don’t think they would fit most men from the west. The box also had shoe shine mitts.
I loved the bathroom especially the shower.
Because I love baths the deep tub was used once.
One of the things I didn’t like about any of the hotels was the proliferation of light switches. Every light had a separate switch and it was difficult to sometimes find the corresponding switch for one.
I finally gave up once and just pulled my room key out so all the lights would go out.
The wifi in the room was great. At the desk I found a complimentary sewing kit and the room service menu. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the first night when I would have ordered the room service hamburger.
Breakfast Buffet
The restaurant for breakfast was in the basement of the hotel. It was a huge room but felt like a cafeteria due to the lack of windows and decor. It was extremely crowded the first day with fewer people the second morning and even less the last morning as different groups departed Beijing.
There were three other Sinorama groups traveling with us and I saw a couple I met at the Beijing airport throughout the tour including often at breakfast where we shared a table once or twice.
The video above shows most of the hot food, but I forgot to take pictures of the cold salad and fresh fruit.
The fried egg station wasn’t to order but you could see him making the eggs.
I wasn’t brave enough (yet) to try a noodle bowl for breakfast but many did and loved them.
Have you ever had dessert for breakfast? I found this dessert area the second morning.
Other breakfast items not in the video or photos include cereals (hot and cold), pastries, juices and hot milks (soy and cow).
Breakfast was pretty good at this hotel with the exception of coffee. The coffee urn(s) weren’t labeled and there was a lack of coffee cups leaving people to grab cereal and soup bowls to get their morning fix. It also ran out quickly and there’d be a delay in refills.
Summary
This was a very nice hotel between the room, facilities and breakfast. I wouldn’t hesitate to stay here again or recommend it to others. The only reason you might not want to is that it is not centrally located.
Don’t miss the previous China posts linked below.
Going to China (tour and visa)
China: Trip Preparations
November 12, 2016: Travel to Beijing
November 14, 2016: Beijing and Great Wall
November 14, 2016: Ming Tombs and Peking Duck Dinner
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