Review The Peninsula, sleeping in one of Beijing's best 5-star hotels at a bargain price
Thanks to Amex promo and payback points, the final cost was 3-star
PEK
NB this stay occurred before the outbreak of the pandemic from Covid-19
As soon as I arrived in front of the entrance, a hotel attendant opened the car door, took my luggage, and escorted me to the lobby characterized by an impressive staircase and the presence of several works of art, including two large lions and a statue of a man taking a bow, a must for selfies.
In this article:
Check-in and location
The location for me is perfect: only a 5 min walk to the Wangfujing pedestrian area and also close to other tourist spots, reachable by a nice walk.
The Forbidden City is 30/40min away. Cabs are very cheap to get around, but it is important to have the destination address written in Chinese.
The lobby does not have a classic reception counter; you are greeted by a hotel representative to check in who takes you directly to your room.
The room
Then, after a warm " Welcome to The Peninsula," I was escorted to my suite (the hotel is an "all suites") to carry out all the check- in formalities and was very pleased to discover that I had received an upgrade from a Deluxe suite (second type of room) to a Premier suite (2 higher categories) of 75 square meters, with classic/contemporary decor rich in details reminiscent of Chinese culture. The "super room" is located on the 5th floor and overlooks Wangfujing and the hotel entrance.
The suite consists of: entrance hall, large walk-in closet, living area with a large desk stocked with many stationery items and even a printer/fax/scanner! In addition, there is a sofa, a dining table where fresh fruit is left daily, and a large lcd TV.
The bar area with mini-fridge provides several glasses, a Chinese tea set, and a Nespresso machine. Water is replenished daily and/or upon request and is always free.
The bedroom, separated from the living area by a sliding door, has a very comfortable king-size bed with excellent sheets and pillows.
The bathroom, completely of marble, has a double sink, a large bathtub, TV, a spacious shower, and separate Japanese style automated toilet.
It is stocked daily with basic personal hygiene items, such as toothbrush, toothpaste, razor, shower gel, shampoo, etc., signed by famous stylist/designer Oscar de La Renta.
Everything in the suite is automated and controlled by two Ipads (one in the living area and one in the sleeping area) that allow control, separately, of the temperatures of the two rooms, lights, curtains, blackouts, mood lighting (spa mode in the bathroom), hotel services, room service, etc... a little bit of everything, in short!
The room is, in addition, equipped with a telephone for free Voip calls, including international ones. On the TV you can enjoy, free of charge, several Blockbuster titles on demand.
The room is equipped with a Bowers and Wilkins sound system. (there are audio speakers in every room), a multimedia docking stations compatible with any Android/Apple device, several power strips (no adapter needed), USB attachments, umbrellas, and for the female audience, a nail polish dryer. Let's say that the suite is really complete with everything!
The Services
I used the concierge service for making restaurant reservations and purchasing tickets to the Forbidden City.
During the stay, all the staff are always very friendly and polite, never missed a greeting. Truly everything was perfect. Now that is 5-star service!
Also very pleasant is the swimming pool for some relaxation after a day of hiking.
This was my first time staying at The Peninsula and I must say I was very impressed with the service, truly 5-star, and the room! The suite had everything and more, elegantly decorated and super technological.
We come to the most interesting part...how I booked
The booking was made on American Express travel taking advantage of: the €100 refund promo on 2 cards; a gold card travel voucher ($52); 63,000 Payback points ($252); and Amex travel discount codes (-10 and -30).
I had to split the 4-night stay into 3 separate reservations, then emailed the hotel to have them combined and not have to check out/check in each time.
The deluxe suite had a rate of 242€ per night for a total of 969€, with the discounts and points applied I paid a total of 425€, 106€ per night (I do not compare with the cost of the suite received with the upgrade)
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Pro
- Top position
- True 5-star services
- A room worthy of Hollywood-style mansion
- The artworks on display are truly original
Against
- Perhaps only the exterior of the structure is not the best