Location
The Hotel Kunlun is situated just inside the Third Ring Road of Beijing, which is the main traffic link between the centre of Beijing and the suburbs. Its central location is convenient for visitors and guests. From Hotel Kunlun to Beijing Capital International Airport the distance is 20km, to Tiananmen Square 10 km, to Beijing railway station 8km. It is also surrounded by many embassies, such as USA, Canada, Japan, etc. It's a 10 minute drive to the British Embassy. Last but not least there are many famous and popular department stores, shopping malls, hotels and restaurants around.
History
The Hotel Kunlun was opened in 1986, and is owned by Jinjiang group, one of the biggest hotel chain groups in China. It was refurbished in 1999 and 2005. The outer facade is chocolate brown in colour and 29 floors high. In 1995 it was listed as top best 50 hotels in China. In 1996 The American Academy of Hospitality Sciences awarded Hotel Kunlun with the Five Star Diamond Award.
The name of the hotel is from a famous mountain called Kunlun Mountain, which is located in the north west of china and being considered as a signal of stoical spirit in Chinese culture. Now the CEO of the hotel is a famous screenwriter called Hai Yan, which made the hotel more famous among Chinese people as well as foreign tourists. Many celebrities have visited and stayed in the hotel including David Beckham and his team mates of the Real Madrid team.
The hotel
Although there are many tall buildings around the area you still can figure out the hotel very well from distance. The entrance is not very grand, but with a big water fountain in front, which separates in and out traffic of the hotel. It has a big car park for guests at the left side of the main entrance.
Upon reaching the main entrance you are welcomed by two doormen and one of them will help you with your luggage or guide you towards the door.
The decor in the grand lobby is beautiful. It is very bright and spacious any time of the day. There is a big piano at the centre of the lobby. Every afternoon there is a pianist to play melodic tunes for guests.
The picture above was taken at the lobby of Hotel Kunlun in 2007
The reception staff are in the left side of the lobby. They can provide service 24 hours a day in Mandarin, Japanese and English languages. Cash, Visacard, Mastercard and JCBcard etc are acceptable. The hotel has over 700 rooms including 6 options. The room sizes are from 28 square meter to 100 square meter. The prices are between £70 and £300 roughly. All rooms have free internet connections and satellite TV set, which provides world wide TV channels. Other facilities include safety box, mini fridge, sofa, telephone, etc. All fully equipped bathrooms have shower and bath, 24 hour hot water, slippers, dressing gown, etc.
Dining
The hotel has 7 dining rooms. It provides international cuisine, which include Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Indian, Vietnamese, Thai and western cuisines. The most famous cuisine is Shanghai cuisine. The most famous dining room is called Dingfeng, which is located on the 29th floor and revolves slowly one revolution every 130 minutes.
The picture above was taken in Dingfeng dining room in 2007
Fitness Centre It includes a swimming pool, tennis court, gymnasium, and sauna.
Business facilities
The hotel has many flexible meeting rooms. The biggest one accommodates over 800 people. It is like a theatre and has all modern equipments for business meetings.
My opinion
Because of my previous job I have been in the Hotel Kunlun many times. I also visited with my family and friends so I think I'm quite familiar with it. According to my experience of other 5 or 4 star hotels in Beijing, I personally consider Hotel Kunlun is a good choice when you visit Beijing, no matter to stay or just dine there.
The advantages of the hotel
Location: its location is convenient for going anywhere you want in Beijing especially to the airport and the city centre, which features Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City and numerous other downtown historic sites. You have many transport choices: taxi, public buses, subway.
Good service: because it was one of the earlier 5 star hotels in China, their staff are experienced professionals and welcoming. By the way it has exclusive use of Air China's hotel check-in service.
Meals: not only provide many different cuisines, also the atmosphere is magnificent. The Dingfeng dining room is most impressive. It is decorated beautifully with blue sky design and Swaroski crystals every where. The open kitchen also gives you a chance to see your meal being cooked. You also can see outside with a beautiful vista when it's revolving.
The picture above was taken in Dingfeng dining room in 2007
The picture above was taken in Dingfeng dining room in 2007
Entertainment: unlike many hotels just guests of the hotel can use the fitness rooms. The disadvantages of the hotel
Price: compared to some new 4 or 5 star hotels it is a little expensive. If you pay £70 a night you just get a 28 square metre room on the lower levels. In this case you can not see any beautiful view outside. Also the bathroom is very small. You might just be able to stand in the bath and have a shower.
The rear garden:the Hotel Kunlun would say they have a rear garden which not every hotel in the near area can have, but when you walk there you just see a very small garden overlooking the busy Third Ring Road.
The two pictures above were taken at the rear garden in 2007
So if you do visit Beijing give it a go.
