Review: Sheraton Grand Beijing Dongcheng Hotel

I'd happily live with the "lack of personality" if US Sheratons looked like this one!

It couldn't be more hideously predictable if it tried.
Omg the vulgarity and then the grovling with paying on citi to avoid foreign transaction fees its laughable.

I have to admit I don't understand the fascination with hotel lounges. As an SPG Plat, I get to use them all. They're usually crowded and loud. The food is usually stale, picked through, and/or gross. I guess the booze is nice, though I'd rather have it in my room. With some room service, without 50 people clawing past me to get to the stale finger sandwiches.

If I'm traveling for work, I want to be alone in a quiet place after a day of meetings.

If I'm on vacation, I want to be out and about, exploring the location - eating real food, people watching, etc.

I don't know what I'm expecting to happen in the lounges, but I always check them out and I always want to be somewhere else.

Wow, not one but two credit card plugs in a review. Ugh.
And it's somewhat curious to me that you would think the Sheraton Dongcheng to be superior to the Westin Chaoyang.

Stayed at the St Regis Beijing and loved it. If every Asian hotel offered free french press coffee 24-7, I wouldn't spend nearly so much time stocking up on sbucks vias at costco. The St Regis is also less than 5 min from the Beijing Metro, which always took us to the right destination 😉

The same thing can be said for the Sheraton Grand in Bangalore. Looks similar to this. Sterile with no personality.

Then on the other side of the spectrum, there is the Sheraton Grande Sukhumvit, which is also a Luxury Collection (but also is in the Grand category). This is one of the finer hotels in all of Starwoods Portfolio.

It's always confusing to me how inconsistent that are in their collections.

Hi Lucky,

Long time reader of the blog, but wondering if you knew anything about the Citi Prestige card? I heard about it before, but couldn't find any information on it here.

I agree that many Sheraton Grands are fairly nice, but I don't really understand Sheraton having a premium sub-brand. Shouldn't nicer Sheratons just get bumped up to Westin? Someone at Sheraton or Starwood seems to think the world has more affection for the Sheraton brand than it actually does.

I agree with another commenter here that the Westin Chaoyang is superior. I haven't stayed at the Sheraton Grand but judging by the pictures (even of the Club room) the Westin looks to be a much more stylish hotel. And its executive lounge is excellent. And yes I know it's nitpicking and being literal but the Concierge definitely didn't "Google" the address - since Google is blocked in China!

Agree with Andy about Beijing Metro - it's a fantastic system and I would really choose my hotel accordingly. For any place in Beijing that's reachable by Metro, that's often the best option, rather than taxi. Taxis are plenty cheap but traffic can be a nightmare.

I agree with @02nz. Westin Chaoyang is THE choice if you want to stay in a SPG hotel when traveling to Beijing. Sheraton Grand Dongcheng is a joke because their staff members are very poorly trained, and this is a known fact among Chinese frequent travelers.

Should have gone to the Hilton Beijing Wangfujing like some of us recommended...

If you are not beholded to a chain, try the Rosewood Beijing. The best club lounge in town with free-flow champagne for happy hour

Yes, it doesn't look very appealing. Certainly functional and OK to stay, but no sense of style. No concept in the furniture, lots of easy-to-clean, flat surfaces, no finishing touches.

I find Beijing in general to be a difficult city with hotels. Prefer Shanghai in this regard.

Stayed in the Four Seasons twice and the Ritz Carlton once (the Ritz in Chaoyang District, not the Financial Street one) with FHR. Highly recommend both hotels. Stayed in club rooms at both, and in both cases, the clubs were great - delicious food and enough food for full meals (at least for breakfast and dinner). Great service as well.