We stayed at the hotel for 2 nights at the end of 10 days of travel in and around Beijing. It was a great experience and we left China on a high.

The hotel lobby is very atractive. Check in was extremely efficient. Even though this is a large chain hotel the feel is more that of a boutique hotel. The staff is friendly and very helpful. The room has large and very clean. The bathroom amenities were first class. The food at the various restaurants was wonderful, from the vast selection at breakfast, including freshly baked goods, to the elegant surroundings and sophisticated choices at dinner.

I would certainly stay at the Beijing Swissôtel again.

We stayed in this hotel for 10 days, part of which was during the Chinese national holiday week. We found the service to be excellent - the turndown service was especially thorough. The room was large - there was three of us in the room, and they made up an extra bed for us no problem, and it still left ample space.
The service desk will write taxi cards in chinese for you - most places are pretty close. The Summer palace was the furthest - about 30 mins in a taxi. They also do Great Wall tours at the front desk. And there is a bank nearby with ATMs that accept Western cards - very very handy! The front desk also exchanges major currencies. They have a gift shop that sells standard gift shop fare, and a post office, though you will almost certainly get home long before your mail does!!!
People should be aware that allthough this is a five star hotel, I think the standards in China might be different, maybe? But it is a brilliant hotel for the price.
The hotel isn't in the greatest area in Beijing if you want to walk, most destinations require a taxi. That said, there is still plenty to do... down the road is an excellent supermarket (very good for getting drinks etc - avoid that minibar!!!) and a wonderful resturaunt called the Pavillion is within a short walk as well, and a McDonalds. Avoid the Swissotel resturaunt if you can - its good but not spectacular, and expensive even for Westerners - very very expensive in Chinese terms! You can get a better meal for much less in other places. It is however, very convienient if you need a big meal in a hurry!
All in all, we found the Swissotel to be an excellent refuge and place to rest after a long day in the hustle-bustle of Beijing, and easily the most comfortable hotel in our trip.

This is my third time staying in this property. I don't know how other people come to a five-star rating for this hotel, but I can assure this property is nowhere near that after three seperate visits. It's unfortunate my company is still booking me in. Swissotel has spent big money renovating the lobby, cafes and most common area.

These places are lovely and well designed, but that doesn't extend to the rooms. I was booked into a non-smoking King-size room, and got checked into a pokey twin bed room instead. When you get in, the first thing you realize is this awful smell of stale smoke. The carpets under your feet feels dirty, and when you go in to take a bath - the bathroom is underwhelmingly two-star standard that I can only relate to cheap motels in the US. There is little toiletries they provide - can I suggest you bringing you own shampoo and toothpaste if you intend to stay? They have the two-in-one stuff I hate more than anything.

When you finish your bath, you would realize one or two towels come with a hole, and are small threadbare stuff that's been there for ages. When you are done with that you go out and switch on the TV - it's the tiniest 14 inches that's still in the CRT era. (I suspect there are other people like me, expecting to relax infront of a plasma or LCD TV that's a bit bigger.)

Also, you know something is wrong when you need to pull the plug of the desk lamp for your laptop, and the broadband that you have is at a snail pace... And when you get sleepy, you would realize the mattress is so damn hard that's actually preventing you from a proper sleep. You pull the duvet higher - and there are holes on the cover.(??)

Swissotel Beijing has got a great lobby, but beyond there is little to suggest a pleasant stay. The rest of the staff appears ill-trained. A manager walked past me three times on my floor - no eye contact, he never even said hi or smiled.

They tried to charge us double for a simple request of bourbon with ice in the lounge. (With the most stupid debate - "Sir you asked for ice, so that's double price because you get more") The front desk staff did not intend to any receipt when I check out until I ask for it - and they gave me a wrong one.

The most stupid one was when I asked to store my luggage on the last day - the bell boy told me he can't take my luggage if there is a laptop in it. That really had blown my fuse, until a manager came over and explained he meant laptops are to be stored in the managers' safe.

Simple conclusion - fail to communicate through and through. For the same sum, I had a very enjoyable stay with Sheraton in Shanghai. I'm just waiting for Sheraton to build something closer downtown in Beijing, and when that happens - I'd be happy to pay out of my pocket to get away from this awful place.

Stayed here for a few of days on a business trip. Nice rooms clean and tidy with enough space to work. Convenient for the metro and no problems getting a cab at anytime. Reasonable food in the cafe, unfortunately didn't manage to try the other restaurants. However, I will be going back in a few weeks and will update this review then if necessary.

Internet connection was a bit flaky one day but that may well be a one off. Staff were helpful and friendly and always seemed to be enough people on reception.