The hostel is four floors underground and there's a slight institutional feel in place, but wow, what a central location and what a price. There are no dorms, just small tiled-floor rooms that share bath and haven't a frill to speak of. For the super-budget traveller who needs...

Not quite as central as some other hostels, and in need of a fresh layer of paint in places, this place is nonetheless worth a look as it's just minutes from the BRT, set off a pleasant wide boulevard, and offers dirt cheap (but clean) dorm and private accommodation.

An extremely well-run, well-maintained newcomer on the hostel scene, the Saga impresses with its fresh colours (sunflower yellow and blue), spotlessly clean rooms and common areas, its community spirit, excellent staff, and fantastic location down a historic hutong (narrow...

Just a few minutes east of the Forbidden City (which can be seen from some rooms) and west of the Wangfujing Dajie shopping area, this super clean, well-run and smart-looking hostel is as central as you can get.

With its modern design, multistorey capacity, large dorm rooms, and hotel-quality privates, this newcomer is ready to take on all competition. With a location just a stone's throw from the main train station, it looks likely to succeed. And having room service doesn't hurt at...

Half the hostel is set in a genuine Qing-dynasty courtyard, and the other half in the basement of the modern, but quaint, Far East Hotel. While the courtyard dorms look no different from the hotel's (they are both bare-bones with pine-frame bunk beds), it's a no-brainer which...

Away from the big-ticket attractions like the Forbidden City, but well-placed near the nightlife of Sanlitun Road, this multistorey hostel gets a good mix of Asian and western visitors. The building is attractive, albeit ageing and scuffed in places, and the rooms and...

Like bread and milk, you'll want to get in on the good deal that is this hotel while it's still fresh. Places like this can go downhill fast. As it stands now, it is an excellent-value super-budget hotel, clean as a whistle and about as central as you can get.

Beijing needs more hotels like this: central, affordable and stylish. It needs more hotels with gorgeous wood flooring, scented hallways, rooms with temple gate-like entrances, and old-style furnishings. The reason it doesn't have these things is simple, according to...

Set just west of Wangfujing Dajie, fronted at night by a bustling market, surrounded by excellent and affordable restaurants AND just a short walk to the Forbidden City, it's just icing on the cake that these rooms offer solid mid-range comfort and cleanliness.

A well thought out refit in 2004 transformed this business stalwart near the embassy and expat districts into one of the classiest hotels in the city. Its standard rooms can now rival (and surpass) many five-stars in town for design and comfort.

This place is obviously designed for the middle-management business traveller, and has pretty full range of facilities for such, but it's also a good option for the casual visitor. Rooms are bright, clean, well maintained and simply furnished. Higher floors even have wide-open...

The Taiwan is a decent, if somewhat bland, mid-range choice whose popularity is assured by its central location. It's a good nights sleep, and a good head start to the big-ticket items that you've come to Beijing to enjoy.

An advertisement for this high-rise hotel that featured a laughing cosmopolitan family skipping across the foyer wouldn't actually be off-key. There's a noticeable atmosphere of superior modern comfort and ease here. Rooms vary in quality but this is fortunately matched by the...

Here's one for the poet, historian and movie buff. The Cui Ming's charming east-west design hails from the 30s, and once set the stage for cease-fire negotiations between the communist party and the Kuomintang. Standard rooms are comfortable and simply furnished, while deluxes...

The 2003 renovations sent this hotel, which from the outside looks oddly like a convex version of the UN building, soaring above all others in Beijing. The design is sophisticated and the luxury touches are well considered. For sleeping, eating, lounging and recreation, this...

Despite a location in the anachronistic-sounding workers stadium, this clean, extremely well-maintained hostel has youthful staff and a fresh look. Both bare-bones dorms, and private rooms (all with shared bath) are available. Party lovers should note that the Sanlitun bar...

Your excitement at the thought of staying in the oldest hotel in Beijing may dim somewhat at reception, but questionable service aside, the hotel has a sumptuous interior extending over multiple wings that beats all others. Rooms cry out, however, for a skillful designer to...

Refitted and overhauled in 2005, the five-star Crowne Plaza enjoys an excellent central location on Wangfujing Dajie, but has little character or charm with odd-looking sculpture dotted around. Up-to-date rooms have the full range of business comforts and pleasant bathrooms....

The 'friendship' in this hotel's name marks a time in the communist past when this sprawling garden-style hotel was used to house foreign experts. Today the stately grey brick buildings see a steady stream of visitors from all walks of life and from all over the world.

The grand in the name surely refers to the view. Truly the most magnificent in Beijing, it affords a bird's-eye lookout over the entire Forbidden City. Not every room shares this panorama, but fortunately the price is not so much higher for those that do.

The Hyatt look is all over this Beijing branch. It's massive, opulent and, while lacking in distinctive regional touches, it's got the high-end comfort and top-notch service and amenities that high rollers expect. The choice and quality of restaurants is truly impressive, and...

The Huafeng dates back to 1905, but other than the turn-of-the-century exterior and marbled lobby, the design seems stuck in the '70s. Forget about scoring some style on the cheap. You're paying for bare-bones here and that's just what you're going to get.

In the heart of Beijing's business centre, the 23-year-old Jianguo has been a contender for a long time. It's aging in places, and the yesteryear design is in need of a serious refit, but the amenities are there for the business traveller, and there's a range of eating and...

Rated as one of the city's top hotels, this place's spacious, swish rooms have street or river views. Service is excellent and, as the hotel is attached to the Youyi Lufthansa Center, the amenities are endless.

You could take your mother here and feel you'd done right by her. She might gripe a bit that the place is not perfectly maintained, but the quiet comfort of the rooms and the pleasing decor, neither ostentatious nor bare-bones, will soothe her complaints. And she'll like the...

We like a boutique atmosphere when we pay this much for a night's sleep. Peninsula rooms unfortunately come out a little short on distinctive style, but they do include the wide range of amenities five-star accommodation should (but often doesn't) have in Beijing.

Don't judge this hotel from its ageing exterior. It's another story inside. The lobby is a cavernous department of slick marble and crystal, and the rooms are fresh, cosily provided, and bright on the upper floors. The location is prime, being central to some top-drawer...

What would Beijing do without its western tourists? Well, it certainly wouldn't have a place like Red Capital. Locals just aren't going to sustain a gorgeous Qing dynasty courtyard that's been transformed into an ironic temple of communist paraphernalia and propaganda. This is...

Located in West Beijing and well positioned for trips to the Summer Palace, the Shangri-La has a top-notch selection of restaurants, bars and shops, as well as a fine spread of rooms.