The Hostelz.com Review
Tian An Men Sunrise hostel well exceeded our expectations. The staff is also great -- they are young and lively people with good knowledge of the city. Beijing is a city that is definitely worth visiting. It has a long history and this is obvious everywhere, which offers endless recreation, culinary, shopping, entertainment alternatives to the visitor.
The Location
The location of the hostel is one of the best you could ask for. It is located ten minutes' walking from the Forbidden City, the Tian An Men square, the Night Market (you know, the market with the weird -- and normal, of course -- food (snake, silk cocoons, grasshoppers), and the WangFuJing shopping street (which basically has modern stores and another night market). It is also around fifteen minutes' walking from the WangFuJing metro station, which is very very useful when you visit a city as huge as Beijing.
There are restaurants everywhere around, but it's not big news, as in Beijing and generally in China, you can be sure that finding a place to eat is the easiest thing. The good news, however, is that because the area is highly touristic you will easily find places with English menus or at least with waiters that would be able to communicate in English.
Directions to go there: You get out of the WangFuJing station from Exit C and you see the Beijing Hotel. You turn left (having the Hotel on your right hand side and the huge avenue on the left) and walk straight. Just when you reach the walls of the Forbidden city you turn on the right (it is the first crossroad you will meet -- NanHeYan Dajie street) and then walk straight (on the left side of the street preferably) for five minutes until you reach the Ciqiku Hutong (actually a small alley on the left side).
Rooms and Bathrooms
The hostel has mainly double rooms with either double or twin beds, and private bathroom/toilet. There are four- and six-bedded dorms. Linen and towels are included in the price, and all the rooms have A/C, TV, and warm water (which in China is not always the case). The rooms are pretty spacious, the beds larger than what you normally find in China, and it's very clean, as is the whole hostel. Lockers are available if you need to safely store valuables. It can be a problem having the dorm rooms next to the common room -- it can be somewhat noisy sometimes (but this didn't bother us).
Common Spaces
The hostel has one common area -- it is cozy and inviting with lounges and sofas and it is where you can have breakfast/lunch/dinner or a drink. In the common room there is a pretty fast wireless internet connection, and two desktops that you can use for free for the first hour. A small library is there as well, where you can find some useful travel guides for Beijing (and other books if you want to spent some thoughtful time!). One pitfall here -- if you visit Beijing during the wintertime then keep in mind that the insulation of the common room is very bad (the room gets a bit frozen sometimes, despite the heating devices’ efforts).
The hostel provides meals all day. Since the staff works there twenty-four/seven, you can ask them to prepare something for you at any point. There are many things (though not all available all the time) to choose from -- including pizza, spaghetti, and Chinese dishes with donkey, and prices are pretty low. A selection of Chinese teas and coffee, milk, and juices, as well as beers and other alcoholic stuff can be ordered also all day long.
Several activities are offered by the hostel as well. They have trips to the Great Wall, acrobatics, kung fu, Chinese opera and other shows. They can also help you to book flights or book a taxi to the airport (we had to leave the hostel at 4 a.m. so the staff had booked a taxi for us). There are also self-service laundry facilities provided (for a small fee). There is no visitors’ kitchen, though. For more facilities -- including bicycle renting -- ask the reception.
Summary
Overall, the Tian An Men Sunrise Hostel is a more than recommended place to stay if you visit Beijing. The staff are great; the hostel is clean, spacious, and safe; the provided activities are interesting; and the location is very convenient. The common room is also pretty cozy and enables socializing. Small disadvantages include the cold in the common room (if you go there during winter time) and the possibility the dorm rooms to get a bit noisy since they are next to the common area.
The Location
The location of the hostel is one of the best you could ask for. It is located ten minutes' walking from the Forbidden City, the Tian An Men square, the Night Market (you know, the market with the weird -- and normal, of course -- food (snake, silk cocoons, grasshoppers), and the WangFuJing shopping street (which basically has modern stores and another night market). It is also around fifteen minutes' walking from the WangFuJing metro station, which is very very useful when you visit a city as huge as Beijing.
There are restaurants everywhere around, but it's not big news, as in Beijing and generally in China, you can be sure that finding a place to eat is the easiest thing. The good news, however, is that because the area is highly touristic you will easily find places with English menus or at least with waiters that would be able to communicate in English.
Directions to go there: You get out of the WangFuJing station from Exit C and you see the Beijing Hotel. You turn left (having the Hotel on your right hand side and the huge avenue on the left) and walk straight. Just when you reach the walls of the Forbidden city you turn on the right (it is the first crossroad you will meet -- NanHeYan Dajie street) and then walk straight (on the left side of the street preferably) for five minutes until you reach the Ciqiku Hutong (actually a small alley on the left side).
Rooms and Bathrooms
The hostel has mainly double rooms with either double or twin beds, and private bathroom/toilet. There are four- and six-bedded dorms. Linen and towels are included in the price, and all the rooms have A/C, TV, and warm water (which in China is not always the case). The rooms are pretty spacious, the beds larger than what you normally find in China, and it's very clean, as is the whole hostel. Lockers are available if you need to safely store valuables. It can be a problem having the dorm rooms next to the common room -- it can be somewhat noisy sometimes (but this didn't bother us).
Common Spaces
The hostel has one common area -- it is cozy and inviting with lounges and sofas and it is where you can have breakfast/lunch/dinner or a drink. In the common room there is a pretty fast wireless internet connection, and two desktops that you can use for free for the first hour. A small library is there as well, where you can find some useful travel guides for Beijing (and other books if you want to spent some thoughtful time!). One pitfall here -- if you visit Beijing during the wintertime then keep in mind that the insulation of the common room is very bad (the room gets a bit frozen sometimes, despite the heating devices’ efforts).
The hostel provides meals all day. Since the staff works there twenty-four/seven, you can ask them to prepare something for you at any point. There are many things (though not all available all the time) to choose from -- including pizza, spaghetti, and Chinese dishes with donkey, and prices are pretty low. A selection of Chinese teas and coffee, milk, and juices, as well as beers and other alcoholic stuff can be ordered also all day long.
Several activities are offered by the hostel as well. They have trips to the Great Wall, acrobatics, kung fu, Chinese opera and other shows. They can also help you to book flights or book a taxi to the airport (we had to leave the hostel at 4 a.m. so the staff had booked a taxi for us). There are also self-service laundry facilities provided (for a small fee). There is no visitors’ kitchen, though. For more facilities -- including bicycle renting -- ask the reception.
Summary
Overall, the Tian An Men Sunrise Hostel is a more than recommended place to stay if you visit Beijing. The staff are great; the hostel is clean, spacious, and safe; the provided activities are interesting; and the location is very convenient. The common room is also pretty cozy and enables socializing. Small disadvantages include the cold in the common room (if you go there during winter time) and the possibility the dorm rooms to get a bit noisy since they are next to the common area.
— Exclusive Hostelz.com Review
March 2010
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