China World Shangri La hotel is a bit like a Chinese knock-off of a Western luxury car. From a distance, if you look from a certain angle and squint just right, it almost looks like the real thing. Any closer, and it becomes immediately clear that it is not.

The rooms are very poorly put together. Things do not fall apart largely because of enormous amounts of silicone sealant everywhere. Expensive fittings are ineptly attached and poorly maintained. Most things electrical, even elevator buttons, are not grounded and will give you nasty shocks when touched. Carpets were laid by someone who either hated his job or was in a lot of hurry, and have only seen casual vacuuming since. The airconditioning makes the air as dry as in an airliner, and sounds like one too. I actually woke up from being dehydrated on my first night there. To make the experience complete, the cleaners use the smelliest chemicals available. Spend a night in the room, and in the morning you would call Beijing smog “a breath of fresh air”.

Oh yes, speaking of staff. They routinely ignore “do not disturb” lights, and do not bother to knock before entering rooms. What's more, they are quite difficult to chase away once they're in and have started going about their duties. Generally, except for the lovely elevator lady (there to keep undesirables out, but what a smile!) the staff sees the clients as an annoyance. Getting a round of drinks at the lobby bar is a 30-minute affair. Extra marks for uselessness and grumpiness go to the concierge.

I have not stayed at any other Beijing hotels, but compared to Dubai, Singapore or Kuala Lumpur 5-star hotels China World Shangri La is a very unfunny joke. There are lots of supposedly 5-star hotels in Beijing that cost a fraction of Shangri La, and they cannot really be much worse. Stay elsewhere.

On 11 Dec I visited my business guest at China World Hotel at 12 noon. While we were walking towards the Aria restaurant at the lobby, suddenly we were being pushed and ordered by a jecket male to clear. My guest and I were shocked. Before we could react, we were being pushed by another leather jacket male. We were concerned about our safety and decided not to have lunch and hurried back to my buisness guest suite room. Later the General Manager came to apologize and explained to my guest that there were a group of politicians behind us walking the lobby passage and the two male who pushed us were not hotel staff but politicians' staff. I felt strongly that our safety was being compromised in this hotel. Hence, if you are not a political figure be prepared to be physically (even you are a female) pushed around ignoring your safety not once but twice in this hotel.

This is the most wonderful hotel i ever stayed.....the room is spacious, has comfy slippers, nice Aigner shampoo n bath gel, 4 - 5 magazines in the room. The hotel itself is grand, but staff is not customer centric though. Heard Bills Gates stayed here when he visited china in 2005. The location is not so good during peak hours, it could be bad traffic. But upmarket shopping is just near by.

Stayed here for 5 nights Oct 17-22, had a wonderful stay. The room was large (1544-corner room with good view). Bed / pillows very good. service great. Location perfect for both business and leisure, the China World shopping mall right at your feet, no need to even go outside. Aria restaurant and bar fantastic, escpecially the cocktails made by Bruce and Johnson. Would pick this hotel again when visiting Beijing.