Very good hotel for its three star rating. The staff is very friendly. The neighbourhood is not so exciting, but it's near the Beihaipark, so you can walk to that. The room is beautifull and the garden even so. A pity is it, when it is raining you can not sit in the garden.

You have free internet, but when your computer has a hardware error you can not use it. The have to repair it, but they didnot came.

Bamboo Garden has an authentic feel to it as soon as you step in, so we were surprised to find the flat screen TVs and in-room PC with fast Internet access (which I'm now using to write this review).

Cons: room could be a bit cleaner (quite a lot of dust in ours), and the aircon doesn't really work that well. Breakfast isn't a highlight and not really recommended.

Pros: rooms are full of character and comfortable, and it feels like you're staying in the real China (my perceived one, anyway). Location is close to old Beijing quarters and I'm pleased we didn't book one of the characterless tourist traps.The grounds and gardens are beautiful and peaceful.

Overall we felt it was good value, a good location and a nice environment.

Like others we had a problem when the car & driver we booked with the hotel to pick us up from the airport didn't show. "Problem", they said "between the sales desk and reception.". Hmmm. Fortunately it was late at night and a government taxi from the domestic terminal only cost 70 rmb - 50 rmb less than what the hotel wanted.
Also, as we never found a taxi driver that spoke ANY English, we were dropped off at the wrong guesthouse on this little lane. (Confusion over "Zhu yuan" and "Ju yuan"). So wandering down an unlit laneway at midnight, we were so very pleased to finally see the treasure hidden behind a tiny entrance gate.
Once in our room, it was fantastic. The rooms had recently been redone, and the view from our ground floor window was as if we were in a huge park or garden. No noise from nearby reconstruction reached inside (double glazing perhaps), and despite the ferocious summer heat, the room was always cool (maybe a touch too cool).
Our bed was very firm - the Asian style - but I noticed a nagging back ache suddenly disappeared. Very surprised to see the computer with internet provided free in the room, along with the flat screen LCD TV with cable. Not many English channels, but we enough to find the weather and headlines.
Room rates were higher than expected - a recent rate hike I expect. At 880 RMB we expected more of a suite, but we enjoyed it so much we didn't complain.
The staff were helpful but only if asked. Otherwise they would sit back and do other things until you were ready. We preferred this than always being bothered. Any time we did ask, no matter how trivial or small they jumped to it. Their English is barely passable, so a little Chinese will always help.
Only had one breakfast in the restaurant (40RMB) which was a mixed buffet of Asian and Western (continental) plus a cook that would whip up eggs. The meal was certainly good, but we preferred the hutongs in the early morning where we could find Pork Buns for 7 1/2 jiao (0.75 RMB), and lovely spinach rolls (5 jiao). It was certainly great to be right in there with them rather than the marble palaces in downtown.
We bought beer (pi jiu) from the shop next door for 2 or 3 RMB and keep them in our fridge for our return after a hard day shopping in the heat! Fabulous. Occassionally splurged and had a beer on the restaurant terrace to sit and enjoy the garden and its lighting. Got a simple but adequate haircut next door for only 10 RMB.
The hotel arranged our car and driver to the Great Wall at Simitai - probably dearer than it should have been at around 600 RMB, but we couldn't be bothered trying to bargain through the official tourist agencies. Just told them the night before and it was there at 6am.
Finally, the main streets nearby are mildly interesting but not hugely westernised, so don't expect a wide choice of meals at 3pm. Not a lot of shops, though the Drum Tower is very close, as is the subway and several bus routes. Take a shortcut through the hutongs to get quickly to the Hou Lake for a bit more of the hectic bars & cafes, tourist shops and wonderful scenery.
Overall, the Bamboo Garden was like a prize we loved to return to each day out. The serenity was a secret joy that restored and revitalised us our entire week stay.

My first impressions of the hotel were not good - I'd booked the hotel's driver to collect me from the airport but was surprised to be asked at the hotel to pay the driver directly in cash rather than the cost being added to my hotel bill. I just had enough Chinese money with me to pay the driver. The hotel website said they offered currency exchange services so I tried to change $NZ but they wouldn't accept it, so "limited currency exchange" would have been more accurate - unless you have something like $US you're out of luck. The staff member I dealt with through this was not overly friendly or helpful.

I had no problems from then on. The setting is great, very peaceful. I was shown to a lovely single room (411) full of character, with a fabulous bathroom and free internet access; later I booked an additional night and got a double room (416) which was just as good - no internet - but had a bit of drain smell in the bathroom - which as I later discovered you get in character hotels here as part of the package and is no problem if you close the bathroom door. The beds were the most comfortable of any I slept on during my trip.

I ate a few dinners in the hotel restaurant and the food was OK - breakfast buffet just adequate - but also try the local street vendors and dumpling shops. Restaurant staff spoke very little English. I didn't try their spa; if you go left out the main gate and explore the hutongs you'll find the blind massage place - awesome - 2 mins walk. Make the most of the fabulous location.

Most staff here speak limited English but are helpful. Ask them to write down your destination in characters to show taxi drivers, and also ask them to write in characters the hotel name and driving directions to it, as taxi drivers can never find it.

This hotel was excellent value for money and offered a good balance between character and comfort.