The Prime Hotel had big rooms and a great location within walking distance of the Forbidden City and the Wang Fung, but those were the only perks. We changed rooms several times upon our arrival, in an attempt to find a room that did not have a mildew problem, before finally settling on the first room we were given. Even this room had a shower that was unusable because of the mildew problem. In addition the food in their restaurant was only marginal at best. Next time I go to China I will only stay in American brand hotels, which seemed to be held to much higher standards.

This was our first trip to China and we were a little intimidated, but once we arrived at the Prime hotel in Beijing we felt at ease. The front desk staff and concierge were very friendly, helpful, and spoke English fairly well. The bell boy even walked us down the street to a local resturant for dinner. The room was large, very clean and modern. For us the location of the hotel was perfect, we were able to walk to the forbidden city, tiananmen sq, temple of heaven, and several markets. I would definitely stay at the Prime hotel again, and I suggest you do the same.

Just returning from a stay at the Prime. I upgraded to the Regency Club room and while the room was adequate, it was no great shakes. The biggest problem with the hotel is the totally inefficient air conditioning. The room was stifling and the air was dead. It became quite uncomfortable. Forget the exercise room. The stationary bikes are hazardous and the lights went out half way through my workout for no reason.

The rooms are a little dated but passable. And generally, the service ranged from ok to poor and indifferent. Perhaps I was spoiled by stays at the Xiamen Sheraton (great hotel) and the Hong Kong Harbour Plaza (likewise), both of which I found through TripAdvisor, but I can't recommend the Prime. Pony up a little extra and stay at one of the Western chains.

My boyfriend and I stayed at this hotel in 2005 after deciding on it after reading all the reviews on this site.

We were upgraded on arrival and had the most gorgeous room with two showers (!) and a bath. The view was nice too with a temple in the distance that the sun would set behind (all the air pollution creates
stunning sunsets!) The breakfast was great and would set us up well through the day. The pool area is a bit dingy and they make you buy these ridiculous hats to swim in! It's too cold to stay in the pool so I wouldn't bother but doesn't affect your stay. The hotel is about
5 mins walk from the main shopping area of Beijing which is always buzzing and fun to wander around.

I had read that the hotel staff don't speak much English, but then no one does in China and we never found it to be a problem. We caught
taxi's everywhere and would get the staff to write our location in Chinese characters and then show it to the tax driver.

We had a great holiday in Beijing and in particular want to recomment
"Eddie" a driver who we hired to take us to the Great Wall of China. We were given his business card one night and hooking up with him was
the best idea of our trip. For approx $100 he took us two two different sections of the wall and patiently waited (a long, full day). His English was great, he was friendly and his car was new and clean. We also got him to take us to the airport as we had an early morning flight and even at 4am he was great! Thanks Eddie!