The Sha Tan Hotel in Beijing was well worth the price paid -- the location was excellent, and the service was top-notch. The front desk spoke perfect English, and the rooms were comfortable.

The hotel itself is a short-walk from the Forbidden City, and pretty close to Tiananmen Square as well, as well as several very nice restaurants (though I'd imagine it's pretty hard to get by in those without speaking Mandarin, which my girlfriend did).

In short, I definitely recommend this hotel.

This was my 3rd visit to ShaTan Hotel! And I was coming home!!
The people, the street, the restaurants, It was all like coming home! I am sure when i come to Chine in 2009 im coming "home" again!!!!!!

3 of us stayed 5 nites at the shatan. the staff were helpful & the brekky quite good. Approx 5-10mins walk from northern gate of forbidden city, in a little local street. Was interesting for all to walk within this street. would definitely recommend to travellers for budget and location. ($327AUD with brekky for 3)

Loved this hotel, mainly for the location on an interesting Chinese street, very close to the Forbidden City and other tourist sites (although it is quite a walk to the nearest subway station). Reception staff are friendly and speak English fairly well. The rooms are of a good standard for the price. Breakfast hours are a bit restricted (7am - 9am), but have a wide range of Chinese foods to try with the option to create an equivalent of a full English.