I stayed only one night at the Spring Garden in Beijing last week when I was there for a 5-day visit. It was a lovely courtyard-style place with traditional decor, located in the hutong area (narrow lanes with low-rise old-style houses - really low) of Beijing with only 8 rooms. I especially loved the evening view of the courtyard when the street lamps cast a hue over the hotel, giving it a charming and romantic look.

It certainly was not easy to locate and all three cabdrivers whose cabs I took had some difficulty finding it. It is best to have the hotel name and address pre-written in Chinese on a note to show the driver.

For those who prefer hotels with star-ratings and full modern facilities, you should give this a miss. However, for those who are keen on experiencing the old and traditional, this would be a good choice.

The place was very clean, and the bed, though hard, was surprisingly comfortable and gave me a very good night's rest (actually, I'd love to get that for my home!).

The receptionists (Ziyi and another girl I didn't get the name of) I met there were friendly and eager to offer assistance. Although their command of English was a bit limited, it was not difficult to communicate with them. Breakfast was simple fare, but specially cooked for you according to your preferred timing and selected choice from their menu. I took the receptionist's recommendation of the wonton soup, which was excellent!

I would suggest anyone planning to stay here to check out the hotel's photos on the internet or even the hotel's own website before coming. I was quite aware of what to expect before I arrived and the fact that it was smaller than I expected only added to its charm and did not mar the pleasant stay I had there. However, I heard from the receptionist that they had a small group of people from Spain who booked 2 rooms for 5 nights, who arrived, and claimed they did not like what they saw. They left immediately but was pretty annoyed the hotel charged them for one night's stay although they should have also considered that the hotel might have turned away other guests due to their reservations and for a hotel this small, that would have been quite a substantial loss.

We stayed at the Spring Garden Courtyard Hotel in January 2008. The hotel is just lovely - it's in a hutong (a traditional Beijing street), very near Tiananmen Square, and is based - as the name would suggest - around a central courtyard. There are only 8 rooms, each beautifully decorated and fitted to a very high standard.

The staff were extremely helpful, particularly when we had to spend quite a lot of time unexpectedly rescheduling trains and flights.

Breakfast was good and varied, including the option of interesting Chinese dumplings and buns. The hotel also provides a free internet room, which is a big bonus.

The best thing about staying in such a small hotel is that it's a very personal experience. We felt like honoured guests for our entire stay.

One piece of advice: avoid room 6, which appeared to have some problems with the plumbing, resulting in a slight smell in the bathroom.

We booked a 'deluxe' double room @ 720 yuan at the Spring Garden in early April 07 through travelinchinaguide.com, so were thrilled to see such a great review by all4travelling on 1 May, whose comments we fully confirm. Spring Garden was an absolute jewel and we delighted in our marvellous ‘find’ many times every day!

We were in Room #1 (or 8001, as the Spring Garden has just eight rooms, all with the prefix 800) with its own undercover porch outside our door, facing the tranquil small courtyard with its gentle small waterfall over rocks, our possie made more private by a gorgeous fruiting pomegranate tree. There are four rooms on this front courtyard, and four in a rear courtyard (which is not as charming as the front). Rooms #1 and #2 are the top pick.

Our room was spotless, with bright Chinese decorations and artifacts, and a huge emperor-sized double bed. When we first tested it, it felt very firm to well, hard; but proved surprisingly comfortable, we slept like babes and began to wonder if our bed at home was actually too soft!

The staff were so friendly, accommodating and so generous with their time with any requests, lovely young girls who’s English is improving every day – and on the third day, and young man who was equally friendly and helpful. We spent lots of relaxing hours on our courtyard patio – such tranquil bliss, so peaceful – and in the evening, with our sundowners, softly piped Chinese music to accompany the soft glow of the red lanterns . Magic!

As an indication of the level of service – early one morning, we asked reception to call us a taxi. As the response by telephone was deemed too slow, one of the girls changed from her red cheongsam into street clothes, raced to the nearest cross-road, hailed a cab, directed him to the hotel, then puffing ... announced its arrival.

We did have a small hiccough with the plumbing drainage (as does a large slice of Beijing) – not with the shower, but with the toilet – but this was fixed immediately using the universally-known ‘black plunger’.

Breakfast was included – the western version consisting of ham, egg and toast, and the Chinese version a brown barley soup and steamed dumplings (yum), juice and coffee (loved the kiwi - or Chinese gooseberry - juice). But there was no variation of the brekkie theme, and by the sixth day DH was hangin’ out for some good old cornflakes! ;)

We enjoyed our small laneway, Xise Bei 6 Tiao or Nanwei hutong, and strolled its length many times, becoming familiar with the residents who nodded and smiled in recognition – especially the dog walkers with their itty bitty Pekingese – so that we felt a small part of their community.

A true gem, stuff that fond memories are made of.

We stayed at the Spring Garden Hotel for 5 nights in April 2007 and had a wonderful time. It is a traditional "Si He Yuan" with 8 rooms located in a hutong. Since it is outside of the standard tourist district, we felt like we got to experience real life in Beijing. The photos on the hotel's website provide a fair representation of the hotel.

The staff is wonderful and speaks adequate English. They were extremely helpful with making sight-seeing arrangements. They also hailed a taxi for us when we left for the airport. They even made sure that we had extra bottles of water to take with us on our day trip to the Great Wall.

The rooms are located on a single level around 2 separate courtyards and were clean and nicely furnished with antique reproductions. They are also extraordinarily quiet. The beds contain traditional Chinese mattresses and might be considered hard by some. The bathrooms were new and modern and came with the standard amenities (toothbrush, comb, etc.). During our stay, one of the showers began to leak and it was fixed immediately upon request. There were televisions and air-conditioners in each room.

Breakfast was included in the price of our room and was served either downstairs in a breakfast area or in the courtyard. They were also willing to pack a picnic breakfast if needed. The choice for breakfast was either "American" or "Chinese" and included as much as you wanted. Dumplings were served in the early evening upon request. Bottled water was included with the room, but other drinks were available for a small fee. A karioke machine was also available for use by guests in the downstairs breakfast area.

The location is very central, near many shops and restaurants. A Bank of China with a cash machine is located within a 1/2 block from the hotel (on Xi Shi Street). It is an easy walk to BeiHai Park with its market, restaurants and natural beauty. The # 22 bus runs down Xi Shi Street, through the Xi Dan shopping area and then to Tiananmen Square. Another bus stops about a block away goes to the zoo/aquarium. It is also about a 15 minute walk to the subway (or an easy transfer from the bus to the subway at Xi Dan). Taxis are also easily hailed on Xi Shi street.

The 7 year old who was traveling with us wants you to know that the Spring Garden was the best hotel that she stayed at during her entire 2 week trip to China. The adults on the trip concur.