Hutong Inn (Zaoyuanju)

Good location, very close to train station. Also within walking distance of the forbidden city. Room was clean. Breakfast was bad.

This hotel was a perfect location if your looking for a nice quiet authentic old Beijing experience. We didn't feel like we were in a big city, and there was so much to explore. This isn't for the Hilton Inn types. Staff was friendly and helpfull. Breakfast was good, you could even make your own omelette. We were only there for a couple days, so it was nice to just step outside your hotel and see some of the historic and charming beauty of old Beijing. We enjoyed just getting lost in the winding alleyways. Room was cramped but very clean, I would stay there again! Just a stroll away from funky shops and neat little restaurants.

Great location, only about 5 minutes walk to Guloudajie subway station (exit B), small but clean room with PC, free WiFi (although weak signal and didn't always work) and delicious cheap local breakfast spots down the road! Had a problem checking in, was never informed they require 200RMB cash as a deposit and won't take most other foreign currency or credit card as security deposit, after a lot of negotiation they took Australian dollars, but otherwise the staff are friendly and helpful, their English is good and will do their best to help you. Breakfast is included but very basic, best to avoid and head to the main street for some cheap and delicious local food!! This place is undergoing renovations, so from 9am there was a lot of noise as rooms were ripped apart, hopefully when its finished they won't raise the prices and it will be a great place to stay at again next time I'm in Beijing.

The location is excellent, great place to discover life in the hutongs, close to subway, Bell Tower, walk to Houhai Lake restaurant area and much more. The hotel is basic but clean, rooms small but we didnt need more. Wifi is free. Very cheap, hostel style accommodation with own basic bathroom. Front desk very helpful.

From this well located hotel in Beijing's historic hutong's we exhaustively explored this gigantic city in 5 days. Many sites, Drum & Bell Towers, Hou Hai Lake & many restaurants & bars were within easy walking distance. Everything else was easily reached via subway with the closest station a short walk away. Walking through the hutong gave us an amazing, intimate view of the lives of regular people, just what we wanted! We also found and enjoyed wonderful bread and baked goods from tiny neighborhood shops there. Getting directions to the hotel was a bit of a challenge, but the well located Tourist Office nearby got us pointed in the right direction. A tour company the hotel contacted for our day trip to the Great Wall changed details of the trip without telling us until we asked. But we also saw a great alternate site. So in the end it all worked out fine - given that we had almost no Chinese, and people made a great effort to help us.

This was our second visit to this hotel. So yes we really like it. Senior travellers three of us including mother 83. Very friendly staff more like a hostel - and located right in the famous Hutong Area. In the same street a little - maybe smallest restuarant in Beijing only four small tables - great and cheapest food - and we are very wary . Don't worry about the location - tube station just at end of street and vey cheap taxi's everywere.

Very nice hotel in the middle of my personal favourite area of Beijing. Tidy rooms (can be coldish in the winter, but heating works well), wifi reasonably quick. Breakfast is not the best ever, and the hotel bar is always deserted in the evenings (plenty of bars in the area though). Staff are extermely friendly and helpful.

I stayed at the Zaoyuanju Hotel (aka Hutong Hotel) for two nights, sharing a triple room with my elderly parents. If you enjoy the backpacker/youth hostel atmosphere -- as we do -- this hotel is a great choice. We got some good tips from other travelers we met in the hotel lounge. The location is great. Unusually for Beijing, there's actually a lot within walking distance of the hotel: hutong neighborhoods obviously, but also the Drum Tower, Bell Tower, and a couple of really lovely parks. And, more importantly, it's just a 10-minute walk to a subway station. That said, if I had to do this trip over again, I probably would stay at a hotel with more amenities. While I prefer to stay at inexpensive places like this, since I figure, "how much time am I going to stay in the hotel really?" it's different when you're traveling with two people in their sixties who aren't used to the rigors of travel. The room was rather small and cramped here. Had I known they'd need a lot of down time in the hotel room -- and specifically how much time they'd be spending in the bathroom, which was basically adequate but spartan -- I'd have splurged for a more upmarket hotel option to make them more comfortable.

Really good location in old Beijing.A bit alarming when we first got out of cab,but then the hotel was friendly and we realized that we could,nt have found anywhere better to get a real insight into the people and living conditions of old Beijing.Everyone was really friendly and we felt totally at ease and unthreatened.we can recommend.

The Hutong Inn is a Backpacker Hotel. It can pretend to be something else but that is what it is and you need to take it for just that, no more. As a Backpacker Hotel it is slightly over-priced but that can be forgiven as the stay was a pleasant experience. It's a good Backpacker Hotel in a good, character location in amongst Hutongs (and only an easy walking 200 yards from an Underground Station), reasonably priced restaurants, good shopping near the Bell Tower and (over-priced) nightlife around a beautiful lake. The hotel staff spoke the bes English of all of the Hotels that I stayed in whils in China. They were friendly and helpful. I would recommend this to anyone that wants to feel amongst Beijing rather than isolated in a classier Hotel.