BEST WESTERN PLUS Arkon Park Hotel, Beijing

although a bit far (located southwest within 2nd ring highway) from the more trendy parts of the city (Chaoyang), the hotel was impeccable. It is located in a residental part of the city with relatively few other hotels, near 3 supermarkets, one elementary & middle school, and numerous restaurants and little shops. There's even a bao shop down the street selling different kinds of baos for 0.50 or 1 kuai. Once you leave the hotel, you definitely get a feel of the locals and the community which was fun and interesting. The staff was very professional and spoke enough English to communicate effectively (they were very polite about my atrocious Mandarin). Free copies of China Daily were available every morning at breakfast. The hostess sat you according to smoking/nonsmoking preferences. Even though I am not a fan of buffet style dining, I had to admit that breakfast was pretty good. They had 4 different kinds of fresh juice (tomato, orange, watermelon, celery), numerous pasteries (both asian and western), a hot station where 3 cooks are readily available to fry you an egg or serve you wonton noodle soup. Fresh fruit, cereal, and cold cuts of meats were also available. This seemed to be a fairly new facility so the restaurant & lounge had nice decors, the room was spacious and well maintained, and there was even an indoor pool. For the price paid for this hotel, the service and amentities were well worth it. I would definitely return