How the Gloria Has Fallen...
When I first stayed there in the 1990s, the Gloria Plaza was one of the better hotels in Beijing. Flash-forward almost a decade, and the hotel is not wearing well. Furnishings are ratty and service is not particularly great--it's not the worst I've seen, but nowhere near the best. It happens that I'd returned to this hotel after staying at the Park Hyatt in Tokyo, and the Gloria simply didn't compare well. Most of the clientele seemed to be Eastern Europeans on a tight budget, and the lines at the registration desk were always long. I can't really recommend it, though I gave it three stars due to the location and price.