We greatly enjoyed our 2 nights at...
We greatly enjoyed our 2 nights at Citycourt. The location is wonderful - in a hutong community within 10 minutes walking distance of the Bell Tower and other tourist sites. It's touristy around the hutong area, but not in the middle where the hotel is.
Getting to Citycourt is an adventure. Taxis do not willingly go into these hutongs (narrow back alleys) which were semi-blocked by construction when we went (Nov 2009). Walk 300m up Baochao Hutong from Gulou Dong Dajie, then 50m right at the small red "Hotel" sign stuck 3m up on a telephone pole. Lighting at night is fine; we still felt safe walking back at 10:30pm (7-year-old kids were still out playing).
Citycourt is newly built (2005?) but in an old style. Our room had a stone floor, but good heating. The bathroom was small and had no separate shower stall, just a curtain to avoid splashing the Western-style toilet. The rooms surround a courtyard decorated nicely. The tiny eating area (with $7 breakfasts) has Internet terminals and a resident turtle named Terry crawling around. The reception area, courtyard, rooms... everything is new made to look old. They've done a great job of blending new tech with old look.
