KEMPINSKI Sunrise Kempinski Hotel Beijing
An hour north of central Beijing, sitting on Yanqi Lake with the Great Wall visible on clear days, the Sunrise Kempinski Hotel Beijing is less a city hotel than a lakeside resort built around a famously strange piece of architecture — a 21-storey glass disc shaped like a rising sun. It was built for the 2014 APEC summit and now draws a mixed crowd of Chinese weekenders, families, conference delegates, and Western travellers using it as a Great Wall base. Competitors in Beijing proper — the Four Seasons, Rosewood, Mandarin Oriental — play a different game entirely.
Travellers pairing a Great Wall visit with a quiet lakeside night or two, families who want a pool and kids' club without leaving the property, and couples seeking a weekend escape from Beijing's pollution and traffic. Also a strong pick for conference delegates whose event is on-site.
You want a Beijing city hotel with walkable access to the Forbidden City, Sanlitun, or subway lines — this is an hour-plus each way. Also skip it if cigarette smoke in public areas is a dealbreaker, or if you expect fluent English across every department.
Warm and attentive, if inconsistent in English. The concierge and lobby "Ladies in Red" draw repeated praise by name for welcome gestures, itinerary help, and recovering lost items by post. English proficiency drops sharply outside the front office, which frustrates some international guests.
The breakfast buffet at Elements is the clear highlight — vast, fresh, and genuinely good. Paulaner Bräuhaus on the ground floor serves reliable German food and house-brewed beer with live music. The Magnolia Chinese restaurant and 21st-floor Views are solid but pricey, and dinner buffets have drawn complaints about cold or tired food.
Spacious, with enormous bathrooms, deep tubs, and motorised curtains. Lake-view rooms are worth the premium — the windows frame Yanqi Lake and, on clear days, the Great Wall. Weaknesses: windows don't open, some rooms show wear, and dirty exterior glass has marred the view for more than a few guests.
A genuine trade-off. Roughly 60 km from central Beijing with no subway and few taxis, but close to Mutianyu Great Wall and ideal for a post-sightseeing decompression stop. The third-floor exit leads directly onto the lakeside promenade.
Reasonable for the room product and setting; less so for F&B, where prices run high and quality is uneven.
The building itself is the draw — floodlit at night, mirrored in the lake, unmistakable. Interiors are grand but can feel cavernous and quiet in low season.
Warm and attentive, if inconsistent in English. The concierge and lobby "Ladies in Red" draw repeated praise by name for welcome gestures, itinerary help, and recovering lost items by post. English proficiency drops sharply outside the front office, which frustrates some international guests.
The breakfast buffet at Elements is the clear highlight — vast, fresh, and genuinely good. Paulaner Bräuhaus on the ground floor serves reliable German food and house-brewed beer with live music. The Magnolia Chinese restaurant and 21st-floor Views are solid but pricey, and dinner buffets have drawn complaints about cold or tired food.
Spacious, with enormous bathrooms, deep tubs, and motorised curtains. Lake-view rooms are worth the premium — the windows frame Yanqi Lake and, on clear days, the Great Wall. Weaknesses: windows don't open, some rooms show wear, and dirty exterior glass has marred the view for more than a few guests.
A genuine trade-off. Roughly 60 km from central Beijing with no subway and few taxis, but close to Mutianyu Great Wall and ideal for a post-sightseeing decompression stop. The third-floor exit leads directly onto the lakeside promenade.
Reasonable for the room product and setting; less so for F&B, where prices run high and quality is uneven.
The building itself is the draw — floodlit at night, mirrored in the lake, unmistakable. Interiors are grand but can feel cavernous and quiet in low season.
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