Hotel Stay at Kerry Hotel, a Shangri-La Hotel - Beijing

Kerry Hotel, Beijing is one of 5 Shangri-la brands, and that is significant because while the hotel functions as a Kerry Hotel, you cannot help feeling the presence of the mother brand. The hotel has  a brilliant location, forming part of a Shangri-la block of properties that includes 3 other hotels. I recently spent a weekend at the hotel and I was curious to see to what extent it maintained the essence of the Shangri-la name. 

My Room

My Club Room on the 20th floor, at 34SQM is quite small by present day standards, but bear in mind that the hotel was opened around 1999, so that is a pretty normal size for a hotel that old. Expect the usual soft tones that are a Shangri-la trademark. The bathroom uses its space well with a deep soaking tub that was perfect for me. Club rooms have upgraded toiletries, another Shangri-la standard of L'Occitane. Finally, a complimentary mini bar makes the stay all the sweeter if you have a midnight snack craving. Overall, a comfortable room in-keeping with the value for money trend that permeates the Kerry Hotel managed by Shangri-la. 

Dining 

The location of the hotel's Chinese restaurant, The Horizon Chinese restaurant, ensures that it is always almost full. it is just outside the hotel doors in the mall. For me, this works on two levels. Sometimes you want to get away from the hotel you are staying in while not having to go too far and secondly it means you can visit the restaurant as after a day of shopping or browsing windows. For my lunch, I chose some items from the very well priced dim sum menu and the regular a la carte menu. My lunch, including premium Jasmine tea came to 250 yuan. That is good value!

For  a late night drink, I went to one of my favourite wine bars in the city, Vinotheque. While it is Centro that seems to pack people in with its gastro pub menu and fun atmosphere, I prefer the more sedate Vinotheque which admittedly lacks a bit of atmosphere, but after all, for a late night drink I want to be with two things - a fine glass of something and my thoughts. The bar boasts a workable champagne collection with  a number of labels that are somewhat off the beaten track. However, their wine and whisky selection is what excites most people. On the night, I had a glass of The Yamazaki Single Malt whisky. You can never go wrong with Japanese whisky, the best I believe. On a side note, they should look at replacing the peanuts with nibbles more in-keeping with a i\wine bar of this stature. A final tip for readers - they offer retail priced wines too. Have a look! 

The Club Lounge

The Club Lounge is situated on the 18th floor with a unique staircase that leads to both the 19th and 17th floors. The Lounge feels a bit dated, despite a refurbishment about 10 years but that is about the only negative That stayed with me. The Lounge is quite spacious with one side of the lounge offering brilliant night views of modern Beijing. 

The Lounge is a tangible manifestation of the very good value for money that Kerry Hotel offers its Club Room guests. For those not familiar with the Club concept, your room rate which is on average usually about $40-$70 more than the entry level rooms, seasonal rates notwithstanding, gives you access to the Club Lounge which offers breakfast, sandwiches and snacks in the afternoon and cocktails and canapés at night. 

They do it really well at Kerry Hotel. Breakfast features a live egg station and although guests have the option of having breakfast in the hotel's all-day dining restaurant (I tried it one morning), the lack of variety in the lounge is compensated by the quiet and relaxed nature of the lounge. I recommend breakfast in the Club Lounge. 

Afternoon sandwiches are nicely done. In addition to these, salad and fresh fruit ensure that there really is no need for lunch if you have no time. Finally, a couple sweet selections make for a pleasant afternoon. There were two things I appreciated about my afternoon. The chef came by routinely to check and if necessary, to top up sandwiches. Secondly, the staff on duty did not see the fact that there were only a few lounge guests as a chance to sit and relax as is often the case in hotel club lounges. On the contrary, they actively moved around the lounge, topping up tea where needed and clearing tables. 

Finally, Happy Hour is indeed happy with a delightful offering on both the food and drink side. Chef did well with a selection of dishes that were both filling and also just good to eat. With regards to drinks, Proescco and  a couple of wines were offered and then a very useful selection of spirits were available - the choices are clearly well thought out. I have been to hotel happy hours in lounges where spirits were simply put out that were of no use to guests because there were no suitable mixers or no one to guide guests. Here I was, however, able to enjoy a few Negroni's as well as a gin and tonic. Oh, I should mention that the ice bucket has large square ice cubes to make for a great cocktail experience. This is a really sensitive  touch. 

The days when cocktails and canapés, or Happy Hour as the hotel calls it, served as a mere introduction of  a hotel's F& B options are long gone with guests using it as dinner thanks to the generous spread put out by hotels. It is no different here. Guests are more money conscious than ever and it is all about finding value, well this is true for most of us! Happy Hour runs for a generous 2 and 1/2 hours here

Recreation

The truly unique aspect of the Kerry Hotel is its lifestyle destination concept, with its proximity to two huge shopping malls in Kerry Centre and China World Mall as well as Adventure Zone, a fun filled venue for the whole family with emphasis on , well, adventure! You are a stone's throw away from  countless restaurants and shops. The hotel gym is massive, forming a two-floor facility as part of Kerry Sports in Kerry Centre. If you are a fitness junkie, there is nothing like it in the city. I, though, was quite content to hang out in the gym and hot whirlpool bath. I must add that I wish staff was more strict with guests constantly using mobile phones in this space! Nonetheless, Kerry Sports is a   fantastic element in the Kerry Hotel experience. 

...and finally, Service

It is becoming a cliché to talk about service as being warm and friendly while maintaining a level of professionalism when talking about a Shangri-la managed property. To be succinct, at Kerry you will experience the soul of Shangri-la which is a  strong emphasis on service with a smile, a  warm and sincere smile. My interaction with lounge, housekeeping and service centre telephone staff simply checked most of the boxes in terms of what I want from staff when I stay at a hotel. The Club Lounge has an excellent team who have been with there for a while, so there is a sense of pride and ownership in what they do. With regards to the service centre operators, I have to say that as an English speaker I have not encountered such staff confident in their use of English at a hotel in China as here. For someone like me who has poor Mandarin skills. this is very important. Lastly, housekeeping staff, often overlooked, but so essential for a wonderful stay, were fantastic. 

Verdict

Kerry Hotel is much more than no fuss 5* hotel and offers a lot more than simply value for money. It combines an enviable location with casual restaurants and shops all within walking distance and for those in search of additional restaurants with a Shangri-la touch, its sister hotels too are all very close. However, do not forget that its own restaurant and bar offering is nothing to be scoffed at. One cannot also ignore the tremendous service at the hotel. It is indeed a hotel that serves as a lifestyle destination!

Details

Kerry Hotel Beijing

1 Guanghua Road,

Guomao, Chaoyang,

Beijing

+86 (10) 6561 8833

Closest Subway

• Guomao Station Line 1 - Point to point, it took me about 12 minutes walking at a leisurely pace. 
• China World Mall is well sign posted so I found it easy getting to and from the hotel. 

I: bmstoltenkamp

T: bmstoltenkamp

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