A Red Princess Weekend - Beijing

Post in progress

Filled with collector’s items, books, antiques, and all-things-Communist-Mao, this was a fabulous theme hotel.  The building —and all the furnishings—date back to the period of Communist China, so the couch is creaky, the walls are thin, and the radiators keep the room nominally warm.   The staff is excellent and one or two speak perfect English, but not the elder caretakers, so make sure you have your translator APP installed!  I wish I had more time to peruse the multitude of books that overflow on the coffee table, hide the dust on the nightstand, and remain out of reach in a glass case above the door mantle.  The ceilings are exceptionally high and formed by solid columns of beautiful, dark-stained timber.  The stone lining the bathroom walls and floor seem Paleolithic in their shiny roughness.  It takes 5 minutes for hot water to weakly stream from the sink tap late at night, but the shower has good pressure and the water warms quicker in the morning and during the day.  I have only two suggestions for the managers and owner: provide tissues in the bedroom and better quality slippers.  All hotels in China offer disposable slippers made of cloth; the better quality the hotel, the better the slippers of course.  But this is not a cheap hotel, albeit an old build, theme-style guesthouse.  But these slippers are of the poorest-quality paper and cardboard, which is ridiculous and uncomfortable on the cold hard timber and stone floors ins the rooms.  Overall an absolutely charming 5-room guesthouse down a  lovely hutong, a few kilometres east of the Forbidden City. I highly recommend staying here for a few days to enjoy the history and culture of the Red Capital. 

What is a “Red Princess”? 

​More on the owner and scholar of the Red Capital Residence. 

Red Capital Residence info: https://www.lonelyplanet.com/china/beijing/hotels/red-capital-residence/a/lod/bc5307ba-8239-4417-96ff-d01f40e25878/355905
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