Taken straight from the website!
When I was preparing for two long layovers in Beijing spaced longer than 72-hours apart (and limiting me to the airport for at least one of those visits), I looked for hourly hotels within the Beijing Airport and found this lovely website: http://en.bcia.com.cn/server/service/lounge.shtml
Back when I first clicked into it, there was a full price list available, as well as a feature to reserve your room from one week prior to your visit. Unfortunately, one week out, the reservation system was down, and still isn't working as of today. So while I can't give you a detailed breakdown of what to expect (or even where) I can describe our experience for you.
For the record, the above image was the exact lounge I went to, so whether it was in T3, T2, or T1, this review will be about this particular lounge, wherever it may be within the airport. I think it was T3, based off of this information:
Terminal 3E International
Lounge: BUSINESS TRAVELERS LOUNGE
Location: Airside - across from Gate E10.
Opening Hours: 24 hours daily.
After disembarking from the plane, we headed through towards Immigration, and rather than hitting International Transfers right away, we headed through the security checkpoint (the body-heat checking one), and right past that checkpoint was a sign pointing to Gate E10 (which was where the hourly pay lounge was).
Be careful not to pass through Immigration at this point, but having your Arrival card already completed is recommended.
Do you remember this scene from Beauty and the Beast?
If the main thoroughfare for Immigration is the more brightly-lit path, our path was the one to the left. Dark, abandoned, mysterious. Instead of getting into the lines where Foreigners and Chinese Residents would file through, we went into this area tucked in between there and the heat-seeking checkpoint. No one else was in the line, but off into the distance, my husband saw two people sitting at a desk similar to the Immigration stalls.
After giving them our passports to stamp, we went through bag check security and followed the signs for Gate E10. And there was a business lounge with no one on the ground floor, but the sign said to call for assistance. We did and told them we were looking for a standard room (1180 CNY as of August 2015), and they told us to go to the 2nd(?)3rd(?) floor.
It was actually much nicer than I thought it would be (from reading scant accounts of other people's experiences), and our room came with two beds (my husband and I slept I Love Lucy-style) and a very modern bathroom with a narrow glass floor-to-ceiling window connecting the bathroom and the bedroom. I don't know why this was there, since it faces the toilet, and that's anything but sexy. Luckily, it wasn't in view of either of the beds, so as long as you and your traveling companion respect each other's privacy, there should be no problem. Otherwise, you may want to think about getting two single rooms and using the communal bathrooms instead. (Maybe the other standard rooms look different; I don't know.) The communal restrooms (combination toilet/shower) seemed pretty alright from what I saw as we walked past.
The check-in staff was very nice, and even though my debit card (and my husband's debit card) didn't work (Chase fraud protection), they were understanding and allowed us to try another credit card while letting us experience the most minimal amount of shame possible. They asked us what time we wanted them to give us a wake-up call, which was very nice. The beds were firm and we had a really great sleep before our early flight the next morning.
Even though it was about the equivalent of $193 USD (as of August 2015), for the convenience, the location, the service, the room itself, and our overall comfort, I would definitely recommend this place in a pinch. I usually spend as little as possible on accommodations since I am a super budget traveler, but I've had enough running-around trips to know that sometimes the value of peace of mind is worth the extra money.
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