Four Seasons Hotel Beijing — Big Rooms by the Liangma River, a Service-Led Luxury Stay in the Embassy District
Picture waking up, opening the curtains, and seeing the Liangma River curve away below you — from a room wide enough to have its own dressing area and a deep marble tub. That's Four Seasons Hotel Beijing (北京四季酒店), a 5-star hotel in the Liangmaqiao embassy district. It opened in 2012, has 313 rooms, and scores 9.3/10 from around 2,116 real guest reviews on Trip.com. What guests mention again and again is the careful, attentive service, the spacious rooms, and a naturally-lit indoor pool with city views. Be clear on one thing before you book: this is not next to the old city the way Wangfujing hotels are — reaching the Forbidden City means a metro ride or a taxi. But if you're here for work, or you want a quiet, polished stay in a business district that's easy for eating and drinking, this address makes a lot of sense.
Here's what guests praise first — the service. It's classic Four Seasons: staff who remember your name, notice small details, and step in to help before you've asked. Many reviews say they felt like a VIP from the moment they walked into the lobby. The next thing they mention is room size. A standard Deluxe Room starts at roughly 46 square metres — bigger than many 5-star hotels in the city — with a separate dressing area, a marble bathroom with a deep tub and a rain shower, an in-room coffee machine, and a soft, easy-on-the-eye colour scheme.
One guest recalls: "The room was spacious and spotless, and the staff went well beyond what I expected. It's an older hotel by now, but it's kept up beautifully, and the spot right on the Liangma River is peaceful — a lovely evening walk along the water."
On location, get the picture straight before you book. The hotel sits at 48 Liangmaqiao Road, Chaoyang District, right beside the Liangma River, in the embassy and Lufthansa Center area to the north-east of the centre. The upside: it's a quiet, clean, safe district ringed with restaurants, cafés and international shops, with an easy riverside walk on your doorstep. The catch: it's not next to the old city — the Forbidden City is roughly 7–8 km away, so you'll take the metro or a taxi. This is not a walk-to-the-landmarks address the way Wangfujing is.
If you take the subway, Liangmaqiao station (Line 10) is about a 6-minute walk. Line 10 is the loop line, so it links you to plenty of key areas — the CBD/Guomao, Sanlitun — and connects to other lines into the old city. For business travellers it's handy too, close to the Lufthansa Center and the eastern business district. The airport (PEK) isn't far either — roughly a 30–40 minute taxi depending on traffic — which suits anyone flying in and out often.
The in-house dining is a genuine strength. The headliner is Cai Yi Xuan, the Michelin-starred Cantonese restaurant — dim sum and Cantonese cooking that locals rate among the best hotel restaurants in Beijing. If you'd rather eat Western, there's the Italian restaurant Mio, well reviewed for its pasta and steaks. Beyond that there's a naturally-lit indoor pool with city views, a hydrotherapy pool, a spa and a gym — and several guests say the indoor pool is one of their favourite parts of the stay, swimming with the city skyline in view.
A score of 9.3/10 from around 2,116 real reviews on Trip.com (and around 9.1 on Booking) shows how satisfied guests tend to be — they consistently praise the service, cleanliness, room size and the indoor pool. The criticisms worth knowing before you book are two. First, the décor is starting to show its age in places, since the hotel opened back in 2012 — some reviewers feel the room design isn't as fresh as the newest luxury openings. Second, the location is away from the old city, so if your main plan is to walk the Forbidden City and Tiananmen every day, budget travel time.
Standard rates start at around ~¥1,800 (฿9,000) per night for a Deluxe Room, with a typical range of ฿9,000–17,000 depending on season and room type. China's Golden Week (October 1–7) and Chinese New Year are when rates climb and rooms fill fast, so book ahead and take a free-cancellation rate to keep your options open. On the whole, if you're coming to Beijing for business, or you want a quiet, polished stay in a district that's easy for food and drink and run by excellent service, Four Seasons Beijing fits the brief well.
The honest summary, friend to friend: Four Seasons Hotel Beijing is for travellers who value high-touch service, big rooms and a calm business-and-embassy district over being next to the old-city landmarks. If you're here to work, settling in for a longer stay, or you'll make the most of the indoor pool and Michelin dining, this is excellent value. But if this trip is all about walking the historic core every day, look at the Wangfujing hotels in our Beijing list first.
Summary from Booking & Agoda
- ✓ High-touch Four Seasons service — staff who handle every detail
- ✓ Big rooms (Deluxe from 46 sqm) with a deep marble tub
- ✓ Naturally-lit indoor pool with city views, plus a spa and gym
- ✓ Quiet Liangmaqiao district, easy for food and drink, near Sanlitun
- ! Away from the old city — the Forbidden City means a metro or taxi
- ! Some of the décor is starting to show its age (opened 2012)
- ✓ The indoor pool with city views is a guest favourite
- ✓ Cai Yi Xuan, the Michelin Cantonese restaurant, plus Italian at Mio
- ✓ Liangmaqiao metro (Line 10) about a 6-minute walk away
- ✓ Right on the Liangma River — a lovely riverside walk in the evening
- ! Rates climb and rooms fill fast during Chinese holidays
- ! Business-and-embassy district focus — less for daily old-city sightseeing
- 💡If your main plan is walking the Forbidden City and Tiananmen daily · The hotel is in Liangmaqiao, roughly 7–8 km from the old city, so you'll take the metro or a taxi · Fix → see The Peninsula Beijing or Hilton Beijing Wangfujing in our list, both within walking distance of the old city
- 💡If you want a brand-new, ultra-modern design hotel · This one opened in 2012 and some of the décor shows its age · Fix → for the newest look, consider Bvlgari or NUO Hotel in nearby districts
- 💡If you're travelling during Golden Week or Chinese New Year · Rates climb and rooms sell out fast · Fix → book 1–2 months ahead and take a free-cancellation rate in case plans change