The Emperor Beijing Forbidden City — Sleep Against the Palace Wall, Then Watch the Sunset From the Roof
Picture stepping out of your hotel and being a few paces from the east gate of the Forbidden City — then, come evening, taking the lift up to a rooftop bar where the golden-tiled palace roofs stretch out in front of you. That's what The Emperor Beijing Forbidden City (北京皇家驿栈) has offered since it opened in 2008: a small design boutique of just around 55 rooms, with a lobby by Germany's GRAFT Labs, and the first hotel in China admitted to the Design Hotels group. It holds a TripAdvisor score of 4.0/5 from around 490 real guest reviews (ranked roughly #101 of more than 3,500 Beijing hotels). To be honest, this isn't a big-room luxury palace — but if you're coming to Beijing for the historic core and you value location and atmosphere over square metres, it's one of the most characterful bases in the imperial heart of the city.
Here's what guests remember about The Emperor — not the room size, but the location and the roof. The hotel sits at No. 33 Qihelou Street (骑河楼大街33号), Dongcheng District, pressed right up against the eastern wall of the Forbidden City; you'd be hard-pressed to find a hotel closer. Walk out the door and within a few minutes you're at the moat and the palace walls, while the Palace Museum, Tiananmen Square, Jingshan Park and the Wangfujing pedestrian street are all within roughly a 10-minute walk. For a first-time visitor who wants to soak up old Beijing on foot, few addresses line up better with the itinerary.
One guest recalls: "Going up to the rooftop bar at sunset and seeing the Forbidden City's roofs spread out in front of you — that's a view I won't forget. The room may not be huge, but the location and the atmosphere are what make it worth it."
The hotel is a proper piece of design. The lobby was created by the German studio GRAFT Labs, all warm yellow suede against bright white, with swooping curves framing a horseshoe-shaped sofa. The guest rooms run minimalist and white, with sunken beds, tube-shaped pillows, and minibars that rise up out of concealed cabinets — more than one guest has compared the mood to a set from 2001: A Space Odyssey. Back in 2009 Forbes named it one of the world's 12 best business hotels, and it was the first Chinese property to join the Design Hotels group. If you care about design, you'll get a lot out of staying here.
The feature people talk about most is the rooftop Yin bar, built on a rising series of platforms with a panoramic sweep over the palace roofs — many reviews call it one of the best views in Beijing, especially at sunset. The bar doubles as a gathering spot for the city's fashion and media crowd, with live music and events through the year. The roof also has a cantilevered sky pool whose edge juts out over the old city, while downstairs there's a spa, an indoor Jacuzzi, sauna, gym, and a modern-Chinese restaurant. One quiet caveat: the rooftop pool tends to be seasonal (Beijing winters are bitterly cold), so if you're set on a swim, check with the hotel before you go.
Now for the honest part. A TripAdvisor score of 4.0/5 from around 490 reviews paints a picture that's solidly good rather than flawless. The people who love it love the location, the design, the rooftop bar, and the attentive staff (some say they came back precisely because it's so convenient). But the criticisms are real too. Some guests feel the building and rooms are showing their age, which is fair for a property that opened in 2008. A few mention soundproofing between rooms and dim in-room lighting, and anyone expecting full five-star polish can come away feeling it falls a little short. The simple takeaway: you stay here for the experience and the address, not for a brand-new luxury room.
On the rooms themselves, this is a small boutique with categories from Superior (30 m²) up through Deluxe (33 m²) and Premier Deluxe King/Twin (35 m²), plus suites. All share the same clean white aesthetic; the sizing is comfortable for a couple or a solo traveller but not sprawling like a big-room luxury hotel. Standard rates start at around ~¥900 (฿4,500) per night, with a typical range of ฿4,500–9,000 depending on season and room type. China's Golden Week (October 1–7) and Chinese New Year push rates up and fill the rooms fast — and because it's a small hotel with limited inventory, you'll want to book well ahead for those dates.
The honest summary, friend to friend: The Emperor Beijing Forbidden City is for travellers who value a wall-to-the-palace location, the design, and a rooftop bar overlooking the Forbidden City more than room size or newness. If you're a couple or a traveller who wants a base you'll remember and the ability to walk to everything in the old city, the rates here are genuinely good value. But if you're after a large, brand-new, full five-star room or big-hotel facilities, compare it against the other options in our Beijing list first.
Summary from Booking & Agoda
- ✓ A location right by the Forbidden City east gate — hard to beat for proximity
- ✓ The Yin rooftop bar over the palace roofs — the feature guests rave about
- ✓ A genuine design piece by GRAFT Labs, in the Design Hotels group
- ✓ Easy walk to Tiananmen, Jingshan Park and Wangfujing
- ! The building and rooms are showing their age (opened 2008)
- ! Boutique-sized rooms, not the space of a big-room luxury hotel
- ✓ Atmosphere and old-city character you won't get from a standard chain
- ✓ Cantilevered sky pool plus spa, Jacuzzi and sauna
- ✓ Clean, white minimalist rooms — well suited to couples and solo travellers
- ✓ Attentive staff; some guests return because it's so convenient
- ! Some reviews note soundproofing between rooms and dim in-room lighting
- ! The rooftop pool is often seasonal and may close in winter — check first
- 💡If you want a brand-new, spacious, full five-star room · The Emperor opened in 2008, and the rooms are boutique-sized and showing their age · Fix → see The Peninsula Beijing or Mandarin Oriental Wangfujing in our list — far larger, newer rooms (though several times the price)
- 💡If you're sensitive to noise and need quiet · Some reviews mention soundproofing between rooms · Fix → ask for a higher floor or a room away from the lift/bar when booking, and pack earplugs just in case
- 💡If you're set on swimming in the rooftop pool · The sky pool is usually seasonal and Beijing winters are harsh, so it may be closed · Fix → confirm the pool's status with the hotel before booking, especially for November–March