The 10 Best Luxury Hotels in Beijing
From the Forbidden City to the Liangma River

Among the 5-star set itself, The Peninsula earns the highest review score in Beijing at 9.6/10 — and every room here is a suite. The entry-level room is one of the largest in the city, with a marble bathroom and the in-room technology Peninsula is known for. It's about a 12–15 minute walk to the east side of the Forbidden City. There's an in-house Rolls-Royce fleet and Jing, the two-Michelin-star Cantonese restaurant. Guests who have stayed say the same thing: the service genuinely attends to every detail. The one thing to know is that the mood is quiet and private — if you want a buzzing, lively lobby, this may feel too still for you.

If one Beijing hotel is being talked about more than any other in the world right now — Mandarin Oriental Qianmen is that name. It isn't a hotel block; it's a village of 42 real, restored siheyuan courtyard houses in the middle of the old city's Central Axis, each one a private courtyard home, so you sleep in a historic lane just south of the Forbidden City. Guests have rated it to TripAdvisor's #1 spot in the entire city, with a Forbes Five-Star 2026 award and #14 on The World's 50 Best Hotels 2025 — the most decorated new hotel here. What to know: it's the highest-priced on this list, and there are very few courtyard houses, so you'll need to book a long way ahead.

If your idea of luxury is quiet, private and thoroughly Italian — Bvlgari Hotel Beijing is where the high-jewellery house turned hotelier so beautifully that guests come back to stay again. It sits on the Liangma River in the greenest, calmest Embassy quarter of Beijing, with a private riverside garden, a Bvlgari Spa, and Il Ristorante – Niko Romito, which has held one Michelin star for years. It's on the Condé Nast Traveler Gold List. The rooms are dressed in fine materials in warm tones. Anyone who values privacy over being next to a landmark will fall for it. What to know: it's around 6–7 km from the Forbidden City, so you'll take a car into the old city.

Picture a leading American luxury brand that lets you sleep in a real, restored siheyuan courtyard house in the middle of Wangfujing — the Waldorf Astoria pulls this off in the city centre. The Courtyard Villas have their own private central courtyard (if you want a pure courtyard experience, Mandarin Oriental Qianmen goes deeper, but here you get a walk-to-the-palace location too). As for breakfast, guests are unanimous it's the best of any hotel in China — fresh dim sum, eggs to order. The central Wangfujing location is a 10-minute walk from the Forbidden City. Worth noting: the pool and spa are fairly compact, so if swimming is your main thing, the CBD hotels have more space.

If your dream luxury is waking up to the Beijing skyline from up high and dining above the city — Park Hyatt Beijing has some of the best views of any 5-star in the CBD. It's in the Beijing Yintai Centre, one of the tallest buildings on Chang'an Avenue. The rooms are minimalist and Japanese in feel, with city-view bathtubs in many. The real draw is China Grill on Level 66 with 360-degree views, and China Bar on Level 65, which has become one of the city's favourite drinking spots. It connects directly to Guomao station, so getting around is easy. What to know: if the old city is the heart of your trip, this is in the CBD, around 5–6 km from the Forbidden City.

Four Seasons is the brand people choose worldwide for "service you can always trust", and the Beijing property holds that standard well — it's the safest 5-star if reliable, never-miss care is what you value most. It sits on Liangmaqiao Road near Sanlitun, the shopping-and-bar quarter, with spacious, modern rooms, an indoor pool, a spa and a full fitness centre. The standout is Cai Yi Xuan, the Cantonese restaurant with one Michelin star. Guests mention the attentive staff and the variety at breakfast again and again. What to know: it's on the Chaoyang side, around 6 km from the Forbidden City, leaning more towards shopping, dining and business than walking the old city.

If you're in Beijing for business, you love good design, you want spacious rooms, and you want to eat and drink without leaving the building — Rosewood Beijing is one of the best hotels in the CBD. The rooms are residential in style and generously sized, with views over the CBD skyline and the CCTV tower. There are seven restaurants in-house — Peking duck, Country Kitchen, the Cantonese House of Dynasties, hotpot, and a cocktail bar. The Manor Club lounge serves breakfast, all-day snacks, a cocktail hour and has a pool table — more like a private club than a lounge. What to know: if the Forbidden City is the heart of your trip, this is in the CBD, around 5–6 km from the historic sights.

Not every 5-star in Beijing holds a Forbes Travel Guide Five-Star rating — The Ritz-Carlton Financial Street is one that does. It sits in the Xicheng Financial District, a quiet, grown-up kind of luxury. The rooms are classic and warm in the Ritz-Carlton style — not trend-chasing, but never dated. Its Club Lounge draws praise for the service and the all-day food. It suits business travellers or anyone who prefers calm over buzz. What to know: the Financial District is around 5 km from the Forbidden City, and some reviews note that service for non-Chinese-speaking guests can be less consistent than at other international chains — making your requests clear in English helps.

NUO is a Chinese luxury brand proud of its own cultural roots — the whole hotel interprets "the Ming dynasty, made contemporary" into a design that's a genuine reason to stay. The rooms are in blue, white and dark brown, with Ming-style lanterns and paintings, alongside original artworks by Zeng Fanzhi, the internationally known Chinese artist, throughout. It sits near the 798 art district, which makes it ideal if you're here for art and design. There are five restaurants and an Executive Club Lounge, and guests score it a high 9.4 for the design and service. What to know: it's on the eastern Chaoyang side, a fair distance from the old city centre — it leans towards 798 and Jiuxianqiao rather than walking the palace.

To close the luxury list, an option for those who want to wake up to the palace — the Mandarin Oriental Wangfujing offers the best Forbidden City views of any design-led luxury hotel here. Pull back the curtains in a palace-side room and the golden tiled roofs are right in front of you. The rooms and suites are among the most spacious in Beijing, as comfortable as a suite, with a 25-metre indoor pool beneath a glass roof and a spa. It connects directly into the WF Central mall (this is a different property from Mandarin Oriental Qianmen at #2, the hutong courtyard one). The thing to understand is that it's the newest in the district, so its review base is still smaller than long-established neighbours.