Showers/Hourly Hotel in Beijing Capital Airport?

[Duncan Leung]

Hi all,

I was wondering if anyone knew if there are showers, or an hourly hotel in the International terminal of the Beijing Capital Airport? I tried doing some online searches, but I can't find anything on the interwebs or on the official Beijing Capital Airport website.

I live in 五道口 and next month I'll be arriving into Beijing on a domestic 12am flight, but will have an international flight at 10am the next day. I didn't want to trek it out back home, and then have to go all the way back to the airport. However, I'd really like to at least shower or something before I make my longer international flight the next day.

Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance for your help!

[elliott50]

Image from: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:BJ_北京首都國際機場_Beijing_Capital_International_Airport_BCIA_interior_signs_Hourly_hotel_Shower_directory_Aug-2010_Duty-free_shop.JPG

[Duncan Leung]

elliott50, you rock!

Much thanks! =D

[roddy]

Watch out though, I think those are past passport control in T3, so you won't be able to get there until you check in.

Assuming that turns out to not be an option - there was tell years back of a hotel in the basement of the old terminal building, don't know if it's still there. I might be inclined though to book a cheap hotel / hostel room around Dongzhimen or Sanyuanqiao.

[Duncan Leung]

Hi roddy,

Thanks for the heads up- I believe that image is from within the check-in point of the airport. Hopefully I'll be able to do an early check-in =)

[roddy]

Quick bump, a friend has asked me about overnighting at Beijing Capital - any comments on lounges, reasonably priced hotels very near the airport (ha!) or just sleeping in Burger King (actually, does anyone know if BK is open 24 hours?)

[deezy]

Yea, great question. How much is the hourly hotel, per hour?

And for those arriving late on a late flight, what other options are there? Nearby hotels/hostels? Or a late shuttle or other transport into the city?

Well, it looks like from here that PEK is 19 miles NE of the city center and they have an airport shuttle that goes all the way to the Beijing Railway Station?

Any idea if that runs around the clock and how much the fare is?

[imron]

The airport shuttle cost 16 RMB last time I caught it (less than a year ago), and the services runs until around midnight.

[deezy]

^ Thanks, you are correct! There basically appears to be about 3 options for airport transport:

1) Take taxi from airport. With expressway fee of RMB 10, should be in neighborhood of RMB 100 total give or take. Getting a taxi not a problem, rush hours esp morning inbound likely to be quite slow in traffic. Allow a full hour to get to hotel. In evening hours (after 8 pm) this will be faster maybe 45 minutes. In morning rush, possibly slower.

2) Take airport express train to Dongzhimen, RMB 35. Highly reliable trip of 15 minutes duration regardless of road traffic conditions. Then switch to taxi, approx RMB 25-ish to Grand Hotel. Taxi availability around the Dongzhimen terminus varies depending on time of day, weather, etc. Sometimes can be a pain to find a taxi (and really tough between 4-7 pm), trip to Grand varies widely 20-40 minutes dep on time of day/traffic. Not a bad option but not for the heavily laden-of-luggage. Total cost about RMB 60-ish. Assuming you get a taxi fairly quickly from Dongzhimen, probably overall quicker travel time than options 1 or 3. This option has the advantage of a backup plan using subway or public bus, in the event taxis are tough to get. But the backup plan is only for those travelling light and who have no problem with crowded urban public transport systems! And requires a <5 minute walk down sidewalk at the end to the Grand's door. So I won't go into details of that.

3) Airport shuttle bus. Routes that terminate at Beijing Railway Station or the International Hotel are the most useful, though the Xidan terminus route could also work. RMB 16 and there is luggage compartment for large items, no extra charge for baggage. Subject to same issues as taxis with traffic, though buses don't have to stop at the expressway toll plazas. Taxi from any of the terminus points mentioned to the Grand Hotel should be pretty easily gettable, and only about another RMB 10-15 max as they are all in close proximity. Total cost: RMB 25-30 and total elapsed travel time slightly longer than taxi direct from airport.

1) When all else fails, there's the taxi...

2) The Airport Express of the Beijing Subway (ABC) goes 62 mph to Dongzhimen for ¥25.

The Airport Express is faster than airport shuttle buses (¥16) and cheaper than taxi.

City-bound trains depart Terminal 3 from 6:21am to 10:51pm and Terminal 2 from 6:35am to 11:10pm

This may be the best option for those arriving/departing not tooo early or late.

3) The airport shuttle buses run slightly more-extended hours than the ABC, for a little earlier or later arrivals/departures.

There are 11 regular airport shuttle lines operating to Beijing Airport. Line 3, Line 4 and Line 5 travel in both directions leave every 15 minutes, while other lines in less than 30 minutes.

[imron]

The Airport Express Subway is my least preferred option, the change at Dongzhimen is just too much hassle, especially with luggage, and after taking it a number of times, I now generally avoid it.

The shuttle bus is actually really good value, and this is what I'd usually plan to take, unless I was departing/arriving really early or really late. Then I would take a taxi. One problem with taxis that is not mentioned above is that you can be standing in the taxi queue for a long time at the airport, depending on how busy things are - maybe even 30-40 minutes. The bus doesn't have this problem, and even if you need to wait for it to depart, at least you can put your luggage in the luggage compartment and then sit down in a seat rather than standing and being squished from all sides like the taxi queue.

[deezy]

^ Thanks! About how long does it take for the bus to get to the city center? In the previous quoted post, someone said that taxis can take 45 min to an hour...and buses will take slightly longer? So, a bus could take an hour or maybe an an hour & 15 min to go 20 miles to/from PEK???

Are the shuttle bus arrival times listed anywhere? All I see are departure times? But, you need to know when you're going to arrive to know when you have to depart!

[imron]

It usually takes about an hour give or take, depending on traffic. I don't think you'll find arrival times anywhere. If you need to be somewhere at a certain time, just make sure to leave a bit of extra buffer time in your departure, e.g. assuming a journey time of an hour and a half is probably plenty.