Beijing Leo Hostel - Review from Beijing Leo Hostel

** New Hostel ** ** Western/Chinese managment ** Welcome to the Beijing Leo Hostel! We are a new hostel, opened in December 2004. We cater solely for backackers and provide the best location, cheapest beds, great tours, and great service. For travellers who wish to explore the historical centre of Beijing, the Beijing Leo Hostel is ideal. We provide good, cheap beds, a friendly information & socialising point, and a great base to get out there exploring Beijing. 'Best location'. *No other backpacker hostel has a more central location*. We are just 500 meters South of Qianmen and Tiananmen Square, located inside Beijing's ancient hutong streets. Our hutong area is full of traditional markets, shops and dwellings, and is located away from the West Qianmen tourist hutongs. At sunrise, you can see the Tiananmen Square flag-raising ceromony, and the kite-flyers, then visit the local parks to see the early morning tai chi exercises. In the evening, you can sample the hutong restaurants and market streets. Beijing's most famous peking duck restaurant is also only 200 meters away. All required amenities, such as banks, post offices and photo shops etc are easily found within the Tiananmen area. Qianmen is Beijing's main bus-route center and also has a subway line. Within 5 minutes, you can jump on a bus or subway to all main tourist sights. In fact, just 100 meters away, you can catch buses to the train station, Temple of Heaven, Summer Palace, Silk Market, Pearl market, Wanfujing shopping street/night market, Sanlitun bar street/embassy area and more... 'Cheapest beds'. *No other backpacker hostel has cheaper rooms in central Beijing*. *All* of our rooms, including dorm rooms, have air-conditioning, heating, private W.C., shower & *bath*. We have a broad range of accomodation prices and can offer discounts to long-term guests. 'Great tours'. Leo has been working in the tourism industry for over 10 years. As a tour operator and guide, he has provided tours to tour groups from all over the world. We offer a great selection of cheap tours, with free information sheets and maps. We also offer unique tours, such as the Secret Great Wall tour and tours to Beijing province beauty-spots. Please see below for a list of our tours and prices. 'Great service'. Leo Hostel has western & Chinese management. We try our best to provide a helpful and friendly service to our guests. Tourist Information has a range of free information sheets, and can also give advice relating to such areas as ticket bookings, embassies, visas, language/martial arts study, teaching work and more. Facilities: DVD bar with cheap internet & free Playstation – IP/IC phone cards – Free phone calls in Beijing - Great value money exchange (USD & EURO), Nearby bike rental, laundry service, 24hr shop & more… Beijing Leo Hostel tours. (prices per person) Jinshanling & Simatai Great Wall - 80/90rmb (including transport, not including ticket) Huang Hua Great Wall - 60rmb (including transport) Secret Shen Shui Hu Great Wall - 100rmb (including transport & lunch)/170rmb overnight tour (including transport, dinner & breakfast)(no ticket required!) Beijing Opera - 80rmb (including transport & 80rmb ticket) Kung Fu & Acrobatics - 100rmb (including transport & 100rmb ticket) Yudu Mountain - 160rmb (including transport & 80rmb ticket) Long Qing Xia Gorge (the Yangshuo of North China) - 175rmb (including transport & 75rmb ticket) Please feel free to email us at any time for more information. We look forward to seeing you very soon! Please note: Many hostels claim to have a 'central location'. Be sure to check where they are actually located, and how easy it is to get there. Also look to see how easy it is to get transportation to sights of interest. DIRECTIONS Finding the Beijing Leo Hostel is very easy. From the West station, go to the front of the station and take bus 9 to Qianmen. Then walk South on the main road (called Qianmen Da Jie). After 500 meters, look for the '1000' shop on the right. We are down a small road on the left, opposite the '1000' shop. Please see/print out our map for more details (click on the "view more photos" link). A taxi is 15-20rmb. From the Beijing station, walk right and take bus 20 to the Da Zha Lan bus stop. When you get off the bus, cross the road and go down the small road opposite the '1000' shop. Please see/print out our map for more details (click on the "view more photos" link). You can also get off at Qianmen, if you prefer. A taxi is 15-20rmb. From the airport, take the CAAC shuttle bus to Xidan. Then take the subway to Qianmen, or a taxi for 15rmb.