The Peninsula Beijing

I booked a 60-minute "Subtle Energies" massage at The Peninsula Beijing Spa for 1,062 RMB. The experience was appalling. Procedural failures:The therapist did not ask which essential oil I preferred and started the massage without consent. When I questioned this, she admitted there were three options but said "we usually just use this one." She then hastily smeared all three oils on my arm like a palette—I could barely distinguish them. Disregard for medical condition:I have a diagnosed herniated disc at L5-S1 (documented by Peking Union Medical College Hospital). I informed the spa beforehand and arrived on a crutch. During the massage, when I pointed out my condition, the therapist dismissively said: "A herniated disc shouldn't cause pain there." She continued applying excessive pressure despite my repeated requests to stop. I left in significantly worse pain—severe lower back and shoulder soreness, plus dizziness—symptoms I did not have before. No accountability:After the massage, no one asked about my experience. The therapist offered a voucher redeemable only with another full-price purchase—essentially asking me to pay again for their mistake. I posted a negative review on Dianping with photos. Days later, still no response. The fundamental issue:This spa has no medical qualifications yet massaged a guest with a documented spinal condition, ignored explicit requests to adjust pressure, and showed zero remorse. This is not luxury hospitality—this is arrogance. I have filed complaints with Peninsula Global Guest Relations and relevant authorities. Avoid this spa. 我以1062元的价格在北京王府半岛酒店水疗中心预约了60分钟的"微妙原力"按摩。这次体验令人震惊。 流程失误： 水疗师没有询问我想使用哪款精油，未经同意就开始按摩。当我提出质疑时，她承认有三种选择，但说"我们一般都用这款"。然后她慌慌张张地把三种精油全涂在我胳膊上，像调色板一样——我根本分辨不出味道。 无视病情啊！ 我患有腰5骶1椎间盘突出（有北京协和医院的诊断证明）。我事先已告知水疗中心，并且是拄着拐杖到店的。按摩过程中，当我指出我的病情时，水疗师轻蔑地说："一般腰间盘突出不应该是这里疼。"尽管我反复要求减轻力度，她仍然继续大力按压。离开时我的状况明显恶化——腰部和肩部剧烈酸痛，还伴有头晕——这些症状在来之前根本没有。 毫无担当：按摩结束后，没有任何人询问我的感受。水疗师给了我一张礼券，但必须下次正价消费才能使用——等于是让我再花一次钱来弥补她们的错误。我在大众点评发了带图差评，没有任何回复。 根本问题是！这家水疗中心没有任何医疗资质，却给有明确脊柱疾病记录的客人做按摩，无视客人明确要求调整力度的诉求，事后毫无歉意。这不是奢华酒店该有的待客之道——这是傲慢。 我已向半岛集团环球客务中心及相关部门投诉。请避开这家水疗中心。

We had a wonderful night at The Peninsula Beijing. The Beijing Suite was absolutely astonishing—it even had a small private movie theater in the room, which the kids absolutely loved. Special thanks to Leo Guan for helping us fix the TV issue so quickly. He handled it with great professionalism and efficiency, without affecting our mood or schedule at all. We had a fantastic time celebrating a birthday during our stay. This suite is truly special and a must-try for anyone looking for an unforgettable experience.

时隔一年再次来到半岛水疗，体验非常之差，很不该来，我为自己贪便宜的行为感到万分后悔！ 上次来时选了带泡池的项目，但管道老化出水全是水垢，减免服务费后再未来过。 这次来是看到半岛自己的臻伴小程序送了折扣礼券，阿育吠陀精油背部按摩50分钟780元，到店后发现臻伴小程序诚意严重不足，第三方平台团购券比自家小程序要更便宜，于是选了60分钟微妙原力按摩共计1062元，真实消费可查。 首先：水疗房设计不合理，没有衣橱，王府半岛自王府饭店挂牌半岛后历经岁月，装修时未考虑以及没有翻修计划也属正常，酒店翻修洗手间比翻修房间价格高了不是一点半点，这属于正常经营选择无可诟病。但如果半岛真的重视客人体验，房间内放一个百十块钱的挂衣架乃至挂钩根本不是难事，而护理师让客人把大衣挂在浴室内墙挂浴袍的挂钩，浴室用完全是水汽，怎么能挂大衣？这样的问题多年不解决，透露出的只有两个字：傲慢！ 水疗房内不能洗头，没有吹风机。 - 以上问题我上次到店时因为选了带泡池的大房间，根本不知情。 其次：水疗前后茶水及茶点按盅供应，实在令人不知道该说什么，茶馆里花钱喝茶的都很少见有人把茶壶喝见了底儿把茶叶喝没颜色的，茶壶跟到房间是最基本的。 过程，水疗师可能着急下班，头脑不清晰，迎客人进水疗房后跟外面按摩店一样着急开始，看过电视剧上头演的上路边按摩店吗？ 微妙原力按摩共提供精油三款——这是我自己问过才知道的。 我躺在按摩床上后，水疗师按上精油要开始，我才发觉不对，于是问水疗师，精油有几个味道？ 不能选吗？水疗师明显怔住了，停顿几秒后说： “冬天我们一般都是选放松肌肉缓解酸痛的。”为什么是你们一般？客人为什么花钱没有选择的权利？如果客人不是经常做水疗，这个环节就被糊弄过去了。 - 疗程开始十分钟左右，水疗师终于想起来询问客人房间内灯光温度音乐大小合不合适。 房间温度不合适，冷。换句话说，这个季节酒店内如果是这个温度是不对的，整个水疗中心一进门就是这个温度，只能说明一个问题：王府半岛运营部门的抠门。酒店的中央空调，工程部有可调温度的总阀，把热风放到舒适程度一天下来成本不小，但水疗供应热风是必须要做的，这个温度绝对不达标，如果用测温枪对风口测，温度应该在26度以上，但没有任何意义，整个水疗中心体感温度很低。相比前门文华的四合院设计，文华只有院子里面出来进去的冷，但房间内的热风可以达到水疗师把门打开出去拿东西，客人躺在床上都不会感到一点不适。不要说我比的不合理，文华和半岛同属奢华级酒店，前门文华只是房价贵，水疗并没有比半岛卖的贵。 水疗感受：这是我决定写这条差评的最根本原因！疗程结束后从我打上车到现在躺在家里床上，右肩出现明显酸痛，有压迫神经的不适反应（头晕，恶心），我本人在到店前肩颈部没有任何不适感受，但水疗师在整个按摩过程中（无论背部还是身体正面），都没有进行任何肩颈放松，只有疗程开始时按了脖子三两下，时长不超过一分钟。水疗床趴着躺下一小时，肩颈酸痛是非常正常的，如果只做面护，难免也出现这种情况，但为什么水疗师根本忽略了这个身体部位？ 结合她其他行为，只能说明就是赶时间，着急，稀里糊涂，头脑不清晰。 补救措施：水疗师送了一张30分钟的手部护理券，使用前提是下次正价购买60分钟及60分钟以上护理方可使用。点过外卖吗各位？我这次给你做的菜做咸了，你下次再点我们家我送你一个凉菜，如出一辙。 一 以上所有问题全部不该出现在一家奢华级酒店的水疗中心，水疗经理应当负首要责任，王府半岛的水疗如果自己实在做不好，不如外包出去。 —— After a year, I returned to The Peninsula Spa, only to have an extremely disappointing experience. I deeply regret coming and blame myself for being tempted by the discount. During my last visit, I chose a treatment that included a soaking tub, but the pipes were so old that the water was full of limescale. After they waived the service fee, I never returned. This time, I came because I saw a discount voucher on Peninsula's own Zhenban mini-program: a 50-minute Ayurvedic essential oil back massage for 780 RMB. Upon arrival, I discovered that the Zhenban mini-program offers were far from sincere—third-party group-buying platforms offered better prices than the hotel's own program. So I opted for the 60-minute Subtle Energies massage, totaling 1,062 RMB, which can be verified through actual transaction records. First: The spa room design is unreasonable—there is no wardrobe. The Peninsula Beijing has been through many years since it was rebranded from the Palace Hotel, so it is understandable that renovations were not considered or planned. Bathroom renovations cost significantly more than room renovations, which is a normal business decision and beyond reproach. However, if The Peninsula truly valued guest experience, placing a clothes rack or even a hook costing around a hundred RMB in the room would not be difficult at all. Yet the therapist asked me to hang my coat on the bathrobe hook inside the bathroom wall—the bathroom was full of steam after use, so how could I hang my coat there? The fact that such a problem has remained unsolved for years reveals only two words: arrogance. The spa room does not allow hair washing and has no hairdryer. I was completely unaware of the above issues during my last visit because I had booked a larger room with a soaking tub. Second: Tea and refreshments before and after the treatment are served in tiny cups, which leaves me at a loss for words. Even in teahouses where people pay for tea, it is rare to see anyone drink a teapot dry until the tea leaves lose all color. Providing a teapot in the room is the bare minimum. As for the treatment process, the therapist seemed to be in a rush to leave work—her mind was clearly elsewhere. After showing me into the spa room, she hurried to begin just like at a roadside massage parlor. Have you ever seen those roadside massage shops depicted on TV? The Subtle Energies massage offers three types of essential oils—I only found this out because I asked. After I lay down on the massage bed, the therapist applied the oil and was about to begin. That was when I sensed something was wrong, so I asked: "How many oil options are there? Can't I choose?" The therapist was visibly caught off guard, paused for a few seconds, and then said: "In winter, we usually choose the one that relaxes muscles and relieves soreness." Why is it what "you usually" choose? Why does the paying guest have no right to choose? If the guest does not frequently visit spas, this step would simply be glossed over. About ten minutes into the treatment, the therapist finally remembered to ask whether the lighting, temperature, and music volume in the room were suitable. The room temperature was uncomfortable—cold. In other words, if this is the temperature inside the hotel during this season, something is wrong. The entire spa center was this temperature from the moment I walked in, which can only indicate one thing: the operations department at The Peninsula Beijing is being stingy. The hotel's central air conditioning system has a master valve in the engineering department that can adjust the temperature. Supplying warm air to a comfortable level throughout the day is not cheap, but providing adequate heating in a spa is absolutely necessary. This temperature is definitely substandard. If you used a temperature gun to measure at the vent, it might read above 26°C, but that is meaningless—the perceived temperature throughout the entire spa center was very low. Compared to the courtyard design at The Mandarin Oriental Qianmen, the only cold spot at the Mandarin is when you step in and out of the courtyard, but the warm air inside the rooms is sufficient that even when the therapist opens the door to fetch something, the guest lying on the bed feels no discomfort whatsoever. Do not say my comparison is unfair—both the Mandarin and The Peninsula are luxury-tier hotels. The Mandarin Oriental Qianmen only has higher room rates; its spa is not priced higher than The Peninsula's. The spa experience itself: This is the fundamental reason I decided to write this negative review. From the moment I got in my taxi after the treatment until now, lying in my bed at home, my right shoulder has developed noticeable soreness with signs of nerve compression (dizziness, nausea). Before arriving at the hotel, I had no discomfort in my neck or shoulders whatsoever. Yet throughout the entire massage—whether on my back or front—the therapist did not perform any neck and shoulder relaxation at all, except for a few cursory presses on my neck at the beginning of the session, lasting no more than one minute. Lying face-down on a spa bed for an hour, it is completely normal for the neck and shoulders to become sore. Even with facial treatments alone, this can happen. So why did the therapist completely neglect this part of the body? Combined with her other behaviors, the only explanation is that she was rushing, anxious, careless, and absent-minded. The remedy offered: The therapist gave me a 30-minute hand treatment voucher, which can only be used on the condition that I purchase a full-price treatment of 60 minutes or more on my next visit. Have you ever ordered food delivery? This is exactly like a restaurant saying: "The dish I made for you this time was too salty—order from us again next time, and I'll throw in a cold appetizer." It is the exact same logic. None of the above issues should ever occur in the spa center of a luxury hotel. The spa manager should bear primary responsibility. If The Peninsula Beijing truly cannot manage its spa properly, it would be better to outsource it entirely.

I read through so many of the reviews before booking a suite at Peninsula for a 3-night stay with my daughter and I was disappointed. I enquired if they provide transport from Universal Studios Resort and was turned down without offering alternative. But this wasn’t crucial so that was fine. There is no grandness when you step into the hotel. There’s no proper hotel lobby per se. At check in, the whole experience was substandard: 1. Check-in counter was very small tucked at a corner, next to boutiques. When asked why, one of the staff said that it used to be bigger but because management wanted to lease the additional space to stores; check in counter doesn’t need to be big. 2. The lady attending to me was “cold”. The counter wasn’t too busy. My card was charged more than the hotel stay and she did not explain that the additional charges was for security deposit. 3. None of the staff offered assistance to me and my daughter like what the other reviewers said (maybe because they stayed in an even larger suite than mine) during check in or the stay. So I couldn’t understand what’s the big deal staying in The Peninsula and its services. The place for breakfast that is on the same level as the check in counter was again amongst the shops. No views or whatsoever. The suite has very dim lighting. The TV remote is old and doesn’t work too well. The staff outside standing in the cold helping guests with baggages and directions were good and that’s the only good thing I can say about this hotel. The location is great but so are many other hotels nearby. I’m going back to Beijing with the entire family in March for 4 nights and I would not return and will not recommend this hotel to anyone.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Exceptional Stay at The Peninsula Beijing We arrived in Beijing from Europe at 6:30 AM, exhausted after a long overnight flight. The team at The Peninsula Beijing went above and beyond — they offered us an early check-in, which allowed us to rest right away. This was absolutely invaluable given the time difference, and we are truly grateful for this level of care. A special thank you to Brian at the reception — outstanding service, professionalism, and kindness from the very first moment to the last. At departure, the hotel also arranged a late check-out for us, which made our travel day much more comfortable. The breakfast was excellent, with a wide selection and top quality. The location is unbeatable, right in the heart of Beijing, making it easy to explore the city. Another highlight is the luxury shopping arcade directly inside the hotel, offering boutiques such as Chanel and Louis Vuitton — the perfect touch of elegance. If you’re looking for a truly exceptional holiday experience, The Peninsula Beijing is the place to be. During Christmas, the hotel’s Chanel-inspired festive decorations create a magical atmosphere that makes your stay unforgettable. Highly recommended — we will definitely return!