Swissotel, Beijing an oasis where English is spoken

by Elmo Leonard

Swissotel, Beijing, a Raffles Interactional Hotel, is perhaps best remembered by the visitor as an oasis where English is spoken by the staff of the hotel. For it is very trying for the visitor, here, to find that he and she who speak English, cannot be understood by the staff of many hotels, at the best known restaurants, prestigious shopping centres and public places.

People who even understand a word of English here, are far rarer than the needle in the proverbial hay stack, visitors say.

And, if you speak French or German, your task will be so much the more difficult.

"Hello, hello" is how they will entice you into their shopping complexes. But, no further foreign language words are heard and the prices will often be written down.

If you want to hire a taxi to Swissotel, you just have to say Swissotel, or safer still, show them a brochure of this hospitality unit, or point to where you want to go to, on the road map of Beijing City.

The visitor who wants to see the zoo, will most probably be accompanied on a packaged tour and know where he or she will be taken to, before they enplane. But, if you want to visit the zoo by yourself, you have to mime an animal and the taxi driver, or bus conductor will understand you. But, if you want to go to Tinamen Square or the Forbidden City, you will be understood.

At Tinamen Square, a girl offered her services. "Sir, I am a registered tour guide, you can hire me and I will show you around the Forbidden City," she said in good English.

The Chinese, to overcome their zero knowledge of English, even at the best restaurants present the menu as photographs; they understand nothing more. The restaurant staff are often dressed in western garb, so our multinational host from New Zealand kept asking in English, something out of the menu and was finally given something he had never seen or heard of before. "I give up," he said and was given another bowl of it. And, all that was included in the bill.

Swissotel lies in the heart of the city, in the centre of the diplomatic and business districts and that is the price you have to pay, to have the English language understood.

In anticipation of the visitor's every need, Swissotel has added in many new services, the hotel staff said. These services include, the Hong Kong Medical Clinic, Bank of China with ATM, Airline ticketing office, China post office, tour and travel desk along with a selection of fine shops.

Swissotel, stands out like a beacon presenting an architecture of 50 years gone by, yet, modern to its floor-shine, inside.

With 430 rooms and suites, Swissotel offers choices from superior accommodations to Swiss advantage rooms, featuring extensive workstations with broadband internet access and room safes large enough for your laptop.

Should the visitor choose to stay on one of its executive floors, they will enjoy a very personalised level of service, while relaxing in their room or suite or the comfort of the private lounge.

We found the Swisscafe always open offering extensive buffet and a la carte menu. The Happy Valley Chinese restaurant featured Cantonese and local dishes, as well as a weekend dim sun delicacies, Kawa Japanese Restaurant (managed by Ishikawa Japanese Restaurant Company Limited) offering a variety of Japanese cuisine including private teppanyaki rooms, sushi and tempura bars and tatami rooms.

And, the Japanese culture has room in the Chinese heart, for going back centuries, the Chinese and Japanese royalty intermarried as did the royalty in the other Far Eastern countries and Afghanistan, intermingle, fostering security ties and trade.

And, our tour guide, Wendy, spoke of a Japanese princess who fell in love with a Chinese prince, but following a romance of years, their parents had objected to foreign union. So when the two managed to meet, they decided to commit suicide; Romeo and Juliet incarnated. And China's television schedules continue, full of Japanese programmes.

Swissotel carries an extensive array of function rooms, catering to all types of events. Also to specialised events catering as historic cites as the Forbidden City, Summer Palace and the Great Wall of China.

At Swissotel, they say, recharge and relax, for their Health Club provides a wide variety of high energy activities as aerobics, taichi or yoga classes, circuit training in the gymnasium and outdoor tennis. There is also the indoor pool, followed by a sauna and massage, and even a visit to a beauty saloon.