Concierge.com's insider take:

Apparat-chic reigns at this tiny five-room hotel, set on a narrow, bustling hutong street near Tiananmen Square. Scarlet double doors open to reveal a meticulously restored 200-year-old home with exquisitely painted eaves and a tranquil, if teensy, center courtyard. The lounge (where a continental breakfast is served) is stuffed with shabby velvet Mao-era furniture, Social Realist paintings, and other curios, many of which have historical significance: You can recline in Zhou Enlai's favorite armchair or draw the curtain that once hung in Mao's private residence. The romantically dim guest rooms are themselves scattered with Communist kitsch and Chinese antiques; the two Concubine Suites are favorites, with their dramatic, carved canopy beds. Though a bit frayed around the edges, each room has an en suite bathroom with shower, broadband Internet access, and wall-mounted air-conditioning unit for the summer months.