Stay in the hutong ... not in some cheesey hotel ...I am an American guy living in Beijing with a groovy two floor renovated house in one of the landmarked courtyard style houses. It's centrally located (Tianamen and Wangfujing are pretty close), safe and clean, and much nicer than a hostel or hotel.I stay upstairs, and you have the whole downstairs (bathroom, kitchen, bedroom, living room, and outdoor patio). A maid comes every morning to clean and make a little breakfast (but you should eat out ... restaurants are great here). There's also a washing machine, wireless internet, and air conditioning.