By Chris O'Brien

updated 3:43 p.m. ET July 16, 2008

Deep inside Beijing's web of ancient back streets, or hutongs, the alarm clock is the strangled cry of the passing rag-and-bone man, and leftovers delivered by nosy neighbors pass as room service.

This is traditional courtyard living during the Olympics. It's available to tourists looking to avoid the overpriced three-star hotel rooms that offer views of the city's dreary third ring road.

That's because many landlords—Chinese and expatriate—are offering private home-stays to Beijing's Olympic visitors. While authentic, they are anything but austere. Many offer bedrooms with en suite bathrooms, Internet access and Western appliances. Though there are bargains to be snapped up, some landlords are hoping to snare enough money in two weeks to afford to buy a new apartment.

Interested? Expect to pony up. The whopping price of hutong life during the games is at least $750 a night, although these traditional quadrangle homes built around an outdoor courtyard can often have up to three bedrooms, accommodating up to six people.

Luxurious living
Unlike the original siheyuan, which often house three or four families and lack running water, many such properties rented out for the Olympics allow tenants to cheat. They have been completely rebuilt in tasteful Qing Dynasty style and fitted with modern facilities.

What's more, hutong dwellers are paying for a "special and unique living experience," says Piet Bos, the Dutch founder of homestaybeijing2008.com. They're paying for the chance to rub shoulders with people who have lived in the same building for 80 years, even if the communication barrier looms large and they laugh at how much you are paying.

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Price aside, private home-stays have the advantage of being located in lively neighborhoods that offer a glimpse into local life and have access to Western-friendly amenities, unlike many hotels near the Bird's Nest Olympic Stadium.

"The main motivation for many visitors coming to China in August is the Olympics," says Bos. "So it can be a massive culture shock. Nobody is catering to Westerners in the area around the Bird's Nest, but if you stay in downtown Chaoyang you can get a glass of red wine."

Bars and restaurants in Chaoyang District's entertainment hub of Sanlitun have been offering expatriates home comforts for years. That means visitors renting apartments there will struggle to come across an eatery that doesn't whip out an impeccable English menu.

But some of the most sought-after properties in Beijing are the courtyard homes near the ancient Drum and Bell towers, just north of the city center. Here, Beijing takes on a village feel, while still appealing to international tastes. Gems, such as Bed Bar and Malaysian restaurant Café Sambal, are hidden away among the hutongs.

The price of marrying tradition with trendy living, though, can be extortionate. A two-bedroom courtyard—three in a push—is a short walk from the Drum Tower and will cost you $14,500 for the month of August.

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On the other end of the private home-stay price scale are the one-bedroom apartments that are being rented out by Beijing residents willing to find somewhere else to live during the Olympic period.

Kitty Ma and her husband, Patrick, have an apartment within whooping distance of the beach volleyball stadium in Chaoyang Park. They plan to move in with her parents if they find someone to rent their one-bedroom home for around $100 a day. Many two-star hotels are still trying to charge well over $200 for a basic room.

"We are doing it for the money of course," says Ma, 31. "It's very good."

When news began to surface that only 77 percent of Beijing's five-star hotels and 44 percent of four-star hotels were booked as the opening ceremony approached, it seemed as if many private home-stay options would lose their cost advantage. Hotels were expected to start lowering their rates to fill the gaping holes in their business.

James Wasserman for Forbes.com This unit in the Pingguo Yuan Apartment Complex is a tremendous value: High-end accommodations for the same price that some very average three-star hotels are trying to charge during the Olympics. Price: $290 per day.

Yet many hotels are still refusing to budge—some five-star lodgings are still charging $1,000 a night—and they are unlikely to lower rates until the very last minute.

Some Olympic tourists were holding out for the Beijing Tourism Bureau's much-touted "Olympic Family Hotel" program in which 1,000 families with foreign language skills would be selected to rent out rooms in their homes for $57 to $85 per night.

However, chaos has been the dominant theme of the organization process, and the bureau announced earlier this week that only 600 homes would be available, and they would be offered to visitors from other Asian countries.

For those not prepared to risk waiting until the last minute for hotels to lower their prices, private home-stays may be the best solution.

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