Hotels in Beijing: a more westernised taste

On a Friday evening, the cars speed along Sanlitun Road. Ultra-fashionable young people are dropped off in front of the new restaurants opening one after the other in the most popular district of the moment. Here's the epicentre of modern BeijingThis is where the InterContinental Sanlitun opened at the end of 2016, in an extravagant tower that looks like a futuristic beehive. The beautiful lobby, scented with green tea, attracts both travellers and local customers, curious about the five restaurants on offer. The atmosphere is fresh, dominated by wood, leather, light marble and brass. Plants and brightly coloured carpets add a playful touch to the place, a retro chic trend that is matched by a team of young butlers and concierges, ready to help travellers at any time of the day or night.

Soothing silence

The rooms, 299 in all, feature deep beds set against beige leather heads, worked to give the metaphor of a beehive. Everything here is based on technology: the latest-generation sound system, interactive TV, lighting designed to eliminate jet lag. The same research and attention to detail can be found at 22^e On the first floor, in the sublime business lounge, where meals and drinks are served throughout the day. In this cocoon of soft coloursThe view over Sanlitun is one of blissful silence after the exhausting days of the capital of 23 million souls...

This serenity, this beauty that is both poetic and very contemporary, was sorely lacking in Beijing, where until now the glitz was the order of the day in luxury hotels. So in 2017, after the InterContinental Sanlitun, a Bvlgari Hotel was inaugurated, the brand's fourth in the world at the time and first hotel in mainland China, before being joined last June by an establishment in Shanghai. Also in Shanghai, the atmosphere is one of great sobrietyIn the vast lobby, with its dark leather sofas, the hotel's clean lines are enhanced by huge black and white photos. Just 119 rooms, expertly managed by butlers on hand 24 hours a day. This is a far cry from the liner hotels of the 1990s and 2000s. The sense of exclusivity is all the more acute. And the jewel in the Italian crown is a private garden overlooking a river in the middle of the city. Luxury in its purest form.

The Four Seasons, which opened in 2013 in the embassy district, is a little more lavish, although with a certain simplicity, and is also a fine addition to Beijing's hotel scene. Everything is hushed, decorated with works of contemporary Chinese art in a décor inspired by the Tang dynasty. Very much in vogue in today's hotel world, the Four Seasons offers a VIP service at the airport, allowing business travellers an express passage through security, as well as a butler service around the clock.

As if to confirm this trend, the very famous Peninsula in Beijing, inaugurated in 1989, has just undergone a complete overhaul and switched to 100 % suites. The 525 rooms it once had have been transformed into 230 flats, all of them sumptuous, some of them arranged as lofts. The transformation of this establishment, which the Chinese simply call "the palace", is also a way of celebrating the thirty years of existence of the Peninsula Beijing and of further enhancing its level of excellence and exclusivity. No fewer than 600 employees are involved in the hotel's daily operations. to make the customer experience memorable. As with all the Peninsulas in the world, the Beijing Peninsula is all about clarity and noble materials. In the large, pure lobby, a sculpted jade panel stretches from floor to ceiling. As the hotel's address is on Goldfish Street, ceramic calligraphy depicting these animals, symbols of prosperity, can be seen here and there in the rooms.

In the distance, the Great Wall

Since this summer, a festive addition, the roof of the hotel has been converted into a beautiful outdoor bar, Yun, 'the cloud'. From this elevated vantage point, you can see the ramparts of the Forbidden City just a few minutes' walk away, but also, in the distance and on a clear day, the mountains that turn pink in the sunset, those on which the famous Great Wall of China runs, about an hour and a half's drive away. Few hotels can boast such a view...

Among the highly anticipated openings scheduled for spring 2019 are two Mandarin Oriental hotels. The first, with its very urban feel, will occupy the top two floors of the prestigious WF Central, in the heart of a high-end shopping paradise. lifestyle-oriented in the Dongcheng district. Designed by Kohn Pedersen Fox, one of the world's most renowned architectural firms, the hotel will feature tree-lined terraces and a beautiful inner courtyard. The 74 rooms and suites will also offer views of the Forbidden City. Another feature: the Mandarin Oriental Wangfujing intends to position itself as a gastronomic mecca.

As for its twin, the Mandarin Oriental Qianmen, close to Tian'anmen Square, it will be integrated into the Qianmen East Hutong, a traditional district of the 13th century.^e The hotel will be part of a programme to preserve these old houses, which have unfortunately undergone a great deal of destruction. The good news is that this hotel will be part of a programme to preserve these ancient houses, which have unfortunately suffered a great deal of destruction. So that guests can discover a little of Beijing's ancestral art of living...