4 of the best hotels in Beijing

If China is on your travel bucket list, Beijing is a place you can’t afford to skip. Filled with characterful boutique stores, glitzy shopping malls, ancient landmarks and some of the best food in the country, there’s no shortage of things to see, eat and do.  

To make the most of your time in the city, you should feel suitably relaxed and rested before heading out to explore – that means choosing your accommodation wisely. Here, we reveal four of our favourite Beijing hotels to book with Cathay, featuring everything from contemporary, vibrant stays to more luxurious settings.  

Mandarin Oriental Wangfujing Beijing   

Located just a stone’s throw away from the Forbidden City in Dongcheng, the Mandarin Oriental takes design cues from history throughout. This intimate hotel only offers 73 rooms and suites, but boasts an enviable selection of restaurants, including the Mandarin Grill, where perfectly cooked steaks and fresh seafood are the star of the show.  

Soak up majestic views of the Forbidden City during the day as you enjoy English high tea at Café Zi. For a heady night of celebration, head to MO Bar for their specialty cocktails – the Tang, concocted with erguotou (a Chinese sorghum liquor) - is sure to give you that extra kick. Top off your stay with an intimate retreat at the hotel’s award-winning spa. 

JEN Beijing by Shangri-La 

The young and vibrant JEN Beijing offers eight types of accommodation – with even the most basic spanning more than 400 square feet. Rooms are sleek and comfortable, resembling modern loft apartments with floor-to-ceiling windows that draw in natural light and offer expansive views of the city.  

If you’ve worked up an appetite after a long day of exploring Beijing’s streets, savour the tastes of old Beijing at San Wu Tang – we recommend sitting next to the open kitchen to watch the chefs in action. Prototype Kitchen-To-Go, on the other hand, is a great place for breakfast staples such as freshly baked bread and light pastries to fuel up for the day.  

The hotel is also a short six-minute walk from Guomao Station, where popular destinations such as the Today Art Museum , Sisyphe bookstore, and China World Mall are all within easy reach. 

The Peninsula Beijing 

The Peninsula Beijing on Wangfujing Avenue is redefining luxury with their impeccable facilities and services such as a Rolls-Royce and BMW fleet and indulgent spa experiences. The hotel’s dining offerings, too, are the envy of all – most notably its French outlet JING which has just been awarded a Michelin star. There, chef William Mahi gives French cuisine a Chinese spin, bringing together fresh seafood and seasonal local ingredients. Try the king crab, fresh oysters, beef tartare and bouillabaisse with wild-caught Maine lobster.  

The Peninsula Academy programme offers guests bespoke experiences to enrich their itineraries, including a hutong rickshaw tour, treasure hunts in Beijing markets, and even a martial arts workout against the stunning backdrop of the Temple of Heaven.  

Rosewood Beijing 

Rosewood Beijing – the brand’s first property in China – is the embodiment of Chinese luxury. The hotel lobby is a cultural showcase of the country’s rich history, featuring ink paintings, Zen Buddhist sculptures and a magnificent wall mural as the centrepiece. Inside each of the 283 rooms is a cosy space decorated with ancient cloisonné (a Chinese decorative technique for metalware which dates back more than 500 years), among other traditional crafts.  

The hotel is home to a great variety of food and drink outlets including hip hotpot joint Red Bowl, where you can cook your chosen ingredients in one of six flavoursome broths, and one Michelin-starred Country Kitchen, serving authentically rustic, delicious northern Chinese fare. 

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