The Grand Millennium Hotel, part of the Fortune plaza Complex, Beijing, (seen here) has opened in the center of the city’s financial and business district.

The hotel is owned and managed by Millennium & Copthorne International.

Mr Kwek Leng Beng, chairman of M&C Hotels, said: ‘Securing the Grand Millennium Beijing anchors our presence in China and is a key development in our stated aim to grow in Asia.’

Mr. Tan Kim Seng, senior vice president of Millenium & Copthorne International, added: ‘The addition of Grand Millennium Beijing to our presence in China, which includes Millennium Wuxi Hotel, Millennium Hongqiao Shanghai and Millennium Hotel Xiamen, will augment our brand awareness in a country with a substantial outbound market that is growing at a vigorous pace.’

The five star hotel has 521 guest rooms and has a business center, an indoor swimming pool, a spa and fitness centre, five restaurants and bars and an Executive Club lounge.

But note confusion can arise because this is not the first Millenium Hotel in Beijing.

There was the Millennium Hotel, Beijing in Guanganmen Nei Street, Xuanwu District. It is now called the Grand Metropark.
Source: eTravelBlackboard

Four Points by Sheraton will open four new hotels in China this year.

These will be Four Points by Sheraton Changshu; Four Points by Sheraton Hangzhou, Binjiang; Four Points by Sheraton Beijing, Haidian and Four Points by Sheraton Guangzhou, Dongpu.

Miguel Ko, president of Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Asia Pacific, said, ‘Four Points by Sheraton is an ideal product for many markets in Asia Pacific because the brand caters to both mid-scale business and leisure travelers, while meeting the demands of meeting and event planners.’

Business and MICE is a good combination.

He said, ‘The strong demand for moderately priced lodging coupled with the increase in domestic travel in many Asian markets is helping to propel the brand’s growth to a level that is expected to rival that of Starwood’s luxury and upper upscale brands.’

Frits Van Paasschen, president of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, is alleged to have said — but it is London to a brick it is from a flack’s fertile imagination — ‘The uncomplicated positioning is unique and assures the Simple Pleasures programming is right on target for Four Points. It also complements the aloft brand’s bold platform, driving solid brand differentiation for Starwood in the select serve market.’
Source: ETBMICE.com

The first Design Hotel in China will open in Beijing on April 18. The 55-room hotel, The Emperor, is near the former Imperial Palace of the Forbidden City in an old tree-lined avenue.

The building which holds The Emperor was the former premises of the Qinghua University Alumni and features a classical Chinese brick facade and roof. Beijing Dacheng Yongan Zhiye, developed the building into a hotel project with their international partners.

The design of the rooms seems to be unique. They are described as follows: all furnishings are connected to each other by an invisible line, appearing as if the wall flows into the bed, continuing into the sofa and finally to the desk. The prevailing colour in all rooms is white, highlighted with fiery orange, lime green, deep ocean blue as well as slate grey. You probably have to see it in reality to appreciate it to the full.

For business the main meeting room located on the rooftop for 20 persons can be used as a private event space. On both the first and second floors are private meeting spaces.
Source: Asia Travel Tips

The idea that Beijing needs to invest in cultural tourism is, on the face of it, ludicrous. Almost by definition Beijing IS cultural tourism.

However, although the city has been in a turmoil for what appears to be years as it prepares it cultural treasures for the throngs who will come to the Olympics, Beijing also plans to invest in a number of sites that are significant in the cultural tourism sector.

Ahead of the Olympic Games this year, the city will redevelop a number of popular visitor locations, including Tianning Temple.

The three major Shijingshan monuments — Charitable Temple, Fahai Temple and Cheng’en Temple — as well as Western city’s Huoshen Temple will also be given a refurbishment.

Kong Fanzhi, secretary of the Beijing Cultural Relics Bureau, said the plans represent the continuation of a trend that has been sustained in China in recent years,

People’s Daily Online reports,’In the past eight years, Beijing has improved over 139 ancient buildings and 106 recently opened sites or expanded monuments, including the Wangshou Temple, Ji Xiaolan home, and the emperors’ temple.’

This year’s development plans will deal with 31 sites across Beijing at a cost of RMB120 million across the city.

Wrong, perhaps, at the time time to suggest it, but there is a medical condition called Stendhal’s Syndrome which has been identified and has been attributed to too much culture in too small a time.

Perhaps Beijing should advertise itself as the city worth many trips.
Source: Opodo

Swire, which as a holding company has a finger in many pies ranging from Cathay Pacific to Coca Cola Bottlers, is now entering the hotel business.

Although not much has been announced about it plans Swire Properties has said the hotel unit will set up and manage small luxury properties not only in China, but also in the UK.

The first property in China is called The Opposite House and should open in Beijing in June. Set in the Sanlitun district of the city, it has been designed by renowned Japanese architect Kengo Kuma. This is effectively a boutique hotel with 89 rooms and 10 suites.

In 2010, Swire Hotels plans to open a 100-room property in Guangzhou.

It is developing a collection of UK luxury boutique hotels to be launched in 2009 and has already acquired properties in Bristol, Cheltenham, Exeter and Brighton currently operating under the name of Alias Hotels.

This does sound the sort of place you take someone who is not your wife for a weekend. There is an excellent cartoon which has a receptionist saying, ‘Welcome back again, Mr Smith’ but we thought it inappropriate for these pages. Nor do we think it tactful to suggest that Swire should invest in the American No-tell Motel chain which allegedly thrives in the United States.

Managing director of Swire Hotels is Brian Williams, who spent 17 years with the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group and was chief executive of the Scotsman Hotel Group before joining Swire Properties in January 2006. Which suggests that this has been at least on the possible list of investments for Swire for two years or more.

Swire Properties is understood to be keen to establish a portfolio of as many as 100 hotels over the next few years.
Source: Forbes and research

In Shanghai, Hyatt on the Bund and Grand Hyatt Shanghai will be joined by the new Park Hyatt Shanghai opening in July.

In Beijing, host city for the Olympics, Grand Hyatt Beijing will welcome the July arrival of the Park Hyatt Beijing. This marks the Park Hyatt brand’s arrival in China.
In April 2008, Grand Hyatt Guangzhou opens.
By 2010, Hyatt will have added nine additional properties in Greater China to significantly expand its regional portfolio.

Shanghai is home to three Hyatt properties. Hyatt on the Bund (a Grand Hyatt hotel), located in the Puxi District to the west of the Huang Pu River. Designed by U.S.-based firm Remedios Siembieda.

In the center of Pudong the Grand Hyatt Shanghai (seen in our illustration) occupies floors 53 through 87 of the Jin Mao Tower. All 555 rooms offer views from what is currently the highest hotel in the world.

The soon-to-open Park Hyatt Shanghai is located a stone’s throw away from the Grand Hyatt Shanghai on floors 79 through 93 of the 101-story Shanghai World Financial Centre.

This will take over from the Grand Hyatt as the highest hotel in the world when it opens in July of this year.

In Beijing there are two Hyatt, both on Chang An Avenue. Grand Hyatt Beijing is in the Oriental Plaza .
A ten-minute drive away, Park Hyatt Beijing will be open and ready for the Summer Olympics. Occupying the top floors of a 66-story tower in the Beijing Yintai Centre, the city’s first Park Hyatt will also be its highest hotel.

Over the next three years, Hyatt will continue to grow its regional network of distinct Hyatt brands with opening three additional Grand Hyatt properties (Grand Hyatt Guangzhou, April 2008 and Grand Hyatt Macau and Grand Hyatt Shenzhen in 2009) and Park Hyatt Ningbo Resort & Spa (2009).

Hyatt’s core Regency brand will significantly expand throughout the region with Hyatt Regency Beijing (2009), Hyatt Regency Nanjing (2009), Hyatt Regency Suzhou (2009), the new Hyatt Regency Hong Kong (2009) and Hyatt Regency Chengdu (2010).
Source: BusinessWire

More and more five-star hotels are being constructed in Beijing in a bid to open up before the Summer Olympics. The latest to announce its launch (scheduled for May 1st this year) is
The Westin Beijing, Chaoyang.

Part of a mixed-use complex along the Liangma River in the capital’s eastern embassy district of Chaoyang (the same district as where the Olympic Green will be), the hotel will have 565 rooms and suites, Heavenly Spa (The Westin’s own brand spa) and 1,100 square meters of function space including two ballrooms and 10 meeting rooms.

Pictured on the right is new General Manager, Daniel Aylmer, who has over 15 years’ experience in the hospitality industry, including three previous positions at Starwood hotels in China.
Source: PR The Westin Beijing, Chaoyang

Courtyard by Marriott Beijing Northeast is due to open at the end of March. It will be located between Lido Commercial District and Wangjiang High Tech Park, and lies close to The Olympic Green in Chaoyang district.

A press release from the hotel described it as the first Courtyard brand in the Asia Pacific region to have a ‘fresh new outlook and identity that is trendy and energizing to cater to modern business travelers’.

Courtyard comes under the Marriott International brand, its hotels are moderately-priced and cater mostly to business travelers. They have another hotel in the capital, without the northeast bit - Courtyard by Marriott Beijing.
Source: PR Courtyard by Marriott Beijing Northeast

Hilton Hotels has signed a management agreement with China Merchants Property Development Company for the Conrad Beijing.

The Conrad Beijing will have 200 hotel guest rooms and 100 serviced apartments and will feature a variety of restaurants and extensive meetings facilities including an auditorium and a ballroom with a capacity for more than 500 people, as well as a full facility spa and health club. Which makes it a MICE hotel.

The Conrad will be located on Chang An Avenue, between the Second Ring Road and the Third Ring Road in the Chaoyang District, where the Friendship Store will be turned into a 200,000 square meter mixed-use development.

The hotel will take up approximately a quarter of the development and the rest will be made up of grade A offices and a large multi storey retail space. Chang An Avenue is the center of China’s political, economic and cultural activities and is known as the ‘First Street of China.’

Koos Klein, Area President Hilton Hotels Asia Pacific said, ‘The Conrad Beijing will be a stunning addition to our growing portfolio of luxury properties in China, building on the success of the Conrad Hong Kong which opened in 1990 and our upcoming Conrad Shanghai which opens in August this year.’

The Conrad Beijing is scheduled to open at the end of 2010. The Conrad name comes from the founder of the Hilton chain.

Conrad Hilton was born on Dec. 25, 1887, in San Antonio, New Mexico. He bought his first hotel in Cisco, Tex., in 1919 and soon bought others in Dallas, Fort Worth, and Waco. In 1946 he formed the Hilton Hotels Corporation. He is the person in our illustration.

Source: eTravel Blackboard

The Westin Beijing, Financial Street has been officially certified a five-star hotel by the China Tourist Hotel Star-Rating Committee. It has only been open a year and is the second Westin in mainland China (the other one is The Westin Bund Center, Shanghai).

GM Charlie Dang said, ‘ We are very happy to be certified as a five-star hotel just after one year of operation. We will continue our focus on guest experience, and present the unique Westin lifestyle in this enchanting capital.’

According to the hotel, this ‘lifestyle’ is provided through services such as its Heavenly Spa by Westin, Westin Heavenly Bed, Service Express, Westin Workout and Westin Kids Club.
Source: PR The Westin Beijing, Financial Street