China has the world's second largest economy -- and one day soon, economists predict, it will have the largest. If you're a meeting and incentive professional, therefore, it's only a matter of time before you find yourself doing business in China. That is, if you aren't doing business there already.
As China's capital city, Beijing is home to much of the action. In response, hoteliers are flooding the city with new properties that will help it accommodate an influx of business travelers and groups.
One such hotelier is Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, which will open its first Beijing property in early 2019, it announced today. Located in Beijing's lively Wangfujing district, which is known for its pedestrian shopping, the boutique hotel -- Mandarin Oriental Wangfujing -- will be connected to WF Central, a new "premium lifestyle retail destination" that will have more than 130 tenants, including 20 brands making their first appearance in Beijing or China. Occupying the top two floors of the development, the hotel will have 73 guest rooms; two restaurants; a rooftop bar with views of the Forbidden City; a spa; a 25-meter, glass-roofed pool; and approximately 861 square feet of meeting space.
"Mandarin Oriental Wangfujing will become the prime hotel address in Beijing this winter, offering supreme comfort, impeccable service, incredible cuisine and an unmatchable garden-terrace view of the UNESCO-listed Forbidden City," said General Manager Mark Bradford. "We are looking forward to welcoming guests very soon."
Four More Beijing Meetings Properties
Mandarin Oriental Wangfujing may be the latest hotel to capture Beijing's beauty, but it isn't the first. Here are four more hotels that make an ideal home base for meeting and incentive groups that are visiting the Chinese capital:
• Hyatt Regency Beijing Wangjing: Beijing's first Hyatt Regency hotel, Hyatt Regency Beijing Wangjing opened in June in Wangjin, Beijing's "Koreatown." Designed by award-winning architect Kengo Kuma -- whose design was inspired by the Chinese "Sanhe Yuan," a three-sided courtyard-style home whose nucleus is a green garden -- the biophilic hotel is infused throughout with nature, including natural materials, elements and views. Along with 348 guest rooms, there are five restaurants and a bar; a 25-meter heated indoor pool; a fitness center with cardiovascular and strength-training equipment, hydrotherapy areas and two workout studios hosting yoga, Pilates and spinning classes; and 60,277 square feet of meeting and event space.
• Bulgari Hotel Beijing: When it opened in September 2017, Bulgari Hotel Beijing was Bulgari Hotels and Resorts' first new hotel since Bulgari Hotel London, which opened in 2012. Located in Beijing's Chaoyang District, which is home to most of Beijing's foreign embassies, the hotel has 119 guest rooms; a 16,000-square-foot spa with 11 treatment rooms, a gymnasium and a 25-meter swimming pool; a restaurant; and a bar that opens up onto an outdoor terrace with views of the Liangma River. There's also over 7,000 square feet of meeting space,
• Rosewood Beijing: Rosewood's first Chinese hotel, Rosewood Beijing opened in 2014, also in the Chaoyang District. The hotel -- which upon opening claimed to have more landscaped outdoor space than any other luxury hotel in Beijing, thanks to an abundance of terraces, gardens and balconies -- has 283 residential-style guest rooms; six restaurants and lounges, including one with eight private dining suites; a spa with a gym, swimming pool and yoga studio; and over 36,000 square feet of meeting and event space, including a residential-style function space known as The Pavilion.
• The Peninsula Beijing: In 2017, The Peninsula Beijing completed a massive renovation that turned it into Beijing's only all-suite luxury hotel. Located at the center of the Wangfujing shopping district, the property once had 525 guest rooms but now boasts 230 suites, instead. There also are three restaurants; a spa, fitness center and heated indoor pool; a shopping arcade; and nearly 13,000 square feet of meeting and event space.