The Opposite House Beijing Indulgence

An indulgent weekend spent in the intriguing urban design hotel in The Opposite House, Beijing couldn't be any more chic and simultaneously being well looked after especially while you were in the mood for style. It is no longer a dream, after a three hours flight from Hong Kong and the smooth clearance from the passport control and immigration, a representative from the hotel awaited to collect us and walked us to the our "pick up". Our surprise #1 started within minutes, a Maserati Quattroporte turned up and yes it is the MASERATI that was our ride to the hotel. The acceleration of the powerful vehicle excited us while enjoying the Beijing November brisk and blue sky through the window. As the usual suspect, the well-speed driver dropped us safely in the hotel in the cosmopolitan district of Sanlitun within his/our schedule. We only  wished to have just a slightly longer ride with such snug and comfy car riding experience.

 

We arrived (in style, of course) with warm greeting by the man with great observation and anticipation Carl Hadaway, the director of guest experience stood at the giant door entrance of the foyer and guided us through briefly with the hotel facilities (no do's and don'ts) followed by his team to check us in officially.

Before we entered the room, we took a few moments to admire the beautiful contemporary style and abundant space designed by the eminent Japanese architect, Kengo Kuma.

Lots of natural lights came through the large glass windows that creating refreshing ambience with a hint of zen mood complimenting the minimalist and geometrically aligned furniture. A peaceful and harmony surroundings assured!



As told by the soft spoken yet masculine Hadaway, The Opposite House often engaged talented artists from around with their chef d'oeuvre on displayed.

The present work we saw was a 6-piece porcelain wearable art installation by a local artist Li Xiaofeng. It was artistically Oriental!

When we were escorted to the room, the uncluttered and contemporary with a subtle touches of a traditional Chinese decor was inviting. We just loved the space of the room (honestly, the room size is almost the size of our apartment back home in which people considered that a luxury living in Hong Kong), it was indeed designed to provide a sense of space, warmth and comfort.

Each room comes with the natural wooden floors, king size bed and the luxurious spa inspired bathtubs. It is a must to have a good bath before you called it a night without any questions.

There are 98 large studios ranging from 450sf to 1150sf including 9 spacious suites and a penthouse duplex with an exclusive 2400sf terrace (unfortunately, we did not have a chance to view that just yet). Our surprise #2 came with a hand written welcome note by Alex Chen, the Area Director of Communications, Beijing (whom we will be meeting up at the Mesh bar before heading for dinner) together with a box of colorful macaroon.

 

 

Chen certainly knows how to sweeten his guests especially for what he is doing in his role. The surprise had not ended just yet, surprise #3 was a daily complimentary mini bar also at our disposal, how was that sounds to you? We can't help but wonder for what have we done to deserve that. Well, clearly we were there to be indulged without any doubts.

We were then decided to walk around the premises to get familiar with the facilities provided. A visit to the 22-metre stainless steel lightly heated swimming pool is definitely a must as well as the gym featured with the Techogym equipment. It was modern and slick, we decided to drop the gym and spent more time in the water to get a bit more R&R during our stay.

Before we came back to the pool, we still have much more to discover and get inspired by the rest of the mesmerizing architecture design. We did a brief check in the BEI restaurant, an assertive reinterpretation of traditional north Asian dishes from Japan, Northern China and Korea with an innovation twist and the Village Cafe which our breakfast will be taking place and the Mediterranean restaurant Sureno.

We were a little naughty and managed to sneak in and had a photo taken in one of the hotel slick designs men's washroom. The blue lighting changes the colors to pink and green within seconds. It had certainly proven that an urban contemporary design hotel like The Opposite House not only taken care of the most visible areas for its avant-garde design but also its public-private areas like this one. We were impressed!

<BEI>

<MESH>

After spending nearly an hour at the pool, it was time to get dressed and meet up with the genial Alex Chen for a drink at the Mesh bar before a dinner to follow. We had not met Chen in person but were informed of his friendly hospitality despite what he has to do for his job in public relation.The moment of truth unveiled after we officially met while Chen spotted us sitting at the bar area. After the formality introduction together with the General Manager Anthony Ross who happened to be there, Chen's personality really strike us blissfully after the brief greetings .

<VILLAGE CAFE>

 <SURENO>

A round of drink couldn't possible keep the conversation going but Chen had taken the initiative to change the dinner venue which was initially planned outside the hotel to Sureno in order for us to get the feel of knowing the hotel a little more. We certainly had no objection to that since dining in Sureno was part of our plans as we had heard some great reviews in this restaurant before we arrived.

<The Foyer Ambience>

Two and half hours later with 2 bottles of wine and nearly 6 courses of great selection Tapas, entrees and desserts introduced by the "Belgium Made' gorgeous looking restaurant manager Pieter Ham and numerous jokes and great laughter's, Chen decided to walk us through the central business district and embassies Sanlitun neighbourhood to experience the night life scene and shopping precinct. Despite the heavy snow storm that messed up most of the locals' routine two weeks ago, we were still packed with our full winter outfits to grasp the opportunity of embracing the anticipating snowy weather but with disappointment. The weather was crisp in fall, we took a 10 minutes walk to one of Chen's favorites yet not so touristy 1949's zone for a drink before we end the first night experience with The Opposite House.

 Surprise #4 Been a long day? What a lovely thought when the turned down service came with a moisturizing mask, Would you say no to that?

Surprise #5, with little thing they do that touches your heart. The most observant Carl Hadaway spotted our luggage with full on travel stickers and left us a few more nostalgia home design stickers from The Opposite House to help our bag more stand out.

The Opposite house may do things out of the norm and yet they still understand and adhere to their guest's need and requirement in a unique and innovative way......with a heart. When you are tired of the regular business like hotels with predicted standard or service, in your next travel for business or pleasure, The Opposite house could offer you a stay with a pleasant and unique home away home indulgence. What's more could you possibly ask for after a trip back with endless memories and information to share with others. The answer is all of the above.

*Special thanks to Petrie PR @ the arrangements & The Hospitality of The Opposite House Beijing.