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A resort in the city center

By Raymond Zhou (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-07-09 11:01

People say the lobby is the soul of a hotel. But not at Jianguo Hotel. Here, the soul is definitely in the garden that serves as a backdrop for the lobby.

A garden in any other place might be nothing unusual, but right in the center of a busy metropolis, a stone's throw away from both the Forbidden City and the Central Business District, it is a rare luxury.

While making reservations, make sure to ask for a room with a view of the garden. Every room comes with its own deck, where you can kick off your shoes and enjoy miniature nature in full bloom. However, you cannot appear au naturel because you'll be visible to others as well.

If you fail to secure such a room, the alternative is to use the bar, the lobby lounge or the cafe on the other side of the garden. You cannot kick off your shoes, but you can still partake of the special contrast of having tranquility on one side and heavy traffic on China's best-known boulevard, the Chang'an Avenue, on the other. It's like living between two worlds, the now world and the Zen world.

The street is also visible from some of the decks - through the glasses that separate the street-side restaurant from the garden-side lobby. Although you cannot take a stroll in the garden, much of which is an elongated pond, you'll feel you're in the middle of a resort while knowing you're in the middle of a bustling city.

The two restaurants that flank the main entrance offer the best dining experience in oriental or Western cuisine. Shang Court is imperial in both look and taste. Waitresses are dressed in palace costumes, and the food is fit for an emperor. If you prefer heart-throbbingly romantic over majestically grand, Justine's is one of the best French restaurants in Beijing. The lighting is subdued, the harp tremulous, the tableware exquisite, the service impeccable, and the cuisine, par excellence. Check out the foie gras, the snails, or rely on waiters' recommendations. There is no wrong choice here. This place has been open for over 25 years now, and Beijing's crme de la crme come here to savor joie de vivre, French style.

Nostalgia is another word on the minds of many who patronize Jianguo Hotel. People who came here during the 1980s when the city did not have many decent accommodations return in search of wonderful memories. Beijing is now dotted with a full spectrum of great hotels, but nothing beats memories.