BVLGARI HOTEL, Beijing

Best Hotels and Resorts in the World: The Gold List 2022

"There aren’t many cities as intense as Beijing, with its ring roads like clogged arteries. Even its imperial core—the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, the Drum and Bell Towers—hums with frantic life. I’ve always found it a city to attack and then retreat from, which is what makes the Bulgari Hotel such a joy. Hugging the Liangma River, gently removed from the embassies and expat buzz of Sanlitun, it spills onto a manicured garden by Swiss landscape designer Enzo Enea—a bit of soft green zen in a city of so many grays. Inside there are Asian nods but mostly a certain luxuriant sleekness: crisp blacks and golds, with archival photographs and folding copper screens. I usually ask for a south-facing room, as high up as possible, looking through floor-to-ceiling windows not just to the sun but to the wonky skyline across the river. Everything is smoothly tactile, from leather-paneled walls to sliding wooden screens, fringed Bulgari-branded bedspreads, and velveteen sofas. Award-winning chef Niko Romito’s regional Abruzzo dishes, such as Wagyu tagliata and oyster risotto, are served under great geometric Murano chandeliers. The spa, with its pool seemingly hewn from black marble, was partly inspired by Rome’s ancient Baths of Caracalla. Outside, Beijing may be rushing by, but inside, a very Italian coolness reigns. Doubles from $583. —Vincent Wang" - CNT Editors