This New Beijing Hotel Puts You on the Doorstep of the Forbidden City

COUNTLESS HOTELS SUGGEST THAT you can “live like a local,” but Mandarin Oriental Qianmen, Beijing places you right in the heart of a traditional neighborhood, just a few minutes’ walk from the legendary Forbidden City.  

Here, when you walk to the lobby, breakfast or spa, there’s a chance you could pass giggling kids walking to school, watch a lady flipping jian bing pancakes, or see an elderly gentleman taking his pet cricket out for a walk, held in a tiny bamboo cage. 

They’re just some of the priceless interactions found in a hotel spread across a 200-year-old traditional hutong which positively hums with history. Fear not, though, as no gleaming modern tower has been built in its heart. On the contrary, the hotel’s 42 exquisite original courtyard houses were all once the low-rise homes of local dignitaries, businesspeople, Peking opera singers and more. 

The Mandarin Oriental Qianmen, Beijing may be spread out across laneways throughout the hutong, but all courtyard houses are wholly private and raise the bar for luxury accommodation in dazzling new ways. Starting at a very generous 800 square feet up to the jaw-dropping 5,285 square-foot Peking Mansion, which you get you via passageways lit by lanterns and guarded by stone lions, before your courtyard welcomes you with greenery—or in some cases 100-year-old trees—that let you reflect on the colors and moods of the season. 

Inside, original stonework and wooden beams set the scene, then contemporary Chinese art, porcelain, lacquerware, über-elegant furnishings and cutting-edge tech combine to glorious decorative effect. Craft a cocktail from your bar—or hit up your butler on speed dial or WeChat to do it for you. Seriously envy-inducing en-suite marble bathrooms feature Japanese-style loos, smellies from the very swanky Editions de Parfum Frédéric Malle and a gorgeous burgundy leather washbag which is yours to keep.  

If you can pull yourself away from your new home, you can either stroll or get a buggy in no time to hit up the hotel’s communal areas, starting with the crazy-pretty lobby courtyard, home to a towering 130-year-old maple tree and Zen-inducing ponds. At the hotel’s gala opening, it was where legends including Karen Mok, Vivienne Tam and Chen Kun were serenaded by MO’s newest celebrity fan, the incredible Chinese pianist Yuja Wang. 

The bar has also been seriously raised when it comes to dining and drinking. Yan Garden by Chef Fei features dishes by the eponymous Michelin-starred maestro’s team who craft outstanding Cantonese and Chaozhou dishes –including the crispiest pigeon I’ve ever been served. Dim sum and siu mei are other standouts, while the setting in another series of stunning courtyards comes straight out of a dreamscape. 

Vicini—which means “neighborhood” in Italian, apt given the restaurant’s location in a hutong—is where a young and impressively multilingual service team present real-deal Italian plates from chef Luongo. Sit on the terrace overlooking the rooftops and order the calamari with confit tomatoes, capers and Kalamata olives. Trust me. They also serve breakfast—although many in-house guests understandably order it in their courtyard houses—offering both European and Chinese dishes, including abalone congee and the northeastern regional favorite of donkey sliders. 

Kick-ass cocktails come at dimly lit TIAO, a sultry two-floor space which has already become Beijing’s hottest soirée spot—hotel guests always get priority seats. Try the “Cricket Fight” for two featuring Irish whiskey with ginger liqueur, dark soy sauce, pear nectar, lime and soda. Note to self, however: don’t try and learn to play mahjong after enjoying a couple. 

Elsewhere around the hotel, the Spa is just as enticing as you’d hope, with traditional Chinese techniques and treatments and a sublime tea room. Then experiences on offer will also truly rock your travel world, from a guided electric bike tour of the Forbidden City—with added street-food stops—to a one-on-one tai chi class on the Great Wall at Jinshanling, for the ultimate in IG gold, and all those “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” feels. 

mandarinoriental.com/en/beijing/qianmen; rates from ¥10,955 per night

BOOK YOUR STAY AT MANDARIN ORIENTAL QIANMEN, BEIJING VIA BOOKING.COM

Images courtesy of Mandarin Oriental Qianmen, unless otherwise noted.

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