Ocean Spring Resort Chengdu - MGallery

Though it’s located within the city limits of the Sichuan capital — and, incidentally, not terribly close to any ocean — the Ocean Spring Resort Chengdu - MGallery feels nothing like an urban hotel. It’s a solid twenty miles from the center of this sprawling city, and it’s set on a sliver of parkland, adjacent to the Tianfu International Finance Center, which happens to be home to a natural hot spring.

Combined with its closed-in, compound-like construction, this situation creates a rural-resort vibe at Ocean Spring — one that its rooms and villas, with their garden views and (in the latter case) indoor-outdoor lounge space, only serve to heighten. The villas come with their own hot spring pools, while all guests share access to the 3,500-square-meter hot spring bath and spa complex, as well as extensive facilities for fitness, for meetings, and for chess(!).

L’Orange, the all-day restaurant, displays some French influence, and showcases the produce of Jintang, the agricultural region just to the east of the city. Meanwhile the Spring Bar keeps guests mingling over an astonishing variety of teas, as well as wines, cocktails, and a light all-day menu.