The Temple House

Joining the same Swire family that brought us the Opposite House in Beijing and the Upper House in Hong Kong, the Temple House, thanks to its location in Chengdu, might feel a bit more of a stretch for Western visitors. But it won’t be for long. Already a manufacturing center for many high-tech industries, it’ll be a more frequent destination in the coming years for global techies of all stripes — and they’ll be happy to find at least one world-class hotel awaiting them upon arrival.

The hotel development comes with impressive architectural credentials. Designed by Make Architects to pay tribute to its historic surroundings, it’s a part of the Chengdu Daci Temple Cultural & Commercial Complex, a sort of combined conservation/modernization project. The immediate upshot, for guests of the Temple House, is a drastic contrast of old and new — you’ll enter via a century-old Qing Dynasty courtyard building, before being whisked to your accommodations in one of the ultra-modern tower additions.

And those accommodations are predictably first-rate — spacious, bright, classically luxe and subtly high-tech. A handful of restaurants and bars provide ample opportunity for socializing over a meal or a drink, and the extensive spa offerings and the generous indoor pool provide venues for solo restoration. It’s the new breed of city luxury hotel: as much urban resort as office-away-from-home, combined with service that’s top-notch yet never rigid or excessively rule-governed. Get used to it.