Hotel profile | Nanjing

The latest five-star hotel in the center of Nanjing, Jiangsu province, the Westin Nanjing is more than just a business hotel.

Situated next to Xuanwu Lake, one of the city's major tourist attractions, it offers stunning views of the peaceful expanse of water. All of the guest rooms have lake views from different angles, which may relieve guests of stress.

With the lobby and guest rooms starting from the 23rd floor of the high-rise, guests can feel the bustling and vibrant side of Nanjing, but at the same time will not be disturbed by the noise outside.

"We have created a business hotel and also given the guests the feeling of a resort hotel. It matches perfectly with our Westin philosophy where we try to bring the guests up to a new level," says Richard Deutl, the hotel's general manager.

"We are close to everything, but at the same time far away enough," he says.

The hotel is located in the Hunan Road central business district. It's within walking distance of Nanjing Construction Planning Exhibition Hall, which conveniently connects the guests to the subway station.

Deutl feels proud that the hotel is very much a Chinese hotel with an international background. The hue of the interior decoration is slightly different from most of the other Westin hotels to meet the preferences of Chinese guests, which accounts for 80 percent of the hotel's guest base.

While most of the other Westin hotels have sharper contrasts in color, the public area and the guest rooms of this hotel are basically in milk white, creating an elegant, classic and relaxing atmosphere.

"When you come in here, it should calm you down," Deutl says.

All of the 234 guest rooms and suites have the signature Westin Heavenly Bed, which features a custom designed pillow top mattress, down blanket, crisp sheets, luxurious duvet and five dreamy pillows.

"In 1999 when Westin came up with the Heavenly Bed concept, everybody in the industry was laughing. But later, it was copied many times," he says, "It's the ultimate bed."

Among the hotel's three restaurants and bars, the Chinese restaurant Five Zen5es, which specialize in Jiangsu province's iconic Huaiyang cuisine, is definitely a highlight.

The master chef not only prepares authentic Huaiyang dishes but also modernizes them by skillful state-of-the-art presentation.

"When people try to copy his presentation, they always lose the taste. But he focuses on the taste and gives the presentation an additional touch," Deutl says.

With Westin's SuperFoods concept, the restaurants promise to provide guests with nourishing culinary offerings.

With 1,000 square meters of meeting and function space, the hotel provides flexible options for small meetings, trade exhibitions, banquets and global conferences.

As a hotel with a touch of the resort about it, the Westin Nanjing offers several terraces outside meeting rooms and the gym.

Talking about his expectations for the hotel, which has been open for three months, Deutl says, "We are clearly going to be the leader."

"At the end, it's the guests who decide where to go, but it's up to us to convince them," he says.

"Yes, we have a great brand and a great company with Starwood. But we have to concentrate on the details rather than just rest on those given gifts."

China Daily

(China Daily 06/18/2011 page13)