Hotel Kapok Beijing

While not exactly nestled down a quiet alleyway, Hotel Kapok has an enviable location. If you want to be any closer to the Forbidden City, you'll have to move into the Emperor's old bedroom. And all the retail diversions of Wangfujing are nearby. A fledgling local brand, Kapok offers 62 standard rooms and 27 suites. Conceived by local architect Zhu Pei, the hotel was fashioned out of a gutted five-storey former government building to incorporate the ideas of "translucence" and "blur". With its distinctive exterior wrapping of gridded, frosted fibreglass – which causes the hotel to softly glow at night – and its generous use of natural interior light, the overall effect is indeed one of light and air – so welcome in a city that is somewhat short on both. Rooms are fresh and modern, with wooden floors, ginkgo-print wallpapers and plenty of glass and mirrors to give a sense of space (although the rooms are not at all shoe-boxey); huge bathtubs and little pebbled courtyards (not in all rooms)are memorable touches. Rooms are arranged around a central atrium and there's a bar, business and fitness centres, restaurant, sauna and in-room internet.

16 Donghuamen Dajie, Dong Cheng District

www.kapokhotelbeijing.com

• fledgling (adj): a person or organisation that is immature, inexperienced or undeveloped. 
• translucence (adj): allowing light, but not detailed images, to come through.