OCATED in the heart of Beijing, a stone’s throw from the imperial Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square, is another city landmark. The Raffles Beijing Hotel occupies a storied building dating back to the early 1900s that has seen its share of history, pomp and celebration. At the crossroads of Chang An Avenue (down which massed parades thunder) and the fashionable shopping area of Wangfujing, the Raffles opened its doors on 27 June, 2006 in the carefully restored “French” portion of the three-section Beijing Hotel.

Among the best Beijing luxury hotels and with business services to match the needs of its top-drawer clientele, the 171-room hotel offers a classic high-ceiling lobby, with its signature arches, five banquet venues (with a Meeting Concierge) that can accommodate corporate conferences and the like, as well as four restaurants and bars. The Jewel Grand Ballroom serves up 480sq m of meeting space. While Landmark Rooms start at 46sq m, the Landmark Suites stretch to a

spacious 70sq m with the 888sq m Presidential Suite at the apex of the hotel’s lodging inventory. In-room, expect an LCD TV, Broadband Internet, floral patterns, pastel colours and rich fabrics with lots of white trim. Raffles Executive Rooms offer the luxury of breakfast at East 33, afternoon tea, and complimentary evening cocktails along with services geared for the business traveller. Quietly understated, this is a hotel that punches above its class as one of the top Beijing business hotels though it caters equally splendidly for those in search of holiday and history.

Gourmets will enjoy the taste of Jaan, the city’s much talked about French restaurant while East 33 serves up an extravagant seafood buffet featuring Alaskan king crab, Boston lobster and sashimi. After hours, stop by the Writers Bar, which has been graced by eminent personages including George Bernard Shaw, Edgar Snow and Rabindranath Tagore. Raffles Beijing is an address to mark down. Keep an eye out too for sister-property Raffles Tianjin that opened early 2010.