Location! Location and Location! It plays a big part especially in any urban hotel stay. For our second visit to the Niccolo Chengdu, its prestige locality in the heart of this bustling city offered endless experiences to explore its heritage and culture, luxury shopping and entertainment, not forgetting the endless choice of exotic and thematic restaurants, as well as the infamous local eats to discover, and there is always more to their story for a luxury staycation that meets sophistication. mlifestylenews writes.
Conveniently connected to the subway, Niccolo Chengdu has a pre-eminent position with close proximity to the dynamic and lively Chun Xi Road neighbourhood, overlooking the luxury shopping districts of Tai Koo Li which comprises the centennial old Daci Temple and tea houses that are also sitting adjacent to the local best luxury IFS shopping mall among many other esteemed international offices that have set foot in this prominent precinct as well as opulent residential apartments that have transmuted this area into a vibrant and most sought after urban lifestyle living.
So, for this stay we were delving into the experiences the hotel can offer without leaving the city block the hotel stands on! As always, the Niccolo brand connotes for its contemporary chic, fashion-inspired luxury and sky-high urban sanctuaries that their guests can enjoy in a discreet way, as they don’t stand on ceremony and want guests to feel relaxed and indulged from the moment you arrive until you check out.
Our last visit was the first experience for this brand and we left feeling like we had discovered a gem of a brand that offers so many memorable experiences, so our return was just as exciting, as the brand luxurious DNA that we loved from the beginning to end once again never failed to deliver.
The check-in formality this time with April was so warm and welcoming, friendly and effortless that made her a great ambassador for the brand with all the right approaches for a hassle free arrival experience done over the engaging front desk counter. Besides, we also received a warm welcome back from the Chief Concierge, Steven Li who instantly remembered us from our previous visit and his dedicated city insider team who are ever-ready to provide us the most insightful explorations and expeditions in this vivacious city and surrounds. So, it doesn’t get better than this.
The hotel lobby was also looking splendiferous yet again and we marvelled at something new and something old again, as the hotel always associate with talented young artists and continuously collaborate with them by bringing some new artwork to admire from an art or cultural perspective. There are a few new artworks were installed and displayed in the cathedral-high ceiling foyer that was vivid and quite eye-catching.
Particularly, the ceramic man-in-suit and lady-in-Qipao ceramic form sculptures in the lobby that are made up of Ming & Qing Dynasty chinaware fragments that are 1,400 years old. The arty sculptures look like body armour that can be worn as told, but are created to be truly admired as they are.
Not to mention the one of the two iconic “Beijing Girl” series oil painting by artist Zhang Xiang Ming that sets the scene for the hotel’s fashionable chic address, depicting urban life and the spirit of young women in contemporary society. Beijing Girl’s hypnotizing eyes, rosy cheeks, symmetrical face and hairstyle captivate any passers by and brighten up the entire hallway vividly contrasting another vibrant painting along the guest lift hallway that is equally attractive.
We checked into our spacious 45sqm N2 Grand Temple View Premium King on the 21st floor and the room interior design looked just as fresh as our previous stay with an elegant layout and monotone color scheme that gives a sense of calm and relaxation.
There is nothing quite like a thoughtful welcome amenities awaits our arrival.
The view overlooking Daci Temple and Tai Koo Li luxury shopping village is still spectacular day and night.
The bathroom amenities have been upgraded to Apotheke Brooklyn which has a more subtle fragrance that is more soothing and nourishing.
The swimming pool and the spacious techno gym on the 6th floor never fails to please. A long pool for lap swimming and spacious pool deck which is harmoniously designed and came with a waterfalls wall feature. The uncluttered and well equipped steam and sauna is also another bonus add-on to the facilities that is quite pleasing as they are larger than many other luxury hotels and the aspect is a winner.
The hotel has a plethora of experiences to choose from, with personalized and customized services to inspire you to discover the best of every destination and this stay we were booked in for the Luxury Personal Shopping Experience, partnered up with the IFS Personal Shopping Concierge to introduce you to the participated brands that you wish to shop exclusively.
As the hotel is part of the luxury IFS shopping mall footprint – you can walk from the hotel into the shopping mall directly without any concern of what the outside weather is like, all under one roof.
The Niccolo Personalized Luxury Shopping Experience goes beyond tailored buying. This exclusive programme offers you unprecedented access to high-end, luxury products, brands and exclusive experiences. Once we had been introduced to the Concierge, we were personally escorted to two brands that we absolutely love and we were then handed over to each shop manager accordingly who exclusively looked after us on a one-on-one manner for further exploration, including some refreshment while we were given a more detailed understanding of each dedicated brand and then left to browse in our own leisure.
Each brand manager was very informative and was able to describe in more detail about the evolution of their brand and the brand’s exclusivity with some selective items brought out that were not on display and upon request prior to advance reservation. Moreover, should you wish to purchase but not pack in your suitcase, a follow-up service whereby items can be delivered to your address anywhere in the world for complete convenience and peace of mind that makes your shopping experience more enjoyable.
The IFS shopping mall is also a destination for panda lovers, with a giant climbing panda sculpture created by the late contemporary artist Lawrence Argent on the side of the building that draws tourists from far and wide for an instagrammable moment and memories to take home. The 50 feet tall, 13 metric ton weight, steel playful and curious panda scaling the commercial building and peeking over the rooftop has been installed since Jan 2014.
Niccolo Chengdu has also just rolled out a new Panda Tour Experience and no not the Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding experience but this exclusive tour for their in-house staying guests to get a closer glimpse of this whimsical installation on the 7th floor IFS Sculpture Garden for a face-to-face with the panda’s smirking expression and snap your close-up shots.
This can be easily done by making a prior booking with the hotel concierge team and then followed up by a trip to the Niccolo Panda Shop in the hotel lobby, where you can shop for some exclusive and limited edition panda merchandise in various guises that are of the highest quality and beautifully packaged that is a must visit while staying in the hotel.
Naturally after all these experiences and sightseeing, a visit to The Bar on level 3 at the end of the day is good way to unwind and chill, whether for pre or post dinner drinks. The Bar features artisanal craft cocktails, including the regionally inspired Niccolo Journey menu as well as a selective wine list, sipping your favorite drinks while enlivening the evening with the live Latino duo for some entertainment performing some well-known covers.
Dining experiences in Niccolo Chengdu are rather captivating especially in their reknown Sichuan-Cantonese inspired Yue Hin and the classy
Breakfast in Niccolo Kitchen is another welcome repast. It is truly a cornucopia of delights which is split into a semi buffet spread covering more than just the basics of an international luxury hotel offering.
On top of that, chef walking around with their plat du jour and ensure every table is attended to with this daily special for you to savour.
The incredible array of contrasting flavours, ingredients and plentiful choices would take you a long time to get through. This breakfast would rate as one of the best for variety and a lot of dishes were spot on, particularly the local specialties, the pastries and desserts selection. A much more premium coffee and tea selection could elevate for those that take their morning ritual seriously. Apart from that niggle, you would be hard pressed to find any disappointment among such a well curated breakfast spread. We might add that having a wonderful team of service personnel always makes a positive impression and this visit we were well looked after by Suri who had a delightful personality and the right service approach that we very much be pleased by.
The connection with the Niccolo hotel brand will go beyond just one location as other Niccolo hotels just as stunning a location as Niccolo Chengdu for an inspired staycation with luxurious and sublime experiences for your next journey of discovery.
Tried & Tested:
Location: 5/5
Design & Decor: 5/5
Housekeeping: 5/5
Food & Beverage: 5/5
Service: 5/5
Value For Money: 5/5
Experience: 5/5
Location: 5/5
Design & Decor: 5/5
Housekeeping: 5/5
Food & Beverage: 5/5
Service: 5/5
Value For Money: 5/5
Experience: 5/5
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