Sleek, utilitarian and thoughtful design that respects the fact of the entire inspirational architectural design cannot be an eyesore or needlessly extravagant. The Temple House in century old Chengdu preserves the traditional classic architectural approach with modern amenities and state-of-the-art facilities, yet, not forgetting the elevated experiences and heartfelt service that allows you to explore the unknown and beyond. mylifestylenews writes.
The city of Chengdu can be a conundrum, as you enter the city proper from either airports (yes, they have two enormous international airports) and approximately 14.2 kilometres from Chengdu Shuangliu International Airport and 74.6 kilometres if you choose to arrive from the newer Chengdu Tianfu International Airport. The Temple House chauffeur, Bruce awaited our arrival from Shanghai and greeted us warmly, promptly escorted us to a brand new Audi SUV that picks up the hotel guests and VIPs in such a splendid chariot. The charming Bruce is a font of information, fluent in English and had such a bubbly personality, so already we felt like we were in safe hands and picked his brains for some local recommendations and the transfer just flew by.
Upon entering the city precincts, you’ll see the typical high density high rise – so prevalent in China – but then all of a sudden you turn into vibrant streets that has those exciting and inviting local food eat-outs, restaurants, retails shopping that from one bustling street to another, it just never ends.
Approaching The Temple House in pretty good traffic condition, the joy ride ended when we were confronted with an ancient stone-walled entrance and immediately the excitement continues for what is to unfold before our eyes. Elegant bamboo tresses frame the House’s entrance, we stepped out of the Limo and through a historic brick arched entrance into an enchanting courtyard strewn with red lanterns that immediately evoked a sense of history and our hearts skipped a beat!
The Swire Group has a habit of knowingly creating a refined and unique destination for luxury boutique design hotel aficionados who seek an alternative, intimate and personalized experience in luxury travel. The House Collective comprises The upper House in Hong Kong, The Middle House in Shanghai as well as The Temple House in Chengdu each of which are uniquely imagined, whether it is old or new, or a combination of both that defy comparison. Each House is a sophisticated, singular piece of design, created by talented architects and designers that reflect the unique qualities of their surroundings.
The Temple House in Chengdu embraces the new while adding a touch of history and offers luxury facilities that celebrates Chengdu’s ancient history. Set on former temple grounds and hidden amongst the laneways of Taikoo Li Chengdu, a vibrant open plan shopping precinct in the heart of the Jinjiang District. As part of the Chengdu Daci Temple Cultural and Commercial Complex comprising six historic buildings, The Temple House is a beautifully restored Qing Dynasty heritage building and now an urban sanctuary with modern amenities as well as endless surprises around every corner.
Delivering such a sophisticated design was the team behind MAKE’s Lead Architect to reflect the hotel’s heritage location by incorporating the original buildings into the design and introducing local themes such as terraced fields which can been seen from the courtyard’s undulating landscape surrounding The Temple House.
The grand staircase connecting the reception area to the courtyard below leading to the locally loved Tivano Italian restaurant also resembles Sichuan’s steep hillsides.
The silk-producing Chengdu region is famous for its brocade weaves and this traditional pattern drew inspiration to create the hotel’s city-facing exterior façade with intricate fretwork interweaving brass elements within the brickwork.
A sense of place was essentially created to integrate the design into the local community and not to isolate it from its context, echoing Chengdu’s landscape and traditional architectural elements such as bamboo, timber brick and stone with an ultra-modern and highly individual aesthetic paying homage to the city’s heritage and cultural touchstones.
The House adheres to a typical siheyuan “courtyard house” design with a sequence of courtyard gardens bordered by two L-shaped medium rise modern buildings. As we stepped into the intimate and inviting lobby, you can look behind and around you at the history of this historical House embracing Chinese architectural traditions and look forward to the new, which is all the guest accommodation among many other facilities and guest experiences and so forth.
The arrival experience was very warm and friendly with a ever-ready team at your service to assist you in all request for a worry free staycation. We were quickly escorted to our room to complete the formalities, which is always a nice personal touch.
Opened in July 2015, The Temple House consists of 100-room and 42-residence serviced apartments that include a separate kitchen. Our room was allocated on the 8th floor was an unexpected surprise, as we had been upgraded to the Studio 90 room type. The 96sqm room with a huge outdoor balcony and two key views – one looking to Taikoo Li Luxury shopping precinct next door and the other looking out to the front of the hotel and beyond to the wide spread of the city, both were equally captivating.
The look carries through to the room, where the theme is dark and monochrome, which is appealing and encourages a sense of space and belonging and stylish urban retreat. Dark timber finishes and subtle textures add warmth to the entire ambience with custom-made furniture.
The room had so much space with a sleek modern design, showcasing premium finishes, contemporary colour schemes, and the latest appliances together with complimentary high speed internet access complemented by urban resort-quality facilities ensures a sophisticated lifestyle of comfort and luxury.
A small vestibule leads you through two sets of capacious wardrobes and then to your right a super king bed with luxury down bedding, long desk area, a daily complimentary Maxi bar of beers, soft drinks and snacks and living section in front of the bed looking out to the bustling Taikoo Li.
Then, to your left is the huge separate walk-in rain shower room and toilet and long shelf for spreading out your luggage, as well as plenty of floor space to open multiple suitcases. In between both sections – directly behind the bed – is a walk-through section comprising the double vanity on one side and the huge bathtub on the other, which is separated from the bedroom by a beautiful open wooden oriental Chinese screen enhances the already bespoke aesthetic and running the full length of the room is a spacious outdoor balcony.
A sweet and heart-warming welcome 'Hot-Pot" amenity.
Health and wellness is naturally well covered with a fabulous below ground turquoise indoor pool where you can float beneath sculptural skylights and is quite sizeable and chic in its interior design plus the extra wet areas include steam and sauna rooms.
Adjacent to the pool is a fitness centre that ticks all the boxes to sweat away the stress of travel.
For a complete holistic journey there is the tranquil Mi Xun Spa in the adjacent building behind the delectable vegetarian Mi Xun Tea House where you can enjoy restorative treatments inspired by ancient Chinese practices and modern Western therapies.
Breakfast is located in The Temple Cafe and is a semi-buffet experience. On a quiet day it can be delightful, but on a busy day it was a little frustrating with food order delays and inconsistent quality. Despite some service staff are spot on and some leave you wondering how they deliver on the guest experience, but overall pleasing nonetheless with a few hit-and-miss.
The buffet set up is nicely done and errs on the side of Cantonese flavours rather than a strong Sichuan province bent. The use of Jing branded tea which is of a high premium selection and the coffee is also a good standard quality. From dumplings to noodles and then some of the Asian and Chinese selection to the western dishes were always enjoyable and quality ingredients were used throughout the breakfast menu. There were not any discernible daily specials, but you would be hard pressed to get bored each day unless you were staying for a week or more.
While we did have some ‘lost in translation’ moments, we also had fantastic experiences with many front of the house team members going that extra mile with lots of smiles that made you feel at ease in a foreign environment. Overall it was quite a memorable staycation. The Temple House effortlessly blends essential elements of Chengdu landscape, centuries-old traditions and contemporary lifestyle urban luxury experience. When history meets luxury, it is time to pause and slow down your pace to marvel the marvelous in this distinctive landmark in the heart of Chengdu’s CBD.
Tried & Tested:
Location: 5/5
Design & Decor: 5/5Housekeeping: 5/5
Food & Beverage: 4.5/5
Service: 4.5/5
Value For Money: 5/5
Experience: 5/5
The Temple House
81, Bitieshi Street,Jingjiang District,Chengdu, ChinaTel: +86 28 6636 9999
Location: 5/5
Design & Decor: 5/5
Design & Decor: 5/5
Housekeeping: 5/5
Food & Beverage: 4.5/5
Service: 4.5/5
Value For Money: 5/5
Experience: 5/5
Food & Beverage: 4.5/5
Service: 4.5/5
Value For Money: 5/5
Experience: 5/5
The Temple House
81, Bitieshi Street,
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