Living the American dream
How a hotelier from Chicago is achieving success with his boutique hotel business by embracing Chinese cultures and traditions.
The Linden Center in the sleepy village of Xizhou, Yunnan province has often been labelled as a luxury boutique hotel, but instead of providing guests with branded toiletries, limousine chauffeurs and personal butler services, the hotel owner is focusing on what he believes luxury is really about - learning.
Linden Center is American Brian Linden's first ever hotel venture in China and it highly encourages guests to join tours with their guides to explore Xizhou through activities like hiking and intimate visits to the homes of the ethnic groups Bai and Hui people - which explains why none of the rooms comes with televisions, mini-bars or blackout curtains, standard fixtures in a conventional luxury hotel.
