NUO flagship hotel opens in Beijing

Luxury brand NUO announced on June 5 the opening of its first flagship, the NUO Hotel Beijing, offering highly sensory guest experiences to luxury travelers.

NUO stands for new and represents the promise the brand is committed to. On Sept 20, 2012, NUO, the first Chinese international luxury brand, stepped from the mainland onto the world stage when it announced its global expansion strategy. As one of the country's first homegrown five-star hotel brands, NUO Hotels draws inspiration from the country's 5,000 years of history and cultural heritage and its commitment to serving as a custodian of traditional Chinese culture.

Developed in conjunction with Kempinski Hotels and fully owned by the Beijing Tourism Group, NUO aims to disseminate the novel lifestyle and attitudes of modern China while honoring its cultural heritage and supporting contemporary art and culture.

In addition to Beijing, NUO Hotels has development plans for elsewhere in China and the world.

"The spectacular growth of the Chinese tourism industry in recent years has underlined the need for China to have its own distinctive 'made in China' luxury hotel brand," Duan said. "As one of China's largest tourism companies, Beijing Tourism Group is proud to launch a five-star hotel group which celebrates Chinese heritage and culture."

NUO Hotel Beijing interprets and inherits the literature, art and culture of the prosperous Ming dynasty (1368-1644) in modern lifestyles.

"NUO Hotel Beijing operates under the guiding philosophy of 'using the past to serve the present'," said Adrian Rudin, general manager of NUO Hotel Beijing. "With a civilization that has fascinated travelers for more than 5,000 years, the depth of China's history is unparalleled. We look forward to welcoming guests from around the world to experience a contemporary and luxurious view of the most prosperous period of China's past at NUO Hotel Beijing."

NUO Hotel Beijing serves as a landmark art destination, sharing the richness of Chinese culture with a dedicated art gallery. The hotel lobby, guestrooms and suites, and food and beverage outlets act as backdrops for a series of carefully curated pieces by the country's most critically acclaimed artists, from newly emerging to world-renowned.

With key interiors designed by Hirsch Bedner Associates, NUO Hotel Beijing has 438 guestrooms, including 55 suites, all with floor-to-ceiling views of the city.

NUO Hotel Beijing sources food ingredients from partner organic local farms and producers, which are then creatively prepared in the hotel's six restaurants and bars by a team of culinary experts from 10 different countries.

Chinese tea culture is significant to the hotel and unique to NUO Hotel Beijing is the Yuan Tea House, which makes its debut along with the hotel, with its graceful interiors evoking an exquisite courtyard in a contemporary interpretation of a Ming Dynasty-era tea house.

For relaxation and wellness, NUO Fitness offers a well-equipped lifestyle gymnasium and 25-meter heated indoor swimming pool. NUO Spa, with its eight treatment rooms and traditional Chinese medicine center, offers authentic Chinese heritage treatments inspired by 2,000-year-old medical texts, with proprietary oils and fragrances.

NUO Hotel Beijing unveils 2,500 square meters of conference and banqueting facilities, including 14 function rooms and the pillar-free 1,600-square-meter Yongle Grand Ballroom, which can accommodate up to 1,600 guests.

NUO Hotel Beijing is equipped with a sophisticated air-purification system that efficiently filters up to 90 percent of PM2.5 particles, an intelligent lighting system and an energy-saving curtain wall system designed by German firm Schco, which reduces air-conditioning and heating wastage.

zhuanti@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 06/27/2015 page10)