• Unique setting and architecture on a two-thousand acre property.
• Airy rooms set in hillside villas with majestic views across the Great Wall or dramatic landscape.
• Indulge in Chinese food with a western culinary mix - 3 modernistic restaurants.
• Anantara Spa – noted as one of the finest spa companies in the world.
The Whole Story
Even if you only have a passing interest in contemporary architecture, you could not have failed to notice the new revolution in the People's Republic of China – a design revolution. Beijing is busy reinventing itself, and not in a small or conservative manner. The types of buildings cutting-edge architects normally only dream of getting built are being built. There's the hundred-thousand-seat stadium for the 2008 Olympics, for instance, by Swiss architectural duo Herzog & de Meuron, a sports palace of sorts cocooned in a bird's nest of tangled steel and twisted columns. Or Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas's 0-shaped skyscraper for Chinese state television network CCTV, a monumental reminder of the play possibilities of Lego. What with a Zaha Hadid scheme for downtown residential towers and a new dragon-shaped airport by London's Norman Foster in the planning, China is poised to be the new grande dame of avant-garde architecture.
Even on a smaller scale, new architectural possibilities are being explored. The Commune by the Great Wall is a powerful and intriguing example. Conceived by Chinese real estate developer Zhang Xin, the Commune is a showcase of creative Asian talent: a collection of houses, all inspiringly and demonstrably different, and arranged together on a walled estate immediately adjacent to the Great Wall. The Commune is beautiful and unique.
What's clear is that there's a consistency throughout, in sheer nerve and daring. Zhang could easily have followed the example of Beijing and trawled the high-profile names of international architecture for submissions. With a less dramatic scale and non-superstar architects, Zhang has chosen a purer path and in doing so has created one of the most compelling hotels in Asia.
The drive to the Great Wall takes approx an hour from the centre of Beijing, but the total change in environment and ambience makes it feel like you've travelled for weeks, not minutes. Beijing is flat, dense, and busy with traffic; the Great Wall snakes through a stretch of densely forested mountains punctuated by the odd clump of granite. There are no factories or office buildings, which for fast-growing China is rare. A small side road takes you past the Wall and winds into the mountains until you reach an avant-garde designed metal gate. Beyond this starts the hotel–architecture park known as the Commune by the Great Wall. Twelve different villas designed by twelve different architects are scattered along the two-thousand-acre property, culminating in a large concrete and glass pavilion that houses two restaurants, three bars, a swimming pool and a reception lobby. The best words to describe this Commune are fearless and experimental; fearless in its willingness to take risks and experimental in openly embracing the new, in brazen defiance of convention. The clubhouse, for instance has peacock feathers and tree bark in the aptly named Peacock Room, and organically shaped wash basins moulded in hammered copper. The emphasis, both architecturally and decoratively, is on being original. It represents innovation that verges on the fringe of art. That's why it was exhibited at the 2002 la Biennale di Venezia and awarded a special prize. Commune by the Great Wall was named “A New Architectural Wonder of China” by Business Week in 2005.
The Rooms
Rooms and Suites
The hotel offers 42 villas (236 rooms), designed by 12 Asian architects, ranging in size from 4 to 6 bedrooms, which are dispersed along the steep slope of the serene valley. Each House frames dramatic views of the sinuous landscape or The Great Wall, which is accessible by a path on the property.
The "Walnut Valley" includes 11 presidential villas with 46 guest rooms and 1 Commune club and the "Rock Valley" includes 31 new villas with 190 guest rooms, which opened in September 2006.
Standard Room with Mountain or Great Wall view. King Bed or twin beds are available. Wireless high-speed Internet access is available free of charge, bathroom with separate shower unit, in-room safe, daily local and international newspapers. Complimentary mini bar use in public living room.
Deluxe Room-King-bed with separate living room and mountain view. Complimentary mini bar use in larger public living room.