A Homey Place

A Homey Place

W arm autumn sunlight slanted into the Globe Café of Mercure Wanshang Beijing hotel through its floor-toceiling windows. Sitting at a table overlooking a large garden, Mary Goh, the hotel’s general manager, talked about her hotel.

Mercure is a brand under Accor, a leading international hotel group originating in France. Accor operates a portfolio of about 15 brands ranging from luxury to economy, including Sofitel,Pullman, Novotel, Grand Mercure and Mercure, which spread over 90 countries in the world.

A midscale hotel brand, Mercure is present in nearly 50 countries in the world. In addition to Beijing, Mercure hotels can be found in other Chinese cities such as Dalian, Suzhou, Shanghai and Kunm ing, Goh said.

Mercure Wanshang Beijing, a four-star hotel, is located in Shijingshan District in west Beijing.Though it m igh t sound far from downtow n Beijing and the Capital International Airport in the east side of the city, it actually is not in terms of time and distance, Goh said.

“You do not have to travel through the jammed downtown to get here, the Fifth Ring Road cuts the trip from the airport to about 45 m inutes,” she explained. It is also w ithin walking distance to the metro station and bus stops, so the hotel is easily accessible.

Goh, a native of Singapore, has spent a significant part of her 26-year hotel career in China. Since she fi rst came to this country in 1997, she has rotated between Beijing and Shanghai, except for a few years back in Singapore.

She assum ed the general m anager position since Mercure Wanshang Beijing opened in April 2008, w hen Beijing was preparing for the Summer Olympic Games.

Shijingshan District was home to the Olympic venues of some events such as bicycle motocross and shooting. The hotel was chosen as a contract service provider to the Olympic Games. Many Olympic players and some government officials lived in the hotel during the 2008 Olympic Games.

Shijingshan has traditionally been a heavy industry base.Shougang Group, one of the largest steel manufacturers in China, was located there before moving out in recent years.Mercure was introduced into the district when the district government was gearing up its opening to the outside world and developing its tourism industry.

“As an international hotel brand, we have enjoyed strong support from the district government,” Goh said. The district government chose the hotel as venue for many of its important conferences.

Some important guests of the district government also stay in the hotel. One of them is Lien Chan, former Chairman of the Kuom intang (KMT) Party in Taiwan, China. Lien came to Shijingshan to celebrate the opening of a Taiwan Street there during his visit to Beijing.

Mary Goh, Genera l Manage r o f the M ercu re Wanshang Beijing

Recently, the hotel has also hosted players to International Shooting Sport Federation World Cup in Beijing, players of Chinese Basketball Association as well as a friendship delegation from Seoul, South Korea. In October, the hotel’s occupancy rate was over 70 percent.

Inside the hotel, a large number of facilities w ill meet guests’various needs. There are 281 spacious rooms, in different sizes,layouts and styles, for guests to choose from. Mercure rooms blend classic and contemporary styles that reflect the hotel’s local personality. The lighting can be adjusted to create the perfect ambiance for work or relaxation. And w ith com fortable seating and easy Internet and media connectivity, the result is a room where guests feel immediately at home.

Local and international dishes, cooked w ith flair and passion,are available in the hotel’s cafe and lobby lounge bar and a Chinese restaurant primarily featuring Huaiyang and Cantonese cuisines.

The Chinese restaurant can accommodate about 400 guests at any given time.In addition, 12 large private dining rooms are great venues for parties of small groups.

The lobby lounge bar is a sunroom decorated w ith bushes of bamboo surrounded w ith water. While seated at chairs woven w ith bamboo and rattan, guests can watch golden fish leisurely sw imming in the water.

A ballroom w ith maximum capacity of 350 persons and nine configurable breakout rooms are available for meetings and banquets.

The hotel’s spacious comprehensive fi tness center is staffed w ith in-house coaches.Lessons on yoga and other fi tness programs are offered. Guests are also served by two indoor sw imm ing pools, sauna and steam rooms, four indoor tennis courts,beauty salon, KTV rooms in various sizes.Membership to these leisure facilities is also open to the local community.

A Western-style garden covering more than 6,000 square meters is embraced by the large L-shaped hotel building. The garden is dotted by about a dozen statutes carved by Canadian artist Ma Meng. Some local young people find it a romantic place for their wedding ceremony.

The hotel’s facilities are augmented by commercial services in its vicinity. The hotel is surrounded by several local restaurants, a large shopping center and a well-equipped hospital.

It is also close to Bajiao Amusement Park, famous scenic spots such as Badachu Park, Fragrant Hills and tourist attractions in Beijing’s Mentougou District. Featuring eight ancient temples nestling in green hills, Badachu Park is an important holy place for Buddhists. The Fragrant Hills Park is famous for its refreshing coolness in summer and splendid red leaves in autumn.

Whatever the guests want—meetings, meals or fi tness or simply a good rest—the hotel offers good value for money, Goh said.