Aman Summer Palace

The hotel is a cluster of pavilions built around private courtyards, a short walk from the East Gate of the Summer Palace, a UNESCO World Heritage Site on Beijing's northwest edge. Fifty-one rooms and suites sit across low, tiled buildings arranged so that most look onto garden courtyards or stands of established indigenous trees rather than onto each other. Rooms draw on Imperial-period design: wooden screens, bamboo blinds and exposed timber beams recur through the Courtyard Guestrooms and Suites. The Imperial Suite is the largest configuration, three pavilions around a shared courtyard with a spa room and a private dining space that converts into a boardroom for 14. Family Suites pair a suite with a guest room for two en-suite bedrooms. Underfloor heating and air conditioning run through every room, alongside Wi-Fi and a mini bar. Two restaurants anchor the food side: a Japanese room built on the idea of old imperial banquets, and Ming Dynasty, serving Cantonese and Imperial Chinese dishes. Guests can swim indoors year-round in the heated pool, or book the squash court, gym, Pilates and yoga classes. The spa runs a full menu of body and beauty treatments. Check-in is at 2pm, check-out at noon. It is a quiet, low-rise base for exploring one of Beijing's grandest gardens on foot.