Four Seasons Beijing
If you told me you had a sub-par experience at a Four Seasons, I would also believe pigs can fly. Their property in Beijing does not have flying pigs, but they do have live birds (it's a Chinese thing, Google it). Gorgeous architecture, great food, and the world's best service make this one of the city's finest.
Location: B-
The hotel is located within a 10 minute walk to a subway station, and is situated on the northeast part of the city. It's close to the awesome 798 arts district, the business district and Sun Park. Some of the larger, more famous sites are a bit of a ways from the hotel, but very few hotels in Beijing actually have a location that is close to everything. The immediate area is very safe, near multiple embassy's and bank buildings, so for families, the location is actually fantastic. I would argue that for families, this may be the best area in the city in fact. 798 is the type of area you can spend hours in and entertain both kids and adults, so being close to that is a big plus for families.
Dining: A
I was lucky enough to be able to enjoy a dinner here with the lovely Emilie Zhang at Cai Yi Xuan, which serves some of Beijing's best Cantonese food. It really is no wonder why it is ranked as the best Chinese Hotel Restaurant by Time Out Food in 2016. This place is ridiculous. Like every bite was perfect type of ridiculous. You won't go wrong with any of the dishes you order because frankly there is an overwhelmingly large menu, but, in case you are curious, I'll go ahead and let you know what I was lucky enough to try.
I started out with the white asparagus shredded and drizzled with some sort of ponzu sauce. Tiny shrimps were thrown in there to add a salty crunch to the dish, and even though I was slightly taken aback at first, I really liked this dish. It was refreshing, and opened my palate in a very simple and refined way. The idea of starting a meal with cold, refreshing dishes is a very Chinese ideology, and frankly I think I will start applying it to all my meals from here on out.
After this, we were served a small cauliflower dish which was cooked well and slightly seasoned. Simple and elegant, and healthy I guess? No complaints at all, in fact, it was some of the best cauliflower I've had, probably because it was marinated with a black truffle sauce! Chinese cuisine is heavy on vegetables, which is an interesting observation in my opinion because it isn't something you see in America or any other Western cultures for that matter. China loves to isolate vegetables as their own dish, rather than coupling them with another dish and regarding them as more of a side. One of my least favorite foods, eggplant, became one of my favorites, and I ordered a dish of eggplant and onions as my main course for one of my meals in China and loved it.
Anyways, back on track here, up next was grilled king prawn served with sautéed vegetables. This is like any sort of Chinese shrimp dish you've had but better. The shrimp is perfectly cooked and the sauce is the perfect balance of sweet and tangy, with a bit of spice from the dried chili.
Sticking with seafood, we were served one of my favorite dishes I had in my time in Beijing. It was cod, perfectly cooked, crispy on the outside and soft and tender on the inside, served over a bed of citrus and mango with some cucumbers to top it off. If your mouth isn't already watering, I probably failed at explaining it, so hopefully these photos will allow your taste buds to imagine what I as fortunate enough to eat.
This was one of my favorite dishes I had while in China without a doubt!
Like I said earlier, Chinese cuisine is all about maintaining a clean palate to enjoy every dishes unique flavors, and Head Chef Li Qiang used the incredibly refreshing cod to prepare my palate for my next dish: pork belly. This is very popular in Chinese cuisine. It's fatty as hell, but in a fantastic way. The fat is super tasty, as you would expect. The fat paired with the tender pork meat is a new type of sensation while chewing, and combining that with the incredible flavors of the pork makes for a fantastic dish.
A Chinese staple that is perfected here at the Four Seasons
It was only fitting to end the meal with a simple flavor, to allow my palate to finish the experience in a peaceful and smooth manner. A plate of Chinese broccoli did just that, and that's all I will say about that.
Simplicity following the tastefully complex entrees is common in Chinese-but Chef Li Qiang seems to just do it better!
Of course though, when it comes to my meals, they are simply never complete until dessert is had. SO leave it to Chef Li Qiang to serve a simple, homemade yogurt. This is Beijing style, although I could not tell you exactly why. It's a beautifully white yogurt topped with raisins and a mint. Frankly, by this point, I was so stuffed and overwhelmed so the simple flavors of this yogurt was the absolute ideal way to complete the meal.
This yogurt was so good and so white it was hard to figure out where it was!
All in all, I was very impressed with Cai Yi Xuan. It is a great restaurant that harnesses local culture and cuisine in curating a top-notch dining experience.
Amenities: A
The restaurant just behind the lobby, taken from the mezzanine shops, where you really had no choice but to buy a wedding gown.
A massive butterfly wall serves as the background for the spa area of the resort.
The only things I got to see for myself at the Four Seasons was the shopping area, which was basically just dresses and suits stores-at least from what I saw. I also got the chance to check out the incredible spa area, which is based around a central courtyard with small cabanas, water features and gardens, set underneath the backdrop of a 25 story butterfly wall. This is easily the best spa I saw while in Beijing, no questions asked. This courtyard, referred to as the Tea Garden, took my breath away. It achieves this incredibly unique level of subtle grandeur, with it's simple architecture and design within a massive atrium. It truly feels like you are removed from the city, and yet does not intimidate at all. Unfortunately, I did not receive any treatments, but I can only imagine how fantastic they would be at this stellar spa.
Not hard to find your zen in a space like this!
Service: A-
10/10. It's a Four Seasons, tell me what else you'd expect. My waiter spilled water during the dinner, I guess there's one thing to nit-pick on. But not really. Everyone is royalty here, as is the case at Four Seasons around the world.
Thriving at any Four Seasons is not necessarily a challenge, and you don't really need me to tell you that the Four Seasons Beijing is a great hotel. But I don't care what you think so I'll say it anyways. The Four Seasons is a great hotel in Beijing, whether you are a businessman, family man, or food man.