Hotel Cote Cour Beijing

Here off a narrow alley in Old Beijing you’ll find fourteen rooms and suites surrounding a central garden, complete with lily pond in the center. The interiors have authentic traditional character to spare, which is little diluted by the addition of modern conveniences like flat-screen televisions and wireless internet. They’ve got tactile comfort (down duvets and fine fabrics) and reserved, private atmosphere in spades — Hotel Cote Cour Beijing couldn’t feel more different from the massive megahotels that are Beijing’s usual business-traveler haunts.

Services, though, are minimal — a continental breakfast is served in the lounge, as are drinks later in the day. It’s a small price to pay, though, for this kind of exclusivity — if it’s activity you’re after, there are no end of places in Beijing to find it.