Hotel profile | Wuxi

Doubletree by Hilton Resort Wuxi Lingshan, located on the banks of Taihu Lake, is an oasis of tranquility. Yang Yijun reports.

The first thing that strikes one on entering this hotel is the breathtaking view from it.

Located on the banks of Taihu Lake, the country's third-largest freshwater lake, and framed by the Lingshan Mountain, where you can find the 88-meter Lingshan Buddha, the Doubletree by Hilton Resort Wuxi Lingshan is an oasis of tranquility.

"We offer a back-to-nature experience, only it's a five star one," says Markus Kaliss, general manager of the hotel.

"If you look around, it's just nature. People always say it's far from the downtown, but I say, yes, that's exactly the advantage."

But actually the hotel is just two hours from Shanghai, Hangzhou and Nanjing, and a mere hour's drive from the Wuxi Airport.

Its dcor is a mix of Southeast Asian touches and local influences.

From outside, it looks very similar to the resorts you may find in places like Bali, but the interiors carry the characteristic stamp of the riverside city of Wuxi, such as the boat-shaped sofas in the lobby.

The spacious lobby with high ceilings features an elevated platform, with a pond full of fish below. If you look up, you will find a life-size traditional Chinese wooden sailing boat, a tribute to the rich history of Jiangsu province, considered one of the most prosperous areas in China for more than 1,000 years.

The sailing boat is not there just as an aesthetic element but forms part of the hotel's Lakeside Caf. Guests may have to get up really early to grab a seat on the boat's bow where they can enjoy a view of Taihu Lake while having breakfast.

The hotel has two types of guest rooms - 266 lake-view rooms offering a panoramic view of Taihu Lake and 211 mountain or garden view rooms. In the lake-view rooms, not only the beds, but even the bath tub in the balcony, faces the lake.

"Stressed out guests can relax by just sitting on the balcony and gazing at the lake. At night, the starlit sky will amaze them," Kaliss says.

Guests can also visit the Lingshan Buddha statue and the magnificent Fan Gong Palace, unwind in the hot spring next to the hotel or go cycling in the empty streets. There's a regular shuttle bus service to the Buddha and into downtown.

The sailing boat is not there just as an aesthetic element but forms part of the hotel's Lakeside Cafe.

The hotel boasts 5,000 square meters of a crescent-shaped conference center with 18 multi-functional conference rooms, making it an ideal choice for meetings and weddings

Doubletree is renowned for its brand culture "Care" - care for guests, team members, the environment and the community.

"For instance, we are a pet-friendly hotel. If a guest walks in with a dog, we will prepare dog food and a special pillow for the dog to sleep on," Kaliss says.

Besides, there is an indoor kids' play area with lots of toys, as well as an outdoor playground, so that every member of the family can enjoy his or her hotel stay.

"I always tell my team members to anticipate guests' needs. For me, that's the secret of 'Care'," Kaliss says.

"When the hotel was built in 2009, there were a lot of skeptics saying 'Will that work?', but now it turns out the hotel is doing very well, especially on weekends. We are normally full," he says.