Beautiful event location in a beautiful city
June 20, 2012, Wednesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
LOCATED in a city hailed "Paradise on Earth," Kempinski Hotel Suzhou has its work cut out living up to its surroundings. However, hotel management is confident their impressive facilities create a little bit of paradise for corporate events. Cao Qian reports.
Renowned as the "Venice of the East" and "Paradise on Earth," Suzhou, with a history stretching back more than 2,500 years, has long been famed for its exquisite ambience, best characterized by its classical gardens and silk weaving.
Creating exquisite ambience is also the aim of staff at the Kempinski Hotel Suzhou, a 458-room five-star property in the Suzhou Industrial Park which has been delivering authentic European-style luxury on a grand scale since 2008.
A 20-minute drive from the downtown railway station, the hotel, which is surrounded by rippling lakes, lush gardens and lawns, is a top choice in Suzhou for events planners seeking not only impeccable venues but also unforgettable memories.
With some 8,000 square meters of meeting and banqueting space that can be adapted to suit almost every occasion, from official corporate conferences to romantic wedding ceremonies to casual cocktail parties, Kempinski Hotel Suzhou is ready to meet every need and supply every comfort, says management.
"I am very confident that we are the No. 1 MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) hotel in Suzhou and a market leader in the whole Jiangsu Province," General Manager Henk Meyknecht, who joined the hotel in February, tells Shanghai Daily. "Through the years, we've built our reputation as a reliable operator of large MICE events."
The hotel's pillar-free Grand Ballroom - at 1,850 square meters and with a 15-meter ceiling - is the largest of its kind in Jiangsu, with a capacity of 1,600 guests for a cocktail event or 1,200 for a banquet.
Illuminated by 24 intricate crystal chandeliers from the Czech Republic, it is the most sought-after venue in Suzhou for grand-scale occasions such as weddings and other celebrations.
The Kempinski Hotel is the only hotel in Suzhou that can boast two ballrooms. The smaller one, a 700-square-meter State Ballroom, has a 9-meter-high ceiling with enough room for 900 people.
In addition, the hotel also offers more than 4,000 square meters of outdoor meeting space - a rare option among luxury hotels not only in Suzhou but also the Yangtze River Delta Region.
On the ground floor, the hotel has eight multi-function rooms ranging from 120 square meters in size - all with access to a beautiful lakeside terrace - and two spacious, multi-media board rooms. All meeting facilities are designed to cater to various needs of today's sophisticated business travellers, the rooms are equipped with state-of-the-art audio/video facilities, as well as complimentary broadband Internet connections.
Meetings and events organizers will also benefit from a dedicated event team at the hotel, who are always at hand to assist clients in planning, coordinating and trouble shooting so as to ensure a flawless execution.
Kempinski Hotel Suzhou has now about half of its property revenue generated by MICE business, followed by 30 percent from leisure travelers and the rest from corporate business, according to the general manager.
"The MICE market in China has been developing faster than any other market segment because there is a growing demand for businesses to meet," says Meyknecht. The Dutch-born hotelier received his first assignment in China early in 1987 at Jianguo Hotel in Beijing, one of the first foreign joint venture hotels in China, which then managed by Peninsula Hotels.
"MICE is the most source of our business and we will definitely develop it further in the future."
A nearly three-decades veteran in the hospitality industry, Meyknecht sees Suzhou, as well as a number of other Chinese cities - including Xiamen, Qingdao, Dalian, Sanya and Chengdu - major MICE destinations in the country as it is both more pleasant and less expensive to meet in those places compared to first-tier cities such as Beijing and Shanghai.
Moving to Suzhou from Shanghai where he served during the World Expo 2010 as the managing director of The Langham, Yangtze Boutique, Meyknecht says he feels quite optimistic about Suzhou's hotel market for the next few years.
"The situation in Suzhou now is healthier compared to Shanghai, where too many hotels had been built before the (World) Expo, causing very fierce competition afterwards," he says.
"Business (in Suzhou) is good, occupancies are very strong and room rates are reasonable," adds Meyknecht.
However, he acknowledges that total room inventory in Suzhou from two- to five-star facilities is set to double within the next three years.
Complementing the diverse selection of venues for meetings and events, Kempinski Hotel Suzhou also offers spacious rooms and suites as well as a variety of dining experiences to pamper its guests.
The hotel contains 458 rooms ranging in sizes from 48 square meters to 155 square meters and each room is well appointed with plush contemporary furnishings, marble bathrooms with separate bath-tub and rainforest shower, 40-inch flat-screen TV with a wide selection of satellite channels and fast speed Internet access.
Most command a breath-taking view of Dushu Lake or Jinji Lake or the adjacent 27-hole golf course.
The hotel's three restaurants and two bars, which present fusion cuisine as well as authentic German delicacies, offer all the choices - from fine-dining to outdoor BBQ - for gourmets to explore.
Renowned as the "Venice of the East" and "Paradise on Earth," Suzhou, with a history stretching back more than 2,500 years, has long been famed for its exquisite ambience, best characterized by its classical gardens and silk weaving.
Creating exquisite ambience is also the aim of staff at the Kempinski Hotel Suzhou, a 458-room five-star property in the Suzhou Industrial Park which has been delivering authentic European-style luxury on a grand scale since 2008.
A 20-minute drive from the downtown railway station, the hotel, which is surrounded by rippling lakes, lush gardens and lawns, is a top choice in Suzhou for events planners seeking not only impeccable venues but also unforgettable memories.
With some 8,000 square meters of meeting and banqueting space that can be adapted to suit almost every occasion, from official corporate conferences to romantic wedding ceremonies to casual cocktail parties, Kempinski Hotel Suzhou is ready to meet every need and supply every comfort, says management.
"I am very confident that we are the No. 1 MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) hotel in Suzhou and a market leader in the whole Jiangsu Province," General Manager Henk Meyknecht, who joined the hotel in February, tells Shanghai Daily. "Through the years, we've built our reputation as a reliable operator of large MICE events."
The hotel's pillar-free Grand Ballroom - at 1,850 square meters and with a 15-meter ceiling - is the largest of its kind in Jiangsu, with a capacity of 1,600 guests for a cocktail event or 1,200 for a banquet.
Illuminated by 24 intricate crystal chandeliers from the Czech Republic, it is the most sought-after venue in Suzhou for grand-scale occasions such as weddings and other celebrations.
The Kempinski Hotel is the only hotel in Suzhou that can boast two ballrooms. The smaller one, a 700-square-meter State Ballroom, has a 9-meter-high ceiling with enough room for 900 people.
In addition, the hotel also offers more than 4,000 square meters of outdoor meeting space - a rare option among luxury hotels not only in Suzhou but also the Yangtze River Delta Region.
On the ground floor, the hotel has eight multi-function rooms ranging from 120 square meters in size - all with access to a beautiful lakeside terrace - and two spacious, multi-media board rooms. All meeting facilities are designed to cater to various needs of today's sophisticated business travellers, the rooms are equipped with state-of-the-art audio/video facilities, as well as complimentary broadband Internet connections.
Meetings and events organizers will also benefit from a dedicated event team at the hotel, who are always at hand to assist clients in planning, coordinating and trouble shooting so as to ensure a flawless execution.
Kempinski Hotel Suzhou has now about half of its property revenue generated by MICE business, followed by 30 percent from leisure travelers and the rest from corporate business, according to the general manager.
"The MICE market in China has been developing faster than any other market segment because there is a growing demand for businesses to meet," says Meyknecht. The Dutch-born hotelier received his first assignment in China early in 1987 at Jianguo Hotel in Beijing, one of the first foreign joint venture hotels in China, which then managed by Peninsula Hotels.
"MICE is the most source of our business and we will definitely develop it further in the future."
A nearly three-decades veteran in the hospitality industry, Meyknecht sees Suzhou, as well as a number of other Chinese cities - including Xiamen, Qingdao, Dalian, Sanya and Chengdu - major MICE destinations in the country as it is both more pleasant and less expensive to meet in those places compared to first-tier cities such as Beijing and Shanghai.
Moving to Suzhou from Shanghai where he served during the World Expo 2010 as the managing director of The Langham, Yangtze Boutique, Meyknecht says he feels quite optimistic about Suzhou's hotel market for the next few years.
"The situation in Suzhou now is healthier compared to Shanghai, where too many hotels had been built before the (World) Expo, causing very fierce competition afterwards," he says.
"Business (in Suzhou) is good, occupancies are very strong and room rates are reasonable," adds Meyknecht.
However, he acknowledges that total room inventory in Suzhou from two- to five-star facilities is set to double within the next three years.
Complementing the diverse selection of venues for meetings and events, Kempinski Hotel Suzhou also offers spacious rooms and suites as well as a variety of dining experiences to pamper its guests.
The hotel contains 458 rooms ranging in sizes from 48 square meters to 155 square meters and each room is well appointed with plush contemporary furnishings, marble bathrooms with separate bath-tub and rainforest shower, 40-inch flat-screen TV with a wide selection of satellite channels and fast speed Internet access.
Most command a breath-taking view of Dushu Lake or Jinji Lake or the adjacent 27-hole golf course.
The hotel's three restaurants and two bars, which present fusion cuisine as well as authentic German delicacies, offer all the choices - from fine-dining to outdoor BBQ - for gourmets to explore.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
