With luxury, Wanda sets its Wuhan hotels apart
Print Edition
I have always cherished budget traveling not only as a means to save money but as something that will make me a real traveler, an adventurer who stays in the accommodation locals would choose rather than in ritzy hotels. A recent 3-day trip to Wuhan, however, has changed my mind.
For the duration of the trip, I was able to stay at the city’s luxury hotel, and found that traveling with some extra comfort and amenities was a great alternative that was, in its own way, equally exciting and adventurous.
Perfectly located for corporate travelers, yet eminently stylish and contemporary enough to please the most discerning of holiday guests, three Wanda hotels in Wuhan’s Wuchang District — Wanda Reign Wuhan, Wanda Realm Wuhan and The Westin Wuhan Wuchang — together with the Han Show Theater, are complementing one another in order to create a product chain for large-scale conferences and exhibitions, with perfect meeting room facilities.
The supreme experience started the minute I arrived at the Wuhan Tianhe International Airport. For the 30-minutes drive, Wanda Reign had sent a Bentley. The Reign, which opened in 2014, is the city’s first luxury hotel by Wanda Hotels & Resorts. Grace Yang, director of the hotel’s marketing communication, welcomed us with a cup of warm tea as we waited to check in.
While we sipped the tea, we marveled at the giant fresco spread across the pillarless 850-square-meter lobby. The artwork depicts the scenic beauty of the East Lake, the biggest urban lake in China. When I got into my Deluxe King room on the Executive Floor, I pulled the curtains to the side and looked at the real East Lake, right in front of the hotel. As I opened the bathroom door, the toilet cap popped up automatically.
Dinner at Reign’s River Drunk Huaiyang Restaurant with the hotel’s General Manager Santiago Cabre was the highlight of our first night in Wuhan. With Chinese Executive Chef Lu Mingshun, we went on a distinct gourmet journey through the healthy and organic tastes of Huaiyang cuisine. “I can never have enough of it,” said Cabre, who came to China from Spain just half a year ago.
Enriched by the cultural institutions in Wuchang District, which has long been the center of learning in Wuhan, the three Wanda hotels make it easy to access many of the most popular attractions in Hubei. Taking breaks between the hotel inspections, I managed to venture out each day to visit the prestigious Hubei Provincial Museum, the scenic campus of Wuhan University on Mt Luojia, and the tech-savvy Han Show Theater.
The Han Show was directed by the world’s greatest show mastermind, Franco Dragone, and performed almost every night at the theater by the teams from the Le Reve Show in Las Vegas and the House of Dancing Water in Macau. Branded “an innovative and thrilling celebration of the traditional Han culture,” it tells the story of a couple who travels back in time to meet the core values of love.
As VIP guests at the Reign, we were granted a privileged tour after the show to the backstage area to see what brought all the magic — moving seats, floating LED screens and a vast stage pool. On the celebrity wall of the Han Show Theater, we took photos of the signature of King Philippe of Belgium, who came to Wuhan for the premiere of the show last year.
On the next day, we were shown the other two Wanda hotels in the same area. Featuring 408 guest rooms, Wanda Realm Wuhan is right opposite the Reign and overlooks the bustling Han Street. The hotel features a variety of restaurants. Yan Restaurant specializing in Western cuisine such as grilled salmon and tender roast beef is the most popular choice of guests.
A 10 minutes drive away, The Westin Wuhan Wuchang is conveniently located on Linjiang Road overlooking the Yangtze River. Besides having five dining areas covering over 2,800 square meters and the latest meeting facilities, each of the hotel’s 305 guest rooms and suites is designed to offer an indulgent respite from a work day.
On my last day in Wuhan, I woke up early, got up and made myself a cup of espresso with the capsule coffee machine in my room at the Reign. Feeling warm and refreshed, I went out for a walk to take a last look at the vibrant city among the morning rush-hour crowds.
In the past decades, Wuhan has made major investments to take advantage of its central location with an aim to bring a higher level of synergy to MICE offerings in this area.
The three Wanda hotels, together with the Han Show, provide perfect facilities with a total meeting area size of 9,000 sqm, including a 1,500 sqm pillar-less grand ballroom in both Wanda Reign Wuhan and The Westin Wuhan, an 880 sqm grand ballroom in Wanda Realm, and the 4,800 sqm Han Show Theater with 2,000 seats. Each hotel has a 75 sqm LED screen, while the LED screen in the Han Show Theater is 225 sqm. The 2,000 sqm Han Show Square is the perfect outdoor place for holding new product launches. The distance between the three hotels is short, making it convenient to stay at one while attending a meeting at the other.
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