Sleep Like An Emperor
Got $9,000? That will buy you one night's stay at the Beijing Hotel in China's capital city, in its "Imperial Suite," recently offered to the public...eh, the filthily rich few.
The hotel, located on Changan Avenue and within walking distance of the Tiananmen Square, used to be the most luxurious in Beijing, where visiting foreign state heads would be accommodated. In recent years, however, with the appearance of numerous upscale hotels in the city, many of which far better designed and outfitted, the old establishment has lost much of its prestige and luster. This recent proffer of the Imperial Suite is clearly intended as a come-back effort to regain attention and big-pocket guests.
As it is furnished and decorated now, the Imperial Suite assumes a traditional Chinese style, which distinguishes itself from the Presidential Suite of the same hotel. A particular selling point of the Imperial Suite is the fact that it overlooks the Forbidden City, where true Chinese emperors used to reside. This is obviously something that other hotels in the city cannot very well imitate. The competitors could imaginably equip their own rooms with telescopes, but that wouldn¡¯t be quite the same thing.
The Imperial Suite: perfect for those who can sleep with their eyes open.
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