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Chongqing, the city of fog, is surrounded by numerous mountains and beautiful sceneries. However, I do not intend to describe the city with these clichés again. In my eyes, it is a city with tenacious character and spicy personality. Located in the transitional region from Qinghai-Tibet Plateau to the Middle-Lower Yangtze Plains, Chongqing accommodates 55 nationalities in China. The multi-nationality and cross region have laid the foundation for the unique culture and municipal environment of Chongqing.

As one of the industries that were first geared to international conventions with the quickest and utmost changes in China, hospitality has finished its 400-year course of development in the west within three decades in China. Recent years have witnessed an extremely exuberant investment in hotels and Chongqing is in the focus. It is estimated that 88 five-star hotels will be opened in the city by 2020. Confronting such a fierce competition, Le Meridien Chongqing Nan’an decided to settle down in the still non-competitive Nan’an district, being the first international luxury hotel in this area.

Built within Chongqing’s newest residential, shopping and recreation destination --- Wanda Plaza, the hotel is an 8-minute walk to the new Chongqing Convention & Exhibition Centre, 15-minute walk to Yangtze River, and 10-minute drive away from the Liberation Square, a central business district in the city. The hotel enjoys an ideal location with 319 refined rooms and suites showcasing views of the vibrant Chongqing city.

As the sixth Le Meridien hotel in Greater China region, Le Meridien Chongqing Nan’an is expected to carry the same tenacity and courage as those represented by the city flower camellia. In fact, the genteel General Manager Timothy O’Doriscoll does have these characters deeply rooted inside him. Like most Australians, he is amiable and talkative at the first encounter. His answers to every question are logically produced with ease. Mr. O’Doriscoll sees Chongqing as a city with multi-elements. A hotel must have high quality service and facilities as well as profound cultural background in order to blend into such a passionate and volatile city. In reference to the hotel designs, Mr. O’Doriscoll could not help raising his eyebrows in pleasure. He said that Le Meridien Chongqing Nan’an would inherit the essence of Le Meridien hotel brand by providing customers something more than a new residence, some new ways to perceive the environment. Ever since my entry into the lobby, I have found that the hotel designs are directing my sight from its grandeur to delicate details. With black, white and red as the major themes, the hotel is decorated with various transitional colors such grey and beige, which add a fashionable designer flavor to the modern traveling space. The unique art pieces featured in the hotel and abundant designing details jointly create a humanistic and dynamic ambience where everyone is able to enjoy some quality time and to discover beautiful things in the ordinary daily life.

Different from many hotels, Le Meridien Chongqing Nan’an has floor-to-ceiling windows in all guest rooms for a better view of the city. The 319 guest rooms and suites combine Chinese culture with the local landscape, featuring a TV wall with traditional ink paintings and a map highlighting Chongqing’s location. The tub in the bathroom uses the spacious Cing bed design. Chandeliers in the grand banquet room symbolize the Chinese totem of circles and the lantern-shaped lighting facilities in Chinese restaurants highlight the unique Chongqing flavor and Chinese culture while having a touch of international fashion.

All hotels strive to reach a balance between facilities and services. Owning such excellent facilities, Le Meridien Chongqing Nan’an spares no effort in service quality and management. Mr. Timothy O’Driscoll, with over 20 years’ experience in the hospitality industry, joined Starwood in 1989 at Sheraton Brisbane Hotel & Towers in Brisbane, Australia. After he went on to successfully serve various positions for Starwood properties, his career spans Australia, England, Nigeria, Indonesia and China. What remains unchanged is the creativity and high quality service he brings to every hotel. Take the wedding ceremony for example. Le Meridien Chongqing Nan’an provides perfect one-stop wedding services including provisions of wedding specialists, flower arrangement, wedding cakes, transportation, theme designing, tailored menu, drinks and honeymoon suites. Clients can also ask for more individualized services, which would be tactfully interwoven into the wedding after negotiations with the specialists. Similarly in case of meeting and conference events, creative and innovative themes, menus and original function space set-ups are limited only by clients’ imagination. Incorporating the largest ballroom in town at 1,093 square meters, the hotel’s meeting and functions space exhibits a contemporary, understated décor that is enhanced by the personal and forward-thinking service.

The personal and forward-thinking services would make guests fall in love with the hotel’s brand culture unconsciously. Developed to engage its creative guests, Le Meridien’s “UNLOCK ART” program includes an LM100™ artist designed key card that offers access to more than just the guest room --- the card will become a collectible piece of art which will grant guests complimentary access to its affiliated arts institutions. Le Meridien’s Cultural Curator, art provocateur Jerome Sans, has created UNLOCK ART, offering experiences to reinvigorate the brand through new initiatives and partnerships that transform the guests’ experience long-term. In his role as Cultural Curator, Sans curates global experiential art campaigns and forges partnerships with cultural institutions around the globe, targeting the “creative guest”.

With passions, Le Meridien is creating miracles for each brand and hotel as well as amazement for each resident. If the unique, graceful and experiential culture of Le Meridien Chongqing Nan’an has offered a brand new definition for modern traveling, its variety of restaurants would unlock an indulging trip of senses for guests around the world. Options are abundant from Sichuan-style, Cantonese dishes, exotic Japanese cooking, Asian cuisines to various varieties all over the world. Latest Recipe, an all-day dining restaurant, offers an international buffet breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as an a la carte menu throughout the day. A new day begins from here with a pleasant eating experience. Le Mei, with a modern “New Chinese” flair, serves Sichuan-style Chinese fare, complemented by a selection of signature Cantonese options and other Chinese varieties based on a healthy diet. The original cooking offers a wonderful experience of modern Chinese cuisine. The Japanese Akebono provides a lively and interactive dining experience with its Teppanyaki and Robatayaki menu. Its highly efficient, personal service and comfortable environment are the authentic representation of the unique Japanese cooking. Latitude 29 offers a sophisticated social setting for enjoying unique cocktails, coffee, tea and other beverages. As a new creation of the hotel, Latitude 29 cooperates with the famous Italian coffee brand Illy to offer a supreme coffee experience. After a busy day, it is an absolute enjoyment to indulge oneself with a refreshing cocktail or delicious snack at Latitude 29.

The sparkling light of the wine in glass reflects the elegance of the city. Wandering beside the river, I lost myself in the fascinating scene of the boisterous wharf. Here, fashion and traditions collide and combine with each other. New chapters of life are being written in front of us. It is obvious that Mr. O’Driscoll and all the staff at Le Meridien Hongqiao Nan’an are running the hotel with their passions and courage. They represent the creative and humanistic spirit of the hotel and invite everyone to start a spiritual trip right here with them.

    重庆，素有雾都之称，群山环绕，名山胜水不可计数。但笔者并不想用这些乏旧的特征来引述重庆。其实，这是一个有血性的城市，麻辣的性格，正是这个城市的真实写照。重庆拥有中国全部民族的55种，位于青藏高原与长江中下游平原的过渡地带，多民族和跨地域的特征铸就了重庆独特的文化底蕴和城市面貌。

    中国酒店业可以说是最早与国际接轨，也是发展的最快、最彻底的行业之一，耗时不到30年的时间已经走完了西方将近400年的酒店发展历程，尤其是近年来酒店投资尤为旺盛。而如今的重庆真是这种扩张的众矢之的，预计到2020年将有88家五星酒店进驻重庆，如此激烈的竞争环境，重庆万达艾美酒店首当其冲，在竞争尚未白热化的南岸地区安家落户，坐稳南岸地区第一家国际 豪华酒店交椅。

    酒店坐落于重庆市最新兴的住宅、购物与娱乐的综合体万达广场上，步行至重庆国际会议展览中心仅需8分钟，距重庆解放碑中央商务区也仅仅10分钟车程，重庆万达艾美酒店占尽地利，步行15分钟即抵长江，拥有319间客房全方位饱览绚烂的重庆城市美景，可谓展现重庆新兴城市面貌的最佳窗口。

    大中华区第六家艾美酒店落户重庆，正如这个城市的市花——山茶花一样，总经理欧卓越先生希望重庆万达艾美酒店象征着坚韧与勇敢拼搏，看似温文尔雅的欧卓越总经理 其实骨子里有着一股倔强和执着，他像大部分澳大利亚人一样，初次见面就会给人很容易亲近的感觉，而且非常健谈。每个问题回答的井井有条并且非常从容，他认为重庆是一座融合太多元素的城市，如果一个酒店要与这样一个富有激情并且复杂多变的城市融合，那么酒店自身就必须要有优质的服务设施和深刻的文化底蕴。谈及酒店的设计特色，欧卓越先生的眉角掠过一丝欣喜地跃动。他说：“重庆万达艾美酒店将秉承艾美酒店品牌特有的精髓，我们为宾客提供的不仅是一个新居所。 从中，他们也将发现了解事物的新方式。”从踏入大堂开始我们不难发现，酒店的设计时刻在把我们的视线由磅礴的气势引入微小的细节。以黑、白、红色为主基调，配以灰色、米白等多种过渡色，令酒店呈现富于时尚感和设计感的现代旅行空间。酒店内随处可见的艺术品连同酒店的细节设计，构建出富含精致人文气息、深邃内涵和富于动感的氛围，使每个身处其中的人都能尽享每一刻美好时光，于平淡无奇的日常生活之中发掘美妙事物。

    与很多酒店不同，重庆万达艾美酒店的客房配备有落地玻璃窗，可以更好的领略城市美景。酒店内的319间客房与套房主要结合东方文化和重庆的特色地貌，拥有展示重庆地理位置并配置中国传统水墨画画轴的电视墙，而房内浴缸处采用的明清中式床架的元素，大宴会厅吊灯对圆的独特寓意、以及中餐厅从灯笼演化而来的灯具配置在融合了国际化时尚的同时依然突出了中国传统文化和重庆独特的城市韵味。

    所有的酒店都在寻求软硬件天平两端的平衡，拥有如此卓越的硬件设施，那么对于酒店管理方面必然要下一番功夫。欧卓越总经理拥有20余年的酒店从业经验，1989加入喜达屋集团，任职于澳大利亚布里斯班的喜来登大酒店。之后，他继续在喜达屋旗下的多个酒店负责多个方面的工作，足迹遍及澳大利亚，英国，尼日利亚，印度尼西亚和中国 ，但唯一不变的是他带给每一个酒店的创新精神和严格的服务理念。单就婚庆而言，重庆万达艾美酒店拥有完美的一站式婚礼服务，服务包括专职婚礼专家、鲜花布置、婚礼蛋糕、交通服务、主题婚礼布置、定制菜单、饮料套餐、时尚蜜月客房等等。客人可以向服务人员提出所有的个性化要求，而这些要求会在和专家协商后完美的体现到婚礼中。同样的，延伸到各种会议中，客人也可以尽情发挥想象力来构建活动主题与菜单，并让会场布置充分体现您的创意。1093平方米的宴会厅可谓重庆之最，时尚而简洁的装潢加上个性周到的服务一定会给客人带来不一样的惊喜体验。

    细心、贴心，让客人在不经意间爱上酒店的品牌文化和底蕴。艾美为吸引创意性宾客而创设的“开启艺术之门”计划包括一张由LM100™艺术家设计的房卡，它的功能不仅仅局限于打开酒店的客房——这张房卡也是一件具有收藏价值的艺术品，同时也为宾客提供免费进入关联艺术机构体验的机会。艾美的文化策展人、艺术大师杰罗姆•桑斯创立的“开启艺术之门”计划通过各种首创活动与艺术机构的合作伙伴关系为艾美品牌增添了新的生命力，同时从长远角度根本转变了宾客的体验。作为艾美的文化策展人 ，杰罗姆•桑斯统御艾美全球的体验型艺术活动，并与全球的文化机构建立合作伙伴关系，为艾美的创意型宾客打造绝无仅有的创意体验。

    艾美人就是用这种激情来创造每一个品牌和酒店的奇迹，也创造着每一个入住艾美宾客心中的惊叹。如果说重庆万达艾美酒店别致、高雅、探索的 品牌内涵全新定义了现代旅行的空间，那么它灵活多变的特色美食即将宾客开启饕餮盛宴的探索之旅 。从中国川菜、粤菜、富于异国情调的日式料理、以及当代世界各地和亚洲的特色佳肴，应有尽有。新食谱-全日餐厅 ，为宾客供应品种丰盛的国际自助早餐、午餐和晚餐以及全天候自选菜，确保宾客获得愉悦的就餐体验，全新的一天由此开启。 乐美-中餐厅采用时尚的“新中式”设计，以健康美食、探索体验为宗旨，为宾客奉上精美别致的粤菜，麻辣鲜香的川菜以及花样繁多的中式菜肴。餐厅对美食极具创意的全新诠释，让宾客体验现代中餐的流行风味。除麻辣可口的川菜之外，经验丰富的主厨们还可烹制精美的特色粤菜，有时还会聘请当地主厨奉上花样更繁多的中式菜肴。 而曙-日式餐厅 则提供日式铁板烧和炉端烧，其高效周到的服务、温馨宜人的氛围、对正宗日本料理的全新诠释，打造出日式美食的独特风味 。北纬29 –大堂吧 以时尚精巧的设计营造出细腻雅致的放松氛围，宾客可以在此品味创新鸡尾酒、意利咖啡文化、特色茶饮及其他美味饮品。作为艾美酒店的新创意之一，重庆万达艾美酒店与全球咖啡知名品牌意利 推出终极咖啡体验。尽情享受北纬29 的美妙体验，在繁忙的一天结束之余，来此享受酒吧的清爽鸡尾酒或品尝可口美食，悠然放松。

    葡萄美酒夜光杯，缭绕在雾都的曼妙，徜徉在江景的浩渺，瞭望纷繁热闹的码头，绘制着一幅又一幅时尚与传统文化的共融画卷。纷繁光景，岁月如梭，而新的篇章依然在展开，看得出，从欧卓越先生到重庆万达艾美酒店的每一位员工都是用心在经营着这个酒店，用热情和勇气诠释着酒店创新而富有人文关怀的精神，用爱去感受每次与您的心灵之约。