Alila’s first eco-luxury resort in China delivers a one-of-a-kind, location specific destination experience, wrapped in a strong environmental message.
http://www.xtra.com.sg/preserving-a-paradise/
The air is clear and crisp and the hills of Anji unfold in a continuous, tranquil panorama of bamboo forests and tea plantations. The calmness and serenity of the countryside, along with its abundant greenery, envelop almost immediately. Where old meets the unobtrusive new, tradition meets luxury and an observer’s eye meets the incredible scenery, Alila Anji emerges as a getaway destination for city dwellers and nature lovers alike, bringing a unique brand of eco-luxury to the resort brand’s first hotel in China.
Nestled on a hillside overlooking Tianfu lake, Alila’s first property in China, set in the country’s first national ecological county of Anji in the Zhejiang province, unveils the signature Alila experience in a private eco-luxury setting that reveals to its guests the charming simplicities of rural living, carefully balanced with the hotel brand’s high environmental and design standards. True to Alila’s brand of curated experiences that combine personalised hospitality with complete immersion into its unique destinations, Alila Anji makes the most of its geographic location, allowing the resort to establish itself as a peaceful sanctuary within its pristine natural environment, at once, becoming one with it and enhancing it with its presence.
General Manager of Alila Anji, Marco den Ouden, remarks on the significance of Alila Anji as the first Chinese outpost, “As a place of outstanding beauty and rich cultural influences, Alila would like to shift the travellers’ paradigm, encouraging them to not only embark on a holiday getaway but also to take away something from their experiences at Alila Anji.”
With a focus on eco-conscious luxury, Alila Anji, much like the other Alila outposts, strives to enhance the visitors’ overall understanding of the unique locale through signature experiences that emphasise the natural beauty, heritage and culture of each place. Connecting the visitors with the local community, Alila Anji encourages the “Farm to Table” concept, whereby visitors can bring their fresh seasonal harvest back to the resort for the chefs to dish up. The resort also offers seasonal experiences like white tea and fruit picking that provide a glimpse into a rural lifestyle of Anji. “We are offering our guests a chance to return to the simplified lifestyle, something that most people who live in big cities might not know or have not experienced in a long time, or ever before,” says Marco den Ouden.
For a complete immersion into the surrounding scenery, Alila Anji presents a series of experiences that range from more relaxing to more adventurous destination journeys and provide opportunities for interactions with the local environment. Amongst the signature day trips is a visit to the Great Bamboo Sea, a setting for the Oscar-winning film “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”, an excursion to the Lingfeng Temple to experience the local customs at the Saoshe Cultural Village, and river rafting in the Huangpu River.
With multiple experiences that showcase the natural beauty of Anji, the Alila Anji journey longs to leave a lasting impression that transcends the definitions of a typical holiday getaway and offers an eye-opening message about the importance of preserving the environment, the culture and the history of a place.
Marco den Ouden summarises the Alila Anji experience in a telling statement, “We want to share with our guests the important role that the environment plays for Alila Hotels and Resorts, encouraging them to take part in our local environment tours and, with that, raising their awareness on how important the environment is for the tourism industry.”