[Chengdu 成都] The Temple House 博舍

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The Temple House

Add: No. 81 Bitieshi Street, Jinjiang District, Chengdu
Tel: 28 6636 9999
Website: www.thetemplehousehotel.com
Price: from 1999 RMB/night
Visited: Jul 2017

Please note that this was a complimentary stay arranged by the hotel.

Before embarking on my spontaneous Chengdu trip last week, there were a number of things I was looking forward to – Sichuan hotpot, chuanchuan-er, and The Temple House. Not sure if you’ve already read my post on The Upper House in Hong Kong, but I was absolutely swooned by that hotel (details here). Needless to say, I had high expectations for The Temple House, part of The House Collective along with The Upper House and The Opposite House (Beijing).

請注意本次是酒店安排的試住。

上個月來了一場說走就走的成都行,讓我期待不已的除了火鍋和串串兒之外,還有衆多朋友一致推薦的 “博舍 The Temple House” 。不知你是否有看我去年入住 香港奕居 The Upper House 後寫的文章,總之當時體驗幾乎完美,讓我到現在都還念念不忘。不用說,這次旅行,對出自同一系列*的博舍期待萬分。

*繼北京的瑜舍 The Opposite House 和香港的奕居 The Upper House 之後,博舍是 The House Collective 的第三家酒店。

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After a 40-minute car ride from the airport, I arrived at the rather low-key entrance of the hotel. It blends in so well with its surrounding that if it weren’t for the hotel staff stationed right in front, I probably would’ve missed it. Entering the courtyard is like stepping back in time: built more than a hundred years ago during the Qing dynasty, the Bitieshi courtyard features traditional brickwork, wood carvings, timber ceilings and floors, step stones, flying eaves that have been preserved and enhanced. Beautiful in every aspect.

從機場坐車到位于太古里的博舍大約 40 分鍾。酒店入口低調,要不是有工作人員等候幫忙開車門拿行李,我甚至都沒注意到這裏就是大門。踏入擁有逾百年曆史、始建於清朝的筆帖式庭院裏,傳統青磚木刻、木造天花板和地板、石級、懸挑屋頂及飛檐都得到保留和翻修,四面的房屋將庭院合圍在中間,雖然位于繁華的商業區,卻鬧中取靜,怡然自得。瞬間,好感。

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[Hong Kong 香港] The Upper House 奕居

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The Upper House

Add: Pacific Place, 88 Queensway, Admiralty, Hong Kong
Tel: +852 2918 1838
Website: www.upperhouse.com
Price: from 5,000 HKD/night
Visited: Aug 2016

It’s been a while since I last went to Hong Kong, so I couldn’t help but feel a little excited on my flight over – especially knowing that I will be staying at The Upper House. I have heard so much about this hotel and was already quite charmed by it after a lovely lunch at Cafe Gray Deluxe five years ago, so naturally I was looking forward to the stay. 4 days and 3 evenings after, I’m a believer. Let’s see how the experience unfolded.

八月底,去了一趟香港。由于在巴黎這些年幾乎都沒回亞洲,上次到香港玩也是快六年前的事了,去程的飛機上不免有種鄉巴佬要進城的興奮感(是真的)。這次住宿選擇在The Upper House 奕居,四天三夜下來除了滿意還是滿意 - 方便的地點、優雅的設計、舒適的空間、細致的服務,無一不讓人傾心。

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It all started at the airport. Thanks to The Upper House’s limousine service, I didn’t have to wait in the long queue for taxi. I hopped on a Lexus Hibrid (Mercedes also available) and 40 minutes later I was at the hotel. Smooth.

感謝酒店的機場接送服務,不用大排長龍的等出租車。Upper House 用的是 Lexus 混能環保車(也可以選擇Mercedes),車裏設有wifi,連水都很貼心的准備了不容易灑出來的嘴吸裝水瓶。香港小旅行,完美開始。

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The hotel sits on top of Pacific Place, a glossy shopping complex at Admiralty, which is one stop from the Central business district and one stop (across the harbor) from Tsim Sha Tsui, and also within walking distance to Wanchai. Perfect location.

從機場出發一路順暢,和司機先生聊著天,大約40分鍾抵達酒店。Upper House 位于金鍾太古廣場,是港島非常中心的地段,到中環、上環、灣仔都非常近,以地點來說沒有比這裏更方便的了。

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The hotel entrance is cocooned inside a thick wall, entitled “Stone Curtain” by British designer Thomas Heatherwick, a understated yet solid facade that separates the hotel from the outside world. As The Upper House is renovated from an apartment building, its design is unlike that of a traditional five-star hotel – there is no grand lobby, but instead, it feels more like a (very stylish) home. At the reception, hotel service staff are all smiles and know the guests by name.

酒店大門隱藏在石砌厚牆內,低調、隱密、有與外界區隔的安全感。這裡由一棟公寓改造而成,設計上不像傳統的五星級酒店,沒有氣派的大堂,反而更有家的感覺,服務人員也都笑容滿面,叫得出客人的名字。

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[Kyoto] Bar Bunkyu バー文久

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Bar Bunkyu バー文久 

Add: KawaramachiSanjo, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto
Tel: 075-211-1982
Hours: 6pm~ (closed on Thu))
Price: ~1000 yen/drink
Visited: Aug 2016

After dinner, we made our way to Bunkyu, a bar hidden in one of the alleyways of the Kawaramachi district.

晚飯之後,我們在昏暗的小巷子裏找到了這家名爲文久的隱秘酒吧。

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Upon passing through the sliding door, I was surprised to find how small the bar is. Under the dim lighting, I could roughly see a roundish square wooden bar top that seats no more than 9, and we were lucky to take up the last few empty spots.

緩緩的推開拉門,發現這個酒吧真的非常小。昏暗的燈光下隱約可以看到一個方方圓圓的木制吧台,圍繞著的座位僅能容納9個人,而我們很幸運的坐到了店內剩下的唯一幾個位子。

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The bartender in charge here is Nao, a friendly guy who’s fun to chat with, and very generous in sharing his knowledge of Kyoto and beyond (he recommended a few places for us in Arashiyama which we ended up visiting, and all were excellent).

店裏的擔當名爲直(Nao),是位笑容可掬的調酒師,整晚和我們聊的非常開心,還給我們推薦岚山不少好地方。他給我看了自己標滿餐廳酒吧的Google Map,看來真的非常喜歡吃喝(忍不住想和他握手)。

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And isn’t this little red-robed man a cutie? Nao mentioned that it’s a hobby of the bar owner to collect these dolls.

話說這個小人偶非常搶鏡,太可愛了。據Nao說,收集這種小玩偶是文久酒吧老板的嗜好。

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[Taipei] W Hotel

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W Hotel Taipei

Add: 10 Zhongxiao East Road Sec. 5, Taipei, Taiwan 台北市信義區忠孝東路五段10號
Tel: (02) 7703 8888
Website: www.wtaipei.com
Visited: Jun 2016

Please note that this was a complimentary stay arranged by the hotel.

From Taipei Songshan Airport, it was an easy 20 minutes on the taxi to W Taipei. The stylish vibe was immediately contagious, and I couldn’t help but get a little excited about checking-in – despite the fact that I’ve been here for drinks on previous visits to Taipei, I had never stayed at the hotel…until this time around.

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Designed by G.A. Design International of London with the theme of “Nature Electrified”, W Taipei features a meticulously curated collection of contemporary art throughout the hotel, starting at the first floor reception area. Hanging from the ceiling is “Reflective Cloud” by Hirotoshi Sawada, an installation of mirrored plastic and bamboo, with blue dots on the floor as “raindrops”, inspired by the rainy weather in Taipei.

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On the wall is “To Light You Fade”, an interactive installation created by rAndom International, lighting up according to your movements in front of it.

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[Porto] 1872 River House

1872 River House

Add: Rua do Infante D. Henrique 133, Portugal
Tel: +351 961 172 705
Website: 1872riverhouse.com
Price:  from €150/night
Visited: Jul 2015

In Porto, I found a stylish little hotel called 1872 River House, located right in front of the Douro River. This historical building contains eight comfortable and elegantly-appointed rooms, perfect for a short stay in the city.

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[Porto] PortoSense

PortoSense Add: R. dos Mercadores 3 Ribeira, 4050-375 Porto, Portugal Tel: +351 939 809 828 Website: www.portosense.com Price: [studio] from €75/night, [apartment] from €120/night Visited: Jul 2015 When traveling, I prefer renting short-stay apartments for more room, more flexibility, more autonomy, and sometimes at an even lower price than hotels. In Porto, I found PortoSense apartments, conveniently located on…Continue Reading “[Porto] PortoSense”

[Porto] To See

Two days in Porto and I was charmed by its shabby chic streets.

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One of my favorite spots in Porto was Praça Lisboa, a green rooftop with music, drinks, colorful lights, and people lounging at leisure. What a summery scene.

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Clothes hanging outside the window is very much a part of Porto’s city look.

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[Lisbon] The Lisbonaire

The Lisbonaire

Add: Rua da Glória 16, 1250-116 Lisbon, Portugal
Tel: +351 912 769 797
Website: www.lisbonaire.com
Price: [studio] €109/night, [apartment] €150/night
Visited: Jul 2015

Our base for exploring Lisbon was The Lisbonaire, a stylish studio/apartment complex in the heart of the city. The street itself is quiet, but located just 100m to metro Restauradores, 250m to Rossio Train Station (especially relevant for those going to Sintra), and a short stroll from Bairro Alto and Baixa / Chiado neighborhoods – it doesn’t get much more convenient than this.

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The 1960s building was rebuilt in 2011, now containing 19 studios and one-bedroom apartments, each featuring Lisbon-inspired artwork by Portuguese designers. Here are some snapshots of Studio A, about 30 sqm in size and equipped with fridge, microwave, oven, cooker, dish washer, washing machine, toaster, iron and ironing board, hairdryer, safe, free wifi, 32” LCD TV, iPod dock…just about everything you’d need. The one thing I didn’t quite like about this studio was that it doesn’t get much natural light, but we didn’t spend much time here during the day anyway.

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