The Temple House

The Temple House

At The Temple House in Chengdu, the spa is folded into a courtyard of old stone brick that architects at Make Architects built the rest of the hotel around, rather than over, right inside Taikoo Li's retail and heritage district. It is the fifth Swire hotel in Asia and the third address in the House Collective, and it stays small on purpose: 142 keys split between 100 rooms and 42 serviced apartments, a scale that leaves the Deluxe Courtyard Suite room for its own private garden across 216 square metres, and the Family Suite room for a king bedroom, a bunk room for children, a full kitchen and a washer-dryer. Downstairs, jing and Tivano cover dinner and drinks, the Temple Café runs through the day, and the Mi Xun Teahouse sits inside the same heritage courtyard as the spa. A 25-metre heated pool, sauna, steam room and a Technogym-equipped gym support regular use rather than a single spa visit, and a business centre with event spaces like Bitieshi and The Hall handle meetings that need more than a boardroom. Metro lines 2 and 3 are close enough to reach on foot, handy for anyone skipping the hotel's car rental desk. None of this suits anyone chasing resort-sized grounds or the lowest nightly rate: an extra bed runs 580 CNY a night, and a 1,000 CNY deposit is taken at check-in. One detail worth knowing before arrival: China's mapping rules randomly shift coordinates for national security reasons, so the address, No. 81 Bitieshi Street in Jinjiang District, is worth trusting over the pin. The Temple House keeps its spa inside a preserved stone courtyard in Taikoo Li, one of 142 keys split between rooms and serviced apartments. Families get a kitchen and bunk room in the Family Suite; everyone else should check the street address, since China's mapping rules shift the map pin.