After a US123 million revamp, the Peninsula Beijing now houses 230 suites instead of its prior 525 rooms (from B20,484/night) 

China’s first luxury hotel, which opened in 1989 as the Palace, boasts elegant new interiors (all pearl-white palette and marble floors) to go with a polished black swimming pool, a gallery-worthy collection of paintings and sculptures, and a high-end spa that draws it treatments from Chinese wellness tradition. 

Standard rooms have doubled in size, to 65-square meters, and come with oversized living area, all-marble bathroom and specious walk-in closet. Tablets in every room allow guests to control pretty much everything from lighting and temperature to in-room services. 

The Beijing Suite tops out at 165 sq meters and comes with its own private cinema room, a dining area, a study room and two entrances. 

The hotel sits right at the center of the city, minutes from the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square.