Chongqing Niccolo Hotel | A Guide to Conquering the Cloud-Level Nightlife Over the Two Rivers

After a tipsy night, the night becomes a flower,

A girl in sunglasses,

A woman with blade-sharp contours,

Yet carrying the warmth of mortal life.

At the altitude of Niccolo Chongqing,

The height of life is hard to measure, but the height of a city has its scale.

Just as Manhattan is to New York, the Financial District to London, and Jiangbeizui to Chongqing, every important area has its enchanting scene.

Managed by the Wharf Hotels Group, which owns the Niccolo and Marco Polo brands, both are part of the Global Hotel Alliance (GHA) loyalty program. The Niccolo brand is also listed under the Ultratravel Collection (UTC), alongside Anantara, Capella, and others.

NICCOLO always appears in the most vibrant heart of a city: in Chengdu at Chunxi Road, in Changsha at Jiefang West Road, and in Chongqing at the center of Jiangbeizui CBD... Each is integrated with the city's IFS complex, which is undoubtedly one of the most quality fashion shopping centers in China.

Both the Changsha and Chongqing Niccolo hotels are located on the highest floors of IFS—Changsha on floors 86–93, Chongqing on floors 52–62—directly connecting with the skyline to conquer the vast cityscape and perform a cloud-level panorama. The Suzhou Niccolo Hotel, officially announced to open in the second quarter of 2021, will have its restaurants and bars on the 115th floor, the highest in Suzhou, setting a new skyline height for the Niccolo brand.

Since its completion, the Chongqing Niccolo Hotel has become a lifestyle model of fashion, trend, culture, and art in the city—standing at the peak of Jiangbeizui, adjacent to many internationally renowned luxury brands, seamlessly integrated into the entire IFC, embracing the city's prosperity. From the hotel's rooms, restaurants, pools, and bars, you can enjoy a 360-degree view of Chongqing's mountain city scenery and the brilliant river night scene.

At this moment, the urban beauty is illusory, because the 'Sky City' you are in is the best scenery of the city—believe it or not, across the way, Hongya Cave is packed day and night with tourists from all over, crowded together, trying to gaze in your direction.

In this moment, you almost have a God's perspective.

01 Cloud-Level Sky Spaces

Following Chongqing's terrain, the hotel's welcome lobby is on the 4th floor. With a simple design concept, the cool-toned gray marble floor naturally makes the space attractive.

The hotel's interior design was undertaken by the world's largest hotel design company—the renowned American design consultancy Hirsch Bedner Associates (HBA). The minimalist tone sets the foundation for its 'sexually冷淡' (minimalist and cool) style, interspersed with carefully selected art paintings and photographic works, highlighting the hotel's taste and sophistication.

The sky lobby on the 62nd floor perfectly interprets the beauty of space, with bright, open light and views. The spacious room with high ceilings gives Japanese artist Hirotoshi Sawada ample creative space; 'Birds in Flight' floats overhead, like a flock of birds passing through the sky, forming a unique scene.

The fabric wall behind the front desk, with light filtering through, conveys an ethereal and elegant beauty.

The architecture corresponds to the nature of the external environment, while the interior returns to inner nature. Through floor-to-ceiling windows, you can overlook the river view nearby, offering visitors a dual experience, weaving the Chongqing above the clouds into a meaningful story.

The overall design of the hotel caters to the aesthetic and preferences of contemporary young, fashionable business travelers. Here, light becomes the protagonist of the space, and the alternation of light and dark fills the interior with different moods throughout the day.

Besides the sky lobby, all dining facilities are on the 62nd floor.

Swimming pools are standard in luxury hotels, but a sky pool is one in a thousand.

The Niccolo Sky Pool on the 52nd floor features multiple floor-to-ceiling windows, offering an unobstructed swimming experience that brings many surprises.

Beneath your feet flows the Jialing River, occasionally with boats drifting by. To the side is the traditional Bayu residence, Hongya Cave, a place that once dominated the city's other high-rises—once looked up to, now looked down upon.

02 City Spirit in the Art Garden

Chongqing's naturally formed skyline outlines a unique city silhouette. Buildings of various sizes and styles run through the city's history, recording its development at different periods.

Life within the skyline varies, but it's certain that few hotels integrate art with 'cloud-level living' as well as Niccolo.

Through the display of art installations, Niccolo vividly interprets an inclusive, free, and ever-changing 'cloud lifestyle.' The entire hotel building uses 'cloud' as the theme to record the perception of art, another expression of Chongqing's state, allowing visitors to appreciate and physically feel the vitality of another side of Chongqing.

Entering the hotel is like returning from the bustling city to tranquility—after all, wandering in an art space constructed by lines and geometric shapes is a wonderful experience.

On the 62nd floor, the sky lobby features a large painting by modern artist Zhang Xiangming, 'Beijing Girl,' which appears in every Niccolo hotel. This girl, youthful and beautiful, with a hint of naivety and an exploratory spirit in her eyes, strongly expresses contemporary women's individuality, never following old ways, looking at the world with a slightly proud gaze, showcasing young life, and has become one of the Niccolo brand's icons.

There is an indescribable beauty.

'Birds in Flight,' created by Japanese artist Hirotoshi Sawada's Studio Sawada Design, appears overhead, with smooth and flowing lines, as if lightly floating, soaring, and transforming, earnestly exploring the ethereal world with you.

Correspondingly, 'Colorful Clouds' above the staircase leading to the 61st floor, clusters of metallic-gloss plastic pieces forming three clouds, blend with the sky outside the floor-to-ceiling windows into a picture. 'Flowing Water' at BAR62 brings a mysterious aesthetic.

Sawada's works widely appear in top hotels and luxury retail stores, often using abstract shapes to symbolize various natural elements and creatures such as water, trees, clouds, birds, and fish, conveying the magical power of nature and representing the aesthetics of natural force.

Guest rooms and various public areas feature multiple black-and-white photographs, including characteristic buildings from around the world, figures with sharp contours or a sense of era, and expansive natural landscapes. Different spaces cleverly use corresponding thematic photography at entrances—for example, at the entrance to the fitness center, there is a picture of a woman practicing yoga.

At the hotel, you feel as if you are in an elegant art gallery.

03 Niccolo's Little Touches

7 Different Turndown Gifts That Never Repeat

The hotel's guest rooms are on floors 54–61. Among its 252 rooms, there is a sky suite covering 118 m², whose duplex design makes it one of the most popular types and very hard to book.

For my stay, I had a deluxe river-view room overlooking landmarks like Chaotianmen Dock and Hongya Cave, with the entire Yuzhong Peninsula in sight. Looking up, I could see the confluence of the Yangtze and Jialing Rivers.

The interior style uses warm earth tones as the main color for the bedroom area, while wardrobes and desks continue Niccolo's black-and-white scheme. The living space is bounded by light-colored raw wood, with bright paintings adding a touch of color. Coarse striped carpets create a warm atmosphere. From quality furniture to premium bedding, every detail combines beauty and good design, with few sharp edges and no conventional partitions. The large floor-to-ceiling window in the lounge area cleverly introduces the river view outside. Bathroom amenities are custom-made for Niccolo by Italy's top brand Lorenzo Villoresi, with a light, pleasant fragrance that aids sleep.

The biggest surprise came when I returned to my room after overeating on the 62nd floor—the turndown service was already done, and the turndown gift was a bag of special Chongqing hotpot base. Upon inquiry, I learned the hotel has 7 types of turndown gifts: a custom travel set by Lorenzo Villoresi containing 8ml each of facial cleanser, eye gel, lip balm, and night cream; a pillow spray; hotpot base; Tuocha tea; a face mask; postcards; and even a steam eye mask. What you get is random.

Both the bedroom and the bathroom have floor-to-ceiling windows offering an endless view of white clouds and blue sky, with the river and city panorama fully visible.

This seems not just a hotel room for sleeping and resting, but also a space for more exploration. The simple color scheme directs attention to the outside through the windows, allowing you to fully experience a completely different scenery from inside—the towering buildings along the two rivers and four banks are all below, the Jialing River cutting through the bustling city.

On clear evenings, the setting sun enters, creating a subtle 'wabi-sabi' beauty. Even on cloudy days, the river surface ripples in a celadon color, the satin-like texture serene and beautiful. At night, under the brilliant lights, the bridge, drawn into a curved light arc by the traffic, stretches into the distance like a long dragon. In the dead of night, standing by the glass curtain wall, from over 300 meters high, overlooking the city's traffic and bustle while being in a comfortable, quiet space, the noise and vanity have nothing to do with you...

Soak in the bathtub for a comfortable bath, then lie or sit on the couch by the window, enjoying the vast urban nightscape. The rare tranquil moments feel especially beautiful and precious.

With the pleasant, sleep-inducing Italian aromatherapy, and lying on the comfortable Sealy mattress—for the first time staying in a hotel, I didn't close the curtains, just to sleep with the Yangtze River view.

Sleep under the bright moon and clear breeze, overlooking the two rivers and four banks, brilliantly lit.

04 Afternoon Tea Open Until 9 PM

Many friends say that eating or drinking at Niccolo is a pleasure.

The hotel has three dining spaces: XIN CUISINE, YUE LOUNGE, and BAR62, all on the 62nd floor.

All-day dining XIN CUISINE focuses on international cuisine, with a black-and-white checkerboard marble floor base. Deep bronze-colored blinds add highlights to the high-altitude restaurant. The decorative photographs of models walking and posing subtly define the modern restaurant's aesthetic.

You can start your day with a bowl of spicy Chongqing noodles, order a creative Chongqing spicy chicken pizza at noon, enjoy a lazy afternoon with French afternoon tea, and order a Beijing roast duck for dinner. Some of my picky girlfriends are regulars here; they always recommend the melt-in-your-mouth charcoal-grilled silver cod wrapped in bamboo net, or tell me in a Versailles style: this is the best Beijing roast duck in Chongqing. 'Oh, I've eaten it so many times, but I can't quit my love for it. It's so annoying.'

Of course, high-quality sirloin steak, Australian jumbo prawns with tea, a seafood tower, avocado and egg sandwiches, baked black pepper Boston lobster, Florentine steak, braised pigeon, boiled Sichuan pepper fish... are all perfect reasons to come back in batches.

Unlike XIN CUISINE, the lobby lounge YUE LOUNGE is the city's leading internet-famous afternoon tea spot. Large artworks are cleverly integrated into the grilles that divide the space, creating a serene and charming environment. Blue fabric decorates the relaxing sofas, and the bright space often has soothing music. Our little girl loves to curl up on the sofas here reading books. Their menu uses a Tiffany blue leather cover, and the makeup mirror design is deeply loved by ladies—I've thought of buying one for home more than once.

YUE LOUNGE often collaborates with fashion brands for limited afternoon teas: in 2018, it launched a 'Happy Times' themed dessert set with Tory Burch, which reproduced the brand's print element, full of gold content and beauty. The joint afternoon tea with Maserati and the sky suite were the talk of Chongqing...

The delicate and rich desserts are adorned with the Niccolo 'N'. The pastries are varied and beautiful, paired with perfectly crafted great taste, allowing you to fully indulge your desire for sweets.

A reminder: please book in advance for the afternoon session; window seats are on a first-come, first-served basis. Whether taking pictures of people or food, you'll dominate your social feed. If you're not just a dessert lover but also a fashion fan, congratulations—you hit the jackpot coming here. It's said that many people sit here from afternoon until midnight, creating the story atmosphere of 'Before Sunset' and 'Before Midnight'—their afternoon tea is served from noon until 9 PM!!!

I ask you, are you satisfied?

When Chongqing at night becomes calm on the surface but turbulent underneath, that's the peak time for BAR62.

BAR62, named after its floor, elevates the night skyline to a pure, sensual height.

Seeing Michael Jackson's silhouette means you're close to BAR62. The art installation 'Flowing Water,' also by Studio Sawada Design, is BAR62's icon. The screen screen changes luster with the wind, creating an elegant and mysterious atmosphere.

Inspired by old, dimly lit, smoky jazz clubs, HBA designed BAR62 with hard wood floors, light-veined marble, and glossy wood paneling on the walls, creating a retro chic bar style. Besides specially crafted cocktails and bar snacks, live DJs and bands, BAR62 also offers the city's most exhilarating high-altitude views. It has semi-private VIP areas and a smoking section, adding to its appeal—at least it conveys an attitude of freedom of choice.

The bar space also maximizes the introduction of outdoor river views and night scenery. Every window is carefully arranged to face the most beautiful view, gathering every moment of light for visitors. Solo drinking, small gatherings, or romantic dates can all condense into a romantic sky space—savoring original cocktails with the charming cloud-level night view and live band.

From the God's perspective high above, you see the magnificent city before you, details becoming increasingly blurred. Ascending above the clouds, we have an even broader world.

This art-filled hotel is the representative of the sky life in Chongqing's forest. It's a lovely night under purple-blue twilight, the boundless crimson river at dusk, the silver-glossy waves in misty rain, the brilliant galaxy sprinkled with starlight, and when you're happy, you sing and dance freely, with gentle, soothing music never stopping—a dreamland, a neverland...

Comfortably indulge yourself; here can become your best outlet.

Crush the city's starlight.

The neon lights of the night intoxicate the skyline,

Do not drink the river wind alone~

The hotel is located in the core area of Jiangbeizui.

Take Metro Line 6 to Jiangbeicheng Station, Exit 4, and walk 5 minutes to arrive.

It's a 30-minute drive from Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport.

Tower 3 connects directly to IFS mall.

Geographically superior, with no worries about eating, drinking, and fun.