A Cloud-Top Retreat atop Nanjing’s Three-Tower Complex: China’s Ultimate Luxury Trendsetter G•Hotel
Other ancient capitals condense their history into palaces. Nanjing, however, dissolves its history into nature.
Since time immemorial, Nanjing has seamlessly blended mountains, waters, cityscapes, and forests, drawing on the finest scenery and presenting a rich, well-proportioned beauty. Over its long historical evolution, the landscape has shaped the city’s form, and thus the urban space is imbued with a poetic link—to both history and the future.
“A hotel is a microcosm of a city. All the city’s flavors can emanate from the hotel. Guests don’t need to ask what’s here or what makes the city special—they can feel it simply from the hotel. That kind of cultural transmission is the most powerful,” says Yang Bangsheng, interior designer of G·Hotel.
| Yang Bangsheng, Interior Designer of G·Hotel |
Jiangnan beauty, Jinling elegance. Oar sounds shatter lamplight reflections; painted boats stir with music.
Through a thousand years, history’s rises and falls scatter like mist, yet the unhurried Qinhuai River remains placid. This winding water carries fleeting glories and romances, yet nurses a broad backbone, becoming Nanjing’s most soulful silhouette and the wellspring of inspiration for YANG’s design of the ultra-luxury trendsetting G·Hotel.
Perched atop the world’s tallest three-tower connected building and Asia’s largest commercial complex, G·Hotel extends the landmark’s artistic height, consummately interpreting an ultra-luxury trendsetting lifestyle.
YANG’s design lets history and the present inherit and subvert, clash and merge within the space, awakening the spirit, igniting inspiration, and bringing an all-new “trend-chasing” experience.
In Search of a City’s Shared Memories
The elevator lobby, shaped like an ancient city gate in antiqued bronze, fuses past and present, creating a time tunnel to the unknown and sparking anticipation for deep exploration.
Arrive at the sky lobby and lobby lounge on the tower’s connecting level. Ascend to gaze afar, heart stirred. The minimalist design draws the eye, inviting guests to stand at the city’s summit, drink in Jinling’s finest views, and delight in a cloud-top experience.
The texture of Nanjing’s ancient city wall is extracted and transformed into the metal partition structure of the lobby lounge. The see-through design keeps the space half-hidden and half-revealed, enhancing connectivity with the lobby while maintaining the lounge’s privacy, translating millennia-old capital culture into something more fashionable and airy.
Oar Shadows Reflect Charm, Delighting the Eye
The Qinhuai’s finest spots brim with swallows and orioles, where oar sounds and rainbows of light abound. The romance of ten miles of mist and moonlight dovetails perfectly with the free-spirited, fashion-forward energy that defines the G brand.
Originally a public corridor, the atrium connecting the towers was cleverly reconceived by YANG as a display area and lobby bar to maximize space and draw foot traffic. This not only enriches hotel functions but turns the space into its biggest highlight.
The atrium display area is a five-story-high open space, serving as the elevator hall to the 55th-floor sky bar. A 13-meter tall wall, clad in iridescent glass, pieces together a golden afterglow reflecting on water—a breathtaking visual impact. As the elevator ascends gently, shimmering ripples seem within reach, dreamlike.
A 13-meter LED screen drops with the elevator, cool motion graphics enriching the atmosphere and endowing the hall with a multimedia foyer function, ready for open exhibitions or launch events.
Dazzling Lights, Full Moon, Beautiful Flowers
One Qinhuai, Half the City’s Elegance
In the legendary tales of the Qinhuai, half are affairs of rouge and romance, half are scholarly spirit. The broad-mindedness and boldness of the “Cultural Hub of the World” have settled into the city’s very character.
Pin Wei Jiangnan Chinese Restaurant on the 50th floor blends Nanjing’s historical culture with modern fashion and vitality. Inside, you feel a time-straddling sense of heritage. Following the music’s rhythm, it carries on ancient scholars’ carefree spirit of sing to wine, crafting a unique G·Hotel dining experience.
The restaurant offers nine private dining rooms, each with its own washroom, TV, and sofa. The largest can accommodate up to 16 guests.
The restaurant specializes in high-end Huaiyang cuisine, integrating flavors from Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, and Shanghainese traditions. Dishes feature carefully selected wild ingredients from rivers and lakes, expanding the palate and delivering richer, sweeter freshness.
In the private rooms, Chinese-style lamps mix with Western leather chairs, embodying an open, inclusive spirit. Deep sky blue and fiery sun red clash and mingle in the space, much like this city where past and future converge at this very moment.
Skyline All-Day Dining, also on the 50th floor, presents a dazzling array of international cuisines with a Nanjing twist, conveying exotic flair and Jinling flavor.
Live cooking stations engage chefs, food, and diners in zero-distance interaction, delivering a multi-dimensional culinary experience beyond just taste.
As night’s glamour fades, the all-day restaurant offers refined calm after revelry. Low-key hues foster a serene mood. Seated in the clouds, greeting sunrise and farewell sunset, savor exquisite delicacies and rare moments of relaxation.
Skyline Lounge on the 50th floor commands cloud-top views over Hexi. With a range of themed afternoon teas, it is the top choice for extraordinary indulgence and a sweet new emblem of charming Jinling. Gather a few friends, at a hundred meters high, by bright floor-to-ceiling windows, and enjoy an elegant “cloud afternoon tea.” It’s not just about the tasty treats, but the refined lifestyle.
An open lobby bar, partially divided by a half-wall along the corridor, ensures easy flow while presenting a novel bar experience. A ceiling of huge water-ripple metal panels reflects sultry light, where elegance meets trend, reality blends with illusion. You forget yourself, not knowing if you’re in a cloud-top bar or roaming the night-tinted Qinhuai.
The Sky Bar draws inspiration from the sparkling ripples of the Qinhuai River. At night, Nanjing sheds its daytime armor, lays aside traffic and bustle, revealing a different, graceful beauty. The Qinhuai that threads through the city murmurs tales of a thousand years. Blending historical breath with trendy elements, it quietly carries on Qinhuai’s toasting culture.
Rainbow-Hued Rain Flower Stones, Radiance Through the Ages
The hotel has 468 guest rooms, inspired by Yuhua pebbles (rain flower stones), creating a sanctuary of colorful serenity and implied poetic mood.
Every detail exudes a smooth, rounded texture, much like the fine, warm touch of Yuhua stones, paired with ever-changing colors and an ineffable mood, crafting a dazzling dreamland. Like a secluded paradise, it invites you to explore the enchanting charm of “raining petals.” In a small space, you find your own world.
Resting by the Qinhuai, rain flower stones grow more lustrous over time. They’ve witnessed the brilliant lights of the ancient Six Dynasties capital and mirror modern Nanjing’s fashion vitality, becoming the source of guestroom design inspiration.
The stones’ plump, rounded forms are echoed in ceilings and furniture curves, bringing smooth, unfettered enjoyment. Their colors are distilled into carpets and cushions, fostering a space that is naturally tranquil yet fashionably current.
Breaking away from traditional open-plan layouts, G·Hotel guestrooms use a technique of suppression then revelation. A mosaic wall serves as an entry screen, functioning like a foyer, which enhances privacy and delays the joy of discovery, intensifying the sense of satisfaction.
The bedroom and bathroom are separated by curtains or wired glass doors. The use of smart-glass panels in the shower allows the space to be transparent or opaque, creating a more open living experience.
The sky-high infinity pool, another Instagram-worthy spot, is now an additional surprise. Gazing up, you see a canopy of starlight, dreamlike and illusory. Flickering light and shadow craft a warm, comfortable yet vibrant spatial experience.
The fitness center on the 56th floor is equipped with Technogym equipment and offers private tailored classes, with professional trainers to guide rehabilitation exercises.
Searching for the splendid grandeur lost in the torrent of time, creating spiritual resonance beyond the senses, encounter across space-time interweaving a “purple-drunken and gold-intoxicated” Jinling dream, redefining an ultra-luxury trendsetting lifestyle.
Project: Nanjing Golden Eagle World G Hotel
Location: No. 888 Yingtian Avenue, Jianye District, Nanjing, Jiangsu Province
Area: 37,000 sqm
Owner: Golden Eagle International Group
Architectural Design: Frederic Rolland (France)
Interior Design: YANG Design Group, Yang Bangsheng, Huang Shengguang, Tan Jiesheng, Zhang Jianchao, Yao Lulu
Opening: Soft opening September 30, 2019
Photography: Sean
designwire (ID: designwire)
Nanjing Golden Eagle World G Hotel (ID: GHOTEL_GE)
