Set across 300 acres of natural landscape, the Cachet Resort Wanfeng Valley is located in Xingyi City, in the south-westerly province of Guizhou. Little known to Westerners, the mountainous region is famed locally for its ancient hill tribes and vast cave systems.
The New York Times recently ranked it 44th out of 52 places to visit in 2016. It wrote: “Guizhou province has long been one of China’s least accessible regions. As a result, its ethnic minority Miao and Dong mountain villages retain an unhurried pace and authentic feel compared with Lijiang, China’s famous minority center, which draws 20 million visitors a year. At least for now. Now Guizhou, too, is starting to open more widely to tourism.”
The dual-branded resort will feature two hotels – the 182-room Cachet Resort and 71-room Urbn Hotel – with the complex designed by Milanese architect Stefano Boeri in partnership with Chinese artist Simon Ma. Facilities will range from two speciality restaurants to a swimming pool, spa and gym. It will open in October.
As can be seen from the renderings, balconies wrapping around the building will be planted with dozens of trees, hiding much of the curved concrete exterior. There will also be green roofs and forests surrounding.
Boeri has become known for integrating nature with architecture since the unveiling of his two Vertical Forest skyscrapers in Milan, in 2014 – they feature balconies planted with more than 900 trees, 5,000 shrubs and 11,000 flowers that will help oxygenate the environment and ease the human soul. He’s also planning a 36-floor “evergreen” residential tower for Lausanne in Switzerland.
Few details have been released about what the interiors of this new resort will be like, but judging from the original Urbn hotel in Shanghai, there will be a leaning towards sustainable design and approaches. The “eco-chic” property incorporates recycled and locally sourced materials, and claims to be China’s first “carbon-neutral” hotel.
A statement from Hong Kong-based Cachet Hotel Group said: “Nestled in the heart of Wanfeng Valley Village, the resort is within close proximity to the village’s major shopping, dining and entertainment outlets as well as only a short drive to the main airport and high-speed rail station, set to open in 2020. The recently opened convention center will also help to attract corporate business travelers to the property in addition to leisure travellers.”
Cachet Hotel Group is planning more openings for Cabo in Mexico, and Kunming and Shaoxing in China (2016), China’s Hangzhou and Wuhan (2017), Chengdu (2018) and Bangkok (2018).