Regent Chongqing Opens Where the Jialing Meets the Yangtze

Regent Chongqing opened officially on 16 November 2017 in Jiangbeizui, the new financial district of Chongqing, on the point of land where the Jialing River flows into the Yangtze. It has 202 rooms, all with views of the rivers, and it was presented by its operator as the first urban resort in a city of some thirty million people.

Chongqing is built on steep hills between the two rivers, and its skyline of towers, bridges and cable cars is one of the most dramatic in China, especially at night. The hotel faces the old city centre on the Yuzhong peninsula across the water. Its rooms are large, with bathrooms fitted with separate bath, shower and twin basins, and the public rooms are arranged to keep the river in view.

There are three restaurants. Li Jing Shuen serves Sichuan and Cantonese dishes, Yu Kitchen is the all-day restaurant, and Robin’s Grill & Teppanyaki offers steaks and Japanese grilling. The Ba Lounge and a rooftop bar, River Terrace, complete the list. The hotel has a spa, a heated indoor pool and a gym, and a ballroom with a view of the confluence through 270 degrees.

The hotel is owned by Casin Group, a Chongqing developer. At the time of its opening the Regent brand belonged to a Taiwanese group; the following year a majority stake was acquired by IHG, which set about rebuilding the name with new hotels, among them Regent Phu Quoc, Regent Shanghai on the Bund and, most recently, the planned Regent Chengdu.

Chongqing itself has since drawn more international attention, for its food, above all its hotpot, for its position as the starting point of cruises through the Three Gorges, and for the extraordinary density of its urban landscape. It has gained other hotels at this level, including InterContinental Chongqing Raffles City. OKYTO’s pages on Regent Chongqing and on Chongqing have more.