Take a pre-breakfast boat ride on the tranquil lake.
You stand on your balcony with a steaming cup of tea. It's early, almost too early. The lake is calm … flat. You sip your tea as the sky begins to brighten, turning deep red, and finally a burnt orange. Trees and bamboo come into focus on the shores of West Lake, and you wonder, just how old is this place?
At The Four Seasons Hotel Hangzhou at West Lake, moments of introspection come easily and often.
Be it in the 78 rooms (including seven suites) with their modern take on Chinese traditional designs, or while touring tea plantations and pagodas, guests will have plenty of opportunity to recapture their Zen.
If you need to fast-forward your approach to utter bliss, the spa can get you there right quick, with nine treatment rooms dishing out Asian and Chinese therapies.
When hunger arrives, visit Jin Sha for Shanghainese and Cantonese favorites. WLB takes care of International fare, and the Lobby or Bar make ideal places for chatting the night away. Perhaps you can plan a bike trip around the lake, or a boat trip through it.