Hangzhou Goethe Hotel, WorldHotels Distinctive

Hangzhou has charmed poets and travellers for a thousand years, above all for the misty beauty of its West Lake. On West Lake Avenue, a five-minute drive from the lake itself, the Hangzhou Goethe Hotel, Hangzhou, China, is a five-star business hotel close to the railway station and served by Metro Lines 1 and 5 nearby. It is part of the WorldHotels Distinctive collection. Lake-view rooms open onto the scenery that makes the city famous, a restful retreat after a day's work or sightseeing by the lake itself. The hotel makes an easy, comfortable base whether you have come for meetings or for the water. The central setting keeps business, culture, and leisure districts close at hand, with the international airport about 27 kilometres away and high-speed rail linking Shanghai in under an hour. Beyond the lake, Hangzhou rewards exploration, from the ancient Lingyin Temple and the tea terraces of Longjing to the southern end of the Grand Canal and the lakeside Leifeng Pagoda, all within easy reach of the centre. The hills around the lake are laced with walking trails and tea villages. Just minutes away, West Lake, a UNESCO cultural landscape of willow causeways, arched bridges, and pagodas, does the rest.