FIRST SHOT
Alila moves into the ancient Chinese water town of Wuzhen.
For its third property in China, the Singapore-based Alila brand has turned to one of six ancient water towns south of the Yangtze River: Wuzhen, a picturesque maze of canals and well-preserved Ming- and Qing-era architecture. Once a flourishing trade hub on a tributary of the Grand Canal, the town has been gussied up for tourism over the past two decades and now attracts millions of visitors a year, many of them day-trippers from Hangzhou and Shanghai. For those wishing to stay longer, the Alila Wuzhen ( alilahotels.com; doubles from US$302) delivers a whole new level of luxury to its locale. Designed around water features and stone walkways, the 125 suites and villas are stylishly simple, with private courtyards, light wood–paneled walls, and sleek furnishings (some villas come with their own pool). Also on hand is an expansive spa, fine Cantonese cuisine at Shui Shi Kou, and a sunken bar where cocktails are crafted using locally distilled san bai rice wine —just the thing to toast Wuzhen’s most sophisticated new hotel. —David Tse