One of the guest rooms at Park Hyatt Hangzhou.

The exterior of Park Hyatt Hangzhou.

Floating high above Hangzhou—the lake­side city Chinese call “paradise on earth”—this 242­-room Park Hyatt is beautifully ethereal. Guests enter through a series of tall Chinese chambers lined in marble, bronze, gold leaf, and wooden lattice, be­fore being whisked to the 37th­-floor Sky Lobby by express elevator. The understat­ed contemporary design is subtly infused with Chinese elements such as parquetry hardwood floors styled after a nobleman’s residence and ripple­ glowing lanterns that cast a serenely elegant ambience. Dreamy guest rooms feature lake­-blue silk carpets, timber­-log desks, and blossom shadow pat­terns that gently glow across the bedhead at night. Be sure to make time for a dip in the dramatic black­-granite pool and Jacuzzis. Organic Hangzhou cuisine (don’t miss the revered Dongpo pork and beggar’s chicken) are served at Dining Room, while two­-level Forty8—the city’s loftiest restaurant—is a vibrant destination for steaks and seafood. This is also a prime spot for viewing the world’s largest tidal bore that roars up the nearby Qiantang River each month. Sweep­ing vistas of Hangzhou’s combination of nature, urbanity, and kooky architecture in the new CBD abound at every turn. But you feel blissfully removed at this sleek sanctu­ary in the clouds. (86­ 571/8696­ 1234; hangzhou.park.hyatt.com; doubles from US$190).