Sugar walls
Life is sweet at the newly-opened Alila Yangshuo. Literally. Housed in a restored sugar mill, the latest Alila resort has retained as much of the 1960s factory architecture as possible, marrying it with modern amenities for a retro-throwback luxury experience. Designed by Dong Gong of Vector Architects and Ju Bin of Horizontal Space Design, the original elements of the Communist-era building take prominence. The sombre, brown-brick exterior has been retained, with rare touches of original adornments – like delightfully ornate air vents (some carved to resemble Chinese characters). In a more metamorphic touch, the original sugarcane dock jutting out the Yulong river is the the site of the swimming pool, flanked by the factory’s original steel pillars.
The scenery here is stunning. The surrounding karst mountains have inspired countless poems and illustrations over the centuries, remaining as dramatic and romantic today as they did milleniea ago. Dotted among these peaks are picturesque Guilin temples, which guests can visit on day trips. Luxuriating in the natural wonders of Yangshuo is a must when here – besides rock climbing and mountain biking, visitors can also just float down the river on a traditional bamboo raft, with a picnic waiting at the end.
After a day of activity, return to the Alila Yangshuo and the embrace of its 117 rooms, suites and villas, expertly designed in a contemporary Chinese setting as a balance to the stark rawness of the original building. Respite can be found at the subterranean Alila Spa, built from volcanic rocks unearthed during the resort’s construction, where treatments centre around the black sugar once produced by the mill and still produced in Yangshuo. Elsewhere, original buildings have been preserved and re-envisioned as new spaces. The former sugar-pressing room, for example, is now the seasonal farm-to-table Sugar House Restaurant, while the refining room finds a new identity as the sleek 1969 Bar, where many of the cocktails centre around – what else? – sugar and house-distilled rum. Sugar also finds its way into the many in-resort activities offered, including authentic sugar spinning technique classes to create all forms of traditional sweets that can be exquisitely wrapped and taken home. If they haven’t already been consumed in the sweet embrace of Alila Yangshuo, that is.
