Two months ahead of its approaching second anniversary, I dragged my stressed skeleton back to Intercontinental Qingdao, welcomed by two grinning concierges in their signature Malay attire. 

Tucked away right behind the downtown high-end emporiums, the site boast rare peace and serenity from the rumpus of shopaholics and beaten track of tourists whilst at the same time enjoying a stone’s throw away path to all the bling factors.

The 6 hectares taupe complex comprised of a set of quadruplet towers resembling a two-masted catamaran sprawls on the east of Fushan Bay of Qingdao, overlooking the regatta and yacht marina and the razzle-dazzle of the city’s transforming lanscape as well, with an eternal reminicence of its incarnation from the glorious days of Olympics.

Admittedly it took me some time to straighten out the directions of the four rises as I streamed into the cavernous lobby where the ceiling is decked out with a wide array of translucent lights in Chinoiserie auspicious cloud pattern. Partitioned into several semi-detatched ‘ isles ’ with cascades of crystal drapes, the lounge has also got a touch of fengshui as flowing water moves at a snail’s pace in the backdrop so that one can reach up to the heaven, come down to the earth in a tranquil but long-lived tune.

Jacques Offenbach’s Barcarolle emanated out from a skilled pianist in the foyer as I took the escalator up.After littering my belongings about I was already itching to explore all the other amenities else around despite the stunning facilities of Boss stereo systems, 42” LCD, and plush quilts luring me into a deep slumber.

The only daylight illuminated swimming pool of the town with precise thermostat is definitely an

exuberant place to soak up your palsing energy with the Finland Sauna, and bath salts helping

recreate both your physical and psychological well-being, but if that’s not enough, here’s the Kapok Spa with professional massagist taking you to an aroma therapeutic trip off the fatigue.

My rumbly tummy had strumed a few chords even before the dinner time. Never mind, the Club Intercontinental perched at the top of one the four high rises has prepared an adorable afternoon tea party to cheer me up where the opera cake, or Joconde, its original name from France,  definitely gratify dessert lover’s taste buds.

The Scandinavian style lounge is a spacious duplex in simple linear design and a tinge of light colour with a pavilion-like library and private meeting chamber on top together with Internet café and electronic entertainments.

When the after glow faded out slowly, the starry silence rised up as a whiff of Fagraea wafted by, I was reading Earnist’s a moveable feast, by the subdued light of a Neoz cordless table lamp before Angela reminded me the cocktail time was up.

A clean-cut bartender presented me a glass of Screwdriver, a popular relish of vodka and orange. More than just a few selections of Canapé, the party is actually a posh dinner buffet abundant in International cuisine among which the Ikura (salmon cavair rounded Sushi) mesmerized a German engineer sitting nearby.

Apart from celibates like me, two or three coveted couples in chic outfits, taking nibbles of Burgendy wine, exchanged toasts and speeches with bursts of hilarious guggles.

The next morning I took breakfast there. From the picture window all along the wall next to my table, there was a panoramic view of the breath-taking rosy dawn on the horizon of Yellow Sea. It was the same view glimpsed by Rain, and the like so-called elites who’d like to enjoy everything exclusive for their small coterie.

Usually to experience the Club benefits you have to pay extra dozen bucks than the standard room, but perhaps it would be less of a splurge when viewed as a package with a price much below the regular cost of all the benefits combined, only if you had indulged yourself with the enormous champagne, the soirée and the elegance.

Still, this is just one of the many F&B options in IHG Qingdao. If you haven’t booked a club room, just have a try from others like the Cantonese dominated Moon or the archipelago-like stationed global flavors buffet. And then again there is the fine restaurant of Wildfire, a top-notch site for you to take your special someone to a wonderful candlelit dinner with the famous Chateaubriand grilled in sapphire flames.

As the evening advanced, a nocturnal jamboree at Rumba with the vibrant Latino band from Columbia named Bacue, or Elite in English, led an already inebriated following into a deep gaiety of the music.

“Bailamos.” Hilena, one of the cabaret singers in self-designed sequined skirt told me about their favourite song, “It means let’s dance.” The famme fatale went down the stage towards several couples, inviting them into the contredanse with unending spirit of great passion.

With numerous glasses of Mojito consumed, Jamon Serrano ( dry-cured spainish ham) sliced amidst the fuschia red flurescence, somewhat Vegas spree may be hit on in what the Broque furnished white chapel on 22nd  often does, albeit an priest absent one.

By the time I came back to the room, all the mess had been straighten up by the diligent house keeping lady, even my wrinkled clothes were folded in a proper way. Curtain’s up, lights down - turn-down service perfectly winded up before I collapsed into the fond dream.

During the two days of stay, huge or small commercial events were held in the hotel interwoven with various languages buzzing around my ears turing out a flourishing scene of upwing in fortunes.

True, the looming economic recovery undergoes painful cramps, China has shown its knack to be the first coming out of the glolal downturn notwithstanding. Whether or not, classy people have never been oblivious of the l’art de vivre and more over, the state of the art business facilities, meeting rooms provide solid platform help the pivotal force of the very society to extend their blueprint into wondrous reality from this former colonial peninsular to the whole world which in return facilitate the rapid development of the hotel.

时光荏苒，2010的脚步已然踏过，重回洲际入住，一种别样的温情油然而生。时常读诗，陶渊明的《饮酒》“结庐在人境，而无车马喧”令人心旷神怡，而在这里，洲际为它重新做了阐释。隅于东部中心，宝马雕车灯火阑珊之处近在咫尺，两街之隔，一切喧声闹语又消逝在蓝天碧海之外。凭窗南眺游艇码头，当年奥运的光景印证其抹不去的辉煌，北望半岛城池，新都市流光溢彩日新月异。

在这座高低错落的四体建筑中穿行的确让人稍有眩晕，幸好有热情的礼宾员身着马来式长袍在旁引路。大堂泉廊天花板一排金色云灯吊顶，底下水晶隔帘招摇，一汪流水池中静卧。风水上讲真是通天入地，财源流畅。

扶梯上楼，见一位琴师入座，指尖轻触，门德尔松的威尼斯船歌遂在耳中萦绕。放下行李便直奔久仰已久的全市唯一的日光照明泳池。窗明几净，清新雅致，在这里游上几个来回便觉得神清清爽。看到我的房号是行政楼层，一旁的救生员提醒我去21层行政廊吃茶。

行政廊实际上相当于一个针对住行政层客人的私人会所，除了一般酒店的快捷入住，推迟离店，以及早餐外，洲际还提供一系列酒水，餐会，娱乐，商务服务等等，虽然这些不会单独出售，但如果按照一般标准细细算一下，要比正常房间多出的几百块超值很多。

此处位居酒店的最高层，全景玻璃幕墙，天海一片尽收眼底，景象大气磅礴。除了酒廊，自助餐台，以及私人娱乐室，这里还有一个复式的小二层，静雅的微型图书馆，五脏俱全的会议室都藏于其中。斯堪的纳维亚风，浅色基调，设计简约明快。茶点里当属法式歌剧蛋糕最有味道，整整7层细细密密，入口即化，甜香而清凉，三层的提拉米苏也只好得败下阵去。

夜幕落下，桌上一盏Neoz无线灯发出柔和的白光平添一丝浪漫的情调。鸡尾酒会也不单是品酒，说来要比一般的自助餐更为丰富和精致。欧式的开胃菜到主餐，甜点，水果全套，外加广式面食水晶肉包以及和风寿司。旁边一位德国工程师告诉我，他竟是情迷这里三文鱼籽裹的饭团(Ikura Sushi)才来。

第二天的早点时间里，晨光中读一份伦敦来的金融时报，品一杯拿铁。这里还是欧美人居多。我知道Rain也有来过，在这里，他才能享受一段不被打扰的时光。

先前康姐请我在三楼的Flavors用过午餐。“岛”的设计理念在泉廊中有过，客人在水晶帘围裹下可以享受私人会谈的方便与安静。在这个自助餐厅里，六七个工作台也是像群岛一般分布，任你游走在不同国家风味的“岛屿”之间，尽享全球美食。洲际给我的感觉真就是乾坤变换，回味无穷：整体上看什么都“大”，无论哪里都宽敞宏伟，体现其国际化的气魄，细节处又微妙体贴，以各种各样岛的主题避免了“大”给人的空旷感觉。

还有中餐厅，其名为“月”。镂空雕琢的银色饰壁，烛台式的红吊灯，幽然而有富贵。新加坡来的Desmond Wong主厨，粤菜与本土海鲜的绝佳组合。

吃正宗的西餐，还是要去一楼的明焰去。在欧洲时常听人讲Fine Restaurant，我想个中韵味不是单就一个高级餐厅能翻译的出来。礼宾一个微笑，大厨颠一下勺，就是选用的刀叉都无一不需体现出一种贵族的高雅。若是带心爱的人来，烛光中碰杯杯勃艮第红酒，细嚼一口夏多不里昂牛排，食毕共舞一曲华尔兹，这种幸福的感觉哪怕哪怕只有一次也是一生中难以忘怀。看一下菜谱，实际价格没有传说中的吓人。也许只是一种文化认识的问题。一些人在一些名不见经传的餐厅里扔下几千元点几道奇名怪菜，图一个新鲜，却不愿意来这里来消费十分之一的价钱。他们要的只是价格的贵，而不是雅。也可能西餐的招牌一看，一些人也会走。估计这也是洲际在广告中突出明焰是烧烤餐厅的原因。实际上你需要会点餐，沙拉若用意大利的葡萄醋（balsamic），橄榄油拌一下，和中式的凉菜口味相似，主菜各类肉排，讲明要全熟浇上酱汁即可保证饕餮享受，甜点大概没人会拒绝，如不喜欢换上水果就是。也许在欧洲人眼里我这吃法也是剑走偏锋，因为我从不碰他们的最爱：奶酪和半生的肉。他们喜欢原汁原味的东西，奶酪不会给你加半点糖，内蒙出的那种甜甜的不可能有。不过这又何妨，中国人里不吃饺子的也不是没有。

夜已深，伦吧里舞动的激情四射，Elite(精英)乐队四人团带来哥伦比亚的狂欢。和想象的不太一样，客人们都拘谨的坐在位子上。美丽的Helina热情地从舞台下来邀请，男士们却更加腼腆，是因为身旁的爱人，还是要表现出大国的一本正经？不管怎样，一杯杯莫吉托，一片片西班牙火腿，一个拉丁的夜已经点燃了人们心中的寂寞。孤独的城市里，酒吧不光是一种寄托，更是一种洒脱。