The Beijing Yihe Hotel, until December 2025 the Aman at Summer Palace, ranks #30 on our 2026 world list. It earns the place on a rare setting, 51 suites in restored courtyard buildings beside the Summer Palace East Gate, though the loss of the Aman name is a real change this update covers honestly.
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Setting carries most here. Service is scored with a caveat during the brand transition. Method at our methodology page.
What changed with the December 2025 rebrand?
The headline is a name change, not a closure. On December 4, 2025 the hotel confirmed that its partnership with the Aman Group would end on December 29, 2025, and that from December 30, 2025 the property would operate as the Beijing Yihe Hotel. The hotel stated that operations and reservations would continue without interruption, and that the building, gardens and core team would remain. As Aman's first property in China, this was a landmark address, so the split is significant, but for a guest the physical experience, restored courtyards steps from the Summer Palace, is unchanged. What you lose is the globally recognized Aman brand standard and any Aman loyalty benefits, which is a fair thing to weigh before booking.
What is the hotel itself?
It is a 51-room retreat set within restored courtyard buildings in the manner of a Qing-dynasty compound, immediately beside the East Gate of the UNESCO-listed Summer Palace in northwest Beijing. The setting is the entire point: guests can enter the palace gardens before the day-trip crowds arrive, then return to a walled, tree-shaded quiet that no city-center tower can offer. Interiors pair grey brick, dark timber and Ming-influenced restraint with a spa, an indoor pool and Chinese and Italian dining. On a global list this property was never about scale or a buzzing bar; it earns its rank on atmosphere, privacy and a genuinely irreplaceable location.
The layout is unusual and worth understanding, because it shapes the whole stay. Rather than a single tower, the hotel is a series of low pavilions and walled courtyards linked by covered walkways, so moving through the property feels like crossing a private scholar's garden rather than a hotel corridor. That intimacy is the trade the property makes against the practical convenience of a downtown flagship, and it is why guests either love the seclusion or wish they were closer to the action. There is no lobby scene to speak of; the social heart is the courtyards, the tea house and the dining rooms.
What are the rooms and dining like?
The rooms are generous by Beijing standards and steeped in the courtyard aesthetic. Expect high ceilings, dark timber joinery, deep tubs and a restrained palette of grey brick and neutral fabrics, with the best categories opening directly onto a private or shared courtyard. This is a design language of calm rather than glitter, which is precisely the appeal for the traveler who has tired of gilded five-star lobbies. On dining, the property has run both a Chinese restaurant, traditionally strong on Cantonese and imperial-style dishes, and Italian dining, along with a tea house and in-suite service that suits the quiet setting. Because the hotel is small and secluded, most guests eat on property at least once, so the kitchens carry more weight here than at a big-city hotel surrounded by restaurants. The spa and indoor swimming pool round out a wellness offering built for slow days between palace visits.
Why does it earn the rank?
It earns #30 because almost nowhere else lets you stay inside the grounds of an imperial garden. The building group predates the hotel and was restored rather than built new, so the sense of place is real, not themed. The suites are oversized by Beijing standards, the courtyards deliver silence in a city of 21 million, and the service culture, in the Aman years, operated well above a typical big-brand hotel. The open question after the rebrand is whether that service level holds under the new Beijing Yihe banner. The hotel says the team continues, which is encouraging, but until a full post-transition track record exists we score service with a caveat rather than at the old Aman ceiling.
Why does the Summer Palace setting matter so much?
The Summer Palace is the single asset that lifts this hotel onto a world list, so it deserves its own answer. The palace is a vast Qing-era imperial garden of lakes, pavilions and the famous Long Corridor, a UNESCO World Heritage Site that draws enormous day-crowds. Staying beside the East Gate flips the usual visitor experience: instead of arriving mid-morning with the coach tours, guests can walk in near opening and have Kunming Lake and the hillside temples in relative calm. The hotel has historically arranged privileged access and guided early entry, which is the kind of experience money genuinely cannot replicate at a downtown address. For travelers whose priority is Chinese history and imperial garden culture rather than shopping or nightlife, this proximity is decisive, and it is the clearest argument for choosing this property over a glossier central tower.
What do guests consistently say?
From the property's Aman-era reviews, the recurring praise is remarkably consistent: guests single out the serenity, the sense of privacy, and the once-in-a-trip magic of the Summer Palace on the doorstep, along with attentive, discreet service. The most common criticism, equally consistent, is the distance from central Beijing, which reviewers describe as a long taxi ride to the Forbidden City and the main dining and shopping districts. A handful note that the historic rooms, while beautiful, are darker and more enclosed than a modern suite. With the December 2025 rebrand still recent, prospective guests should read new reviews specifically for post-transition service, since the older feedback reflects the Aman operation rather than the current Beijing Yihe management.
Who should book it, and who should not?
Book it if you are a culture-first traveler who wants imperial gardens, quiet courtyards and privacy, a couple after a romantic and unusual Beijing base, or a returning visitor who has already done the central sights and wants something rarer. It rewards a stay of two or three nights, long enough to use the early palace access and the slow-day rhythm the setting invites. Look elsewhere if this is a first, tightly packed Beijing trip where you want to walk out into the Forbidden City and Wangfujing, if you need a large modern suite and a buzzing hotel scene, or if brand certainty matters to you and the recent rebrand gives you pause. In those cases a central five-star tower is the more practical pick, and our Beijing hotel guide lays out the alternatives.
Where does it sit among the world's best?
Against its neighbours on the list, this is the cultural-immersion choice rather than the beach or design pick. The table sets it beside the entries we measured it against.
| Rank | Hotel | Place | Its edge |
|---|---|---|---|
| #28 | Rosewood Miramar Beach | Santa Barbara | Beachfront resort |
| #29 | Rachamankha | Chiang Mai | Lanna heritage design |
| #30 | Beijing Yihe Hotel | Beijing | Inside the Summer Palace grounds |
| #31 | Amanjiwo | Yogyakarta | Borobudur setting |
| #32 | Amanyangyun | Shanghai | Relocated Ming courtyards |
What are the drawbacks?
The honest cons are meaningful and, after the rebrand, one is new. First, the brand change itself: the loss of the Aman name removes a globally understood standard and its loyalty perks, and the new operation has not yet built a public track record, so early bookers are taking a small leap of faith on consistency. Second, location cuts both ways: the palace-side setting is peaceful and rare, but it is roughly 40 to 60 minutes from the Forbidden City, Wangfujing and the central business district, so this is a base for slow, cultural days rather than a spot to dash between downtown sights. Third, the restored courtyard rooms, while atmospheric, can feel enclosed and are not the light-filled modern suites some travelers expect at this price. And the rates remain firmly in the four-figure bracket. Book it for the Summer Palace and the quiet, and set expectations on the brand transition and the commute.
How do you book it well?
Address: 1 Gongmenqian Street, Haidian District, Beijing 100091, beside the Summer Palace East Gate. Because the hotel is small, its 51 keys book out around Chinese public holidays and peak spring and autumn travel, so reserve two to three months ahead for those windows. Ask directly whether current rates reflect the post-Aman repositioning, since a more accessible price is one plausible upside of the change. Use the early-access palace mornings, which are the property's signature. Our Beijing city guide covers what else to see, and the full Top 50 World ranking shows where it sits among the field.