Need to know
Rooms
A total of 130, including 110 suites.
Check–Out
Noon; earliest check-in, 2pm. Both are flexible, subject to availability.
More details
Rates usually include buffet breakfast.
Also
In addition to its trio of restaurants (and in keeping with its mock-village feel), the hotel has a series of food and drink ‘shacks’, including Wok Mee Shack, C+T Shack, a tea lounge and Farm2Straw Juice Bar.
At the hotel
Courtyard and organic kitchen gardens; tea house; snacks and dessert shacks; rooftop relaxation studio; spa; two pools; free WiFi throughout. In rooms: TV, DVD player, minibar.
Our favourite rooms
If you’re here with a gang, book out one of the villas (we loved their private entrances and sense of space and privacy). For easy access to the hotel’s courtyard, pick a room on the first floor; if you prefer a balcony with views, opt for second-floor sleeping quarters.
Poolside
The pretty indoor pool is housed in a beamed building with a fleet of sunloungers.
Spa
Experience Taoism’s healing powers at the Six Senses Spa, whose treatments champion Amala products. Opt for the signature Daoyin Tao massage, try cupping, acupuncture or a shen, jing or qi spa ritual. Ask for lifestyle and holistic advice from the visiting practitioners, who offer personal consultations. The spa is open from 10am–11pm daily (the latest treatment slot is 10pm). Post-treatment, continue the health kick with a ginseng, ginger and bee-pollen juice from Farm2Straw Juice Bar.
Packing tips
The region is prone to drizzle, so bring a raincoat. Don’t fork out on plug adaptors at the airport – the hotel has a stash.
Also
If you like a good brew, be sure to swing by the tea lounge, where you can experience a traditional tea ceremony. There’s also C+T Shack, where a variety of teas are on sale; try before you buy (and add a slice of cake or a pastry while you’re at it).
Children
Six Senses is very welcoming to your cubs, with a free kids club, indoor and outdoor play areas and lifeguard-manned pool, and villas with room for the whole brood. Beds or cots can be added to rooms (for an extra cost); babysitting can be arranged.
Best for
Little Smiths aged 1–12 are invited (the hotel reckons it’s best for 6–12-year-olds, though).
Recommended rooms
Opt for one of the two-bedroom villas: some have a kitchen and dining area, some have both of the above, plus a pool. Extra beds (£51 a night) and cots (£18) can be added to all rooms.
Activities
There’s a free kids club by the swimming pool, open from 9am–6pm, which has games and entertainment for 1–12-year-olds. Meals aren’t served here, and it’s not used when it’s rainy. The hotel also has two family-friendly pools, an outdoor play area, a garden, an indoor play area and a stash of bikes for little Smiths (and larger ones). Tiny Gordon Ramsays/Nigellas can take part in cookery classes (they'll learn to make delicious cookies), cycle around on borrowed bikes and start perfecting their tennis serve.
Swimming pool
Both the outdoor wading pool and indoor family-friendly pool are supervised by a lifeguard.
Meals
Six Senses has a stash of on-loan highchairs and bamboo cutlery made for tiny paws.
Babysitting
Staff can arrange babysitting (£6 an hour, per child); be sure to give at least three days’ notice.
Sustainability efforts
In keeping with Six Senses’ signature philosophy of sustainable luxury, its Chengdu outpost purifies and mineralises its own drinking water, which is stored in reusable glass bottles. The hotel also uses a Tesla electric car for airport transfers and has free charging stations. Only earth-kind cleaning products are used; the restaurant champions organic, seasonal food, sourced from its garden or local suppliers. The hotel also donates and sends volunteers to a local animal shelter, which houses over 6,000 stray animals, and works closely with the Taoist Monastery to ensure guests are immersing themselves in and leaning about the region's rich cultural practices.