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Posted on 10/15/2013 7:59:40 PM PDT by TexGrill
Only two and a half hours away from the business hub of Shanghai is an outlet from the urban pressure. Naked Stables Private Reserve is set in a valley in the rolling Moganshan (“Mount Mogan”) area of Zhejiang Province that was a getaway for expats before China’s Communist revolution. Today the region illustrates how well-off Chinese themselves enjoy the good life. A quirky blend of kid- and eco-friendliness and Chinese-African themes yields a boutique resort that doesn’t need an internationally known brand name such as Aman or Banyan Tree.
“There is a shift in toward lifestyle spending in China, but there are few things to do,” says Grant Horsfield, the 37-year-old founder of naked Retreats, which now building a chain of its own. “There is a massive opportunity in the resort business.”
Brisk business–the occupancy rate was 93% in August, at an average price of more than $300 a night for a room–is attracting partners for expansion, such as Shaoxing’s Jishan Group. Horsfield and his wife and cochairman Delphine Yip-Horsfield have in the past year successfully signed up new outdoor resort projects in Nanjing (“naked Art”), Shaoxing (“naked Spring”) and Yiwu (“naked Hill”). They are working on expansion in Moganshan and hope to reach an agreement for a “naked Wall” in Beijing soon.
(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...
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