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Scandinavian Style

Radisson SAS general manager Maarten van den Nieuwenhuysen allows himself a satisfied smile as he sits on the balcony of the newly decorated lobby fronting his Beijing hotel's The Grill Restaurant.

Such vivid colorings are, in fact, fast becoming a trend among local interior designers, though the Scandinavian palette currently seems most popular among the city's movers and shakers--the social glitterati who always like to be different. Their argument is that while Scandinavian style can be startlingly bright, it retains a simplistic elegance that spells class.

This, according to Van den Nieuwenhuysen, is precisely what the Radisson SAS represents, and what he has been urging since he became general manager last year. Since that time he has overseen numerous interior improvements, with much emphasis on more exciting colors. Certainly the lobby seems far more welcoming to guests than in the days when it was largely "office brown".

Nor have other fine details been overlooked during the hotel's general facelift, as much due to Swedish interior designer Chritian Lundwall's expertise as Van den Nieuwenhuysen's lay enthusiasm for change. Lundwall proved particularly au fait with hotel fabrics, witness the beautiful, imported Lobby Bar curtains--a compliment indeed to their European manufacturer in face of the beautiful curtaining materials available here in Beijing. Not that Chinese suppliers totally lost out. Lundwall bought plenty of other high-class accessories from local sources.

We could recommend any number of fine dishes on The Grill's lavish menu, but suffice that you simply kick off with an unforgettable signature dish, marinated salmon with Wasabi mayonnaise, an east-west combination which serves as the perfect yardstick for anything else you fancy. The food here truly is excellent, and made better by sight of the spacious restaurant's open kitchen and carefully designed lighting. A glass of chilled white wine nicely rounds off this highly pleasurable dining experience, the perfect cap to any Scandinavian meal.