Some kind of Wonderland: Hotel Éclat Beijing

It's a sticky and polluted Beijing afternoon, so I'm happy to slip into the eco-cocoon of Parkview Green, a retail, office and leisure complex that maintains its own energy-efficient microclimate. This giant green glass pyramid has piqued the curiosity of Beijingers since construction began in 2006, but it only finally opened to the public late last year.

From the first step into the lobby, it is obvious that the Parkview's just-opened boutique hotel, Hotel Éclat, isn't your average Beijing stay. Half a dozen large Salvador Dalí statues, borrowed from the Taiwanese hotel owner's extensive collection, compete for my attention. (The winner is the golden figure entitled The Madonna of Port Lligat who has an illuminated red heart that flashes inside her hollow chest.)

Just over the Madonna's shoulder lies the entrance to the hotel gallery. Normally, when I hear the words "hotel gallery", my first thoughts are of insipid watercolours of bucolic scenes; pity placements for local artists. But, encouraged by the Dalís in the lobby, I climb the stairs to the first floor mezzanine before heading up to my room.

There's a pantheon of works by contemporary Chinese artists, including Zhang Xiaogang, Liu Wei, Yue Minjun and other names well-known to Hong Kong's auction houses. Such artists are rarely displayed publicly in Beijing's galleries.

A glass lift carries me up to the guestroom floors which are situated on the top of the Parkview pyramid. My deluxe room comes kitted out with a 3-D TV, a massage chair and an Illy coffee machine. But strange as it sounds, I'm most excited by the bedside lamp. Its white remote control is gun-shaped and you can "shoot" at the light to turn it on and off, like a Bond girl.

The glass pane between the bathroom and the bedroom can also be transformed from opaque to transparent with the flick of a switch.