You will not find the Old House Inn on any of the usual Internet hotel reservation sites. Go to asiabesthotel.com, for example, and it will churn up a predictable mix of Western-brand lodging and a long list of Chinese hotels with kitschy names like "Rendezvous Merry", "Shanghai Charms" and "Pacific Luck".

But maybe the fact that the Old House is not widely advertised is a blessing in disguise. This one-of-a-kind Chinese boutique hotel gets its clientele by word of mouth from discerning travellers - and it is doing just fine that way. Good news travels fast lately, and even The Economist has posted rave reviews of the Inn on its online guide to Shanghai.

"For atmosphere and charm, it is hard to beat this 12-room guesthouse, tucked away in an alley and boasting lots of historic features," says The Economist. "All the rooms are different, with wooden floors and furniture styled after the Ming dynasty (1368-1644). Twenty-first century amenities are also on hand: expect Internet sockets hidden behind cabinets, free broadband and modern bathrooms. Creaking staircases and winding corridors link the rooms to a small restaurant and bar on the ground floor. During the warm season you can enjoy a drink in the courtyard garden, an oasis of tranquillity."

Vivian Dai must be proud. The thirty-something interior designer created Shanghai's first private boutique hotel with her husband Haiqing Wu two years ago. "The idea came after we had travelled in Europe," says Dai. Wu, an architect who attended Tongji University and started his own architecture firm after graduating in the US, explains it was the pleasure they found in staying in special family run hotels that triggered the idea. "We went to those small hotels in beautiful old buildings that you have in Europe. We loved it. You do not have that sort of quality hotel in China. So we decided to start one."

It was not easy to kick off the venture, since it was a new concept in China. But finding the right place and getting the powers that be to agree to turn it into a hotel was made easier by Wu's guanxi; through friends he was able to lease an original Shanghai lane house dating from the 1930's. The location was perfect: on the edge of the French concession, on a quiet tree-lined street just off Huashan Lu.

Wu and Dai redesigned the interior of the house with warm woods and new fixtures, and Dai became the manager of what started as "an after-hours hobby". A vibrant mix of creative and businesspeople have since come to like the place, with its combination of style and affordable prices. The personalised service in an often impersonal city has also added to the attraction. "Our customers seem to appreciate our taste," says Wu, who is toying with the idea of starting a small chain of similar hotels. "But finding the right buildings in good locations is hard."

Southern style

Seven hundred kilometres south of Shanghai, in the bustling coastal city of Xiamen, another enterprising duo had the luck to find such a place. Frenchman Thierry Dulac and Hong Kong native Michael Chui spotted an old colonial villa on a hilltop on Gulangyu, a small island just a five-minute ferry ride away from the centre of Xiamen. The place was rather dilapidated, but the potential of its high ceilings, its double-storied veranda and the roof terrace with its wonderful view of the island and nearby Xiamen made them decide to take the plunge.

Don't ask how many sleepless nights they had during the renovation, and how difficult it was to deal with the stubborn old owner, who had completely lost interest in the house, but rather liked the idea that the new tenants would give it a free overhaul. A laundry list of troubles like these explain why last summer there was still no air conditioning in any of the five rooms, making it a challenge to stay cool in that hot and humid southern Xiamen summer.

But come this summer everything will be in working order, the cheerful management team promises. And even if you find that faithful old ceiling fan flapping instead of a cool Haier humming - the Night Lily is still one of the most charming places in the whole of China to spend a long weekend away from the concrete jungle.

Dulac and Chui have decorated the beautiful old rooms of their guesthouse in Chinese colonial style, which gives the villa a wonderfully relaxed feeling. The fact that the island of Gulangyu has no traffic except pedestrians and the occasional man powered cart - cars and scooters are forbidden, and most of its small streets and alleys are too steep to cycle - certainly helps to maintain the quiet environment.

A weekend at the Night Lily feels almost as if you have stepped into a time warp, heading back to the days when green and quiet Gulangyu was known as Spring Island. That was some 80 years ago, when it was the preferred residential enclave for wealthy businessmen, both western and Chinese, near the foreign concession and treaty port of Amoy, as Xiamen was then known. Remnants of these not-too-distant days can be found in the quaint mix of architectural styles belonging to the villas - like the one that houses the Night Lily - which speckle the island.

After a couple of hours of rambling through the back streets of Gulangyu, the solid gate of the Night Lily is a sight for sore eyes. The veranda beckons for a late night tipple. In the morning, breakfast is served on the veranda, or even on the roof. But the top terrace should really be preserved for the set dinner, home-cooked by Thierry, who you might see shopping for fresh and tasty ingredients somewhere in town during the day.

New experience

The trend of personalised, personal service has taken off up north, too, with Beijing's new addition, the Red Capital Residence, a trendy but quiet boutique hotel in the Dongsi preserved heritage district. The five-room hotel, built in a traditional, renovated courtyard-style house, is one branch of a concept company that also manages a chic club and restaurant, an eco-friendly ranch near the Great Wall, a limo service and a media studio.

According to general manager Marcel, the hotel has been designed around a "Cultural Revolution nostalgic theme", replete with Qing Dynasty-style furniture and Mao memorabilia. But rated one of the "the world's fifty most romantic hotels" by Travel and Leisure and "101 best hotels in the world" by Abercrombie and Kent, Red Capital serves up more than just communist kitsch. "We are not offering facilities, which you find in every hotel," says Marcel. "What we offer is service, very personalised, very attentive service and a unique experience that you cannot find anywhere else."

With only five rooms, the staff is able to act as personal butler to the guests, and the management is available to make tour and itinerary arrangements specially suited to all different tastes. Although the Red Capital Residence isn't quite as small an operation as the Old House or the Night Lily, the goal is to make it feel just as special and unique. Attention to detail and the creation of an "experience" rather than a night at a hotel is what sets it apart from the crowd.

So far, Red Capital has little competition to face in the northern city, with no other boutique hotel of a similar class open for business. "For the restaurant, more and more similar concepts are opening," says Marcel. "But for the hotel, I don't think a lot of people are sharing the same vision and concept as ours." A big reason for the lack of competition is simply a lack of demand. Red Capital's guests are primarily foreign, many of them businesspeople. "If you live in China, you have this perception that a hutong is not a very good place to stay. Chinese want something modern and Western. I think they start taking their culture for granted."

Another issue, says Marcel, has been the failure of many entrepreneurs to properly asses the luxury tourism market, not just in Beijing, but in cities all across China that attract larger numbers of leisure travellers. "When people are thinking about business, they think what the majority of the market is asking for and how much money they can get. But they forget about this niche market, and they aren't ready to take such a big risk to start something like this."

But Marcel's not worried about the risk. "Looking at the trend, I think the boutique hotel industry is developing pretty fast. People are starting to get bored of the normal five-star hotel. They come to China not to see big highrises, which they can find anywhere else. They want to see something Chinese, they want to experience something Chinese. This is what we offer." And with a private butler to boot.