Three exciting new hotels are opening up shop in Shanghai this month, offering travelers even more luxurious accommodations in addition to the city’s collection of Forbes Travel Guide star-rated hotels. From a sky-high complex in Jing’an district and an opulent homegrown contender in Pudong to a plush escape near the ocean, we’ve rounded up the top three must-visit hotels.
Jing’an Shangri-La, West Shanghai
This hotel is Shangri-La Group’s third property in Shanghai, and follows in the footsteps of the Four-Star Pudong Shangri-La and The Kerry Hotel, Pudong hotels. The building is several years in the making and is not only a hotel, but also part of a huge retail and dining complex called the Jing’an Kerry Centre. Jing’an Shangri-La occupies the top 29 floors of the 60-story building. Through the guest rooms’ floor-to-ceiling windows, you’ll be able to take in sweeping views of the surrounding cityscape as well as the neatly manicured greens of the ground floor plaza. Top-shelf amenities include heated marble floors in all bathrooms and sharp in-room technology, including 40-inch LED Smart televisions and media hubs with clock radios. There are three restaurants in the hotel (Café Liang & mezzanine, Summer Palace and The 1515 West, Chophouse & Bar) and at least a dozen more in the plaza below, so guests have plenty of wining and dining options. The hotel is set to officially open on June 29.
Mandarin Oriental Pudong, Shanghai
Mandarin Oriental opened its first hotel in Hong Kong in 1963, and it’s a true Asian brand. Its first Shanghai hotel opened in April with 362 sleek rooms decorated in line with the brand’s Oriental heritage and the hotel’s location on the Huangpu River. Inside, the plush beige carpeting with curving black lines and peacock-print bed runners give off a distinctive Far East flair that is far from over-the-top. If you can bear to leave your guest room, you’ll find three restaurants (Fifty 8° Grill, Yong Yi Ting and Zest), an alfresco cocktail lounge (Qi Bar) and the tempting Mandarin Cake Shop bakery, plus a 13-room spa and a 25-meter (approximately 82 feet) pool. The hotel’s showpiece is its art collection, which contains a whopping 4,000 pieces — 43 of which were specially created for the hotel by Lai De Quan, an artist who hails from Jingdezhen, China’s porcelain capital.
Le Camelia
This is one of Shanghai’s most unique hotels, set not in the city center but very far from it — more than an hour from downtown. That’s the point of Le Camelia, though; in Shanghai’s Fengxian district, spitting distance from the East China Sea, the 57-room hotel is a complete escape from city life. Le Camelia, which had its soft opening in March but officially opened to the public in May, aims to be a little slice of the Mediterranean in China — and it’s succeeded admirably. The hotel is in a tranquil residential area and a quick drive to the beach and to the Shanghai Haiwan National Forest Park. Luxurious rooms include sizable King-size beds and heated floors. The whole space is intimate and romantic but, thanks especially to a game room and an outdoor pool, would also make a great group getaway.
Photos Courtesy of Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, Shangri-La International Hotel Management LTD., La Camelia
