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New Shanghai Luxury in Time For World Expo 2010
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By: Jenny Caspersonn, Issue 43 – Winter 2010
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(The Peninsula Shanghai – Shanghai, China)
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ULTRA LUXURY BRAND PENINSULA HOTELS CHOSE THE BUND IN SHANGHAI AS THE SITE FOR ITS LATEST HOTEL COMPLETED JUST IN TIME FOR WORLD EXPO 2010. JENNY CASPERSONN TAKES YOU INSIDE.
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The Peninsula Shanghai has officially opened its doors and inside the marble columned lobby the 18 piece dinner-suited big band is in full swing. Finger sandwiches, delicate cakes and petite pastries sit prettily on three tiered silver stands. The hotel’s sparkling 1934 Rolls Royce Phantom II glides to a stop under the porte cochere. Yet across the river the striking skyline of Pudong is brilliant in the afternoon light. Welcome to Shanghai, encased in the past but surging into the future.
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Shanghai began as a small fishing village on the edge of the Huangpu River. Western influence began with the establishment of foreign concessions in the mid 1800s. By the 1930s it had become Asia’s biggest port and the world’s largest banks and traders had set up offices along the riverfront known as the Bund. Today Shanghai is a wealthy, sophisticated metropolis of 20 million people and is considered the most dazzling city in Mainland China. It’s no surprise Shanghai real estate prices have risen more than 150 per cent since 2003. Shanghai is currently hosting World Expo and the city’s $45 billion infrastructure upgrade included a massive $700 million to reconstruct the promenade on the historic Bund. It is timely, then, that the new Peninsula is the first new building on this historic riverfront precinct in over 60 years and it represents something of a homecoming for the Hong Kong and Shanghai Hotels Limited who owned and operated no less than four premium hotels in Shanghai in the early 20th century.
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A strong sense of history embraces the Peninsula Shanghai and the monthly Sunday Tea Dances are just one reference to this. Throughout the gleaming new hotel touches evoking the glamorous days of the 20s and 30s are evident, the design strongly alluding to the art deco era but with a modern interpretation. The hotel site is perfectly positioned in the elbow of the Huangpu River adjacent to the former British Consulate, Residence and Gardens that will house a State Guest House and retail outlet under Peninsula management. The two-storey 7,000-square metre Peninsula Arcade will feature many high-end retail brands such as Chanel and Berluti who’ve chosen the Peninsula Shanghai for their flagship stores in China. The Pen’s 235 rooms and suites boast impressive gadgetry and welcome touches such as complimentary international telephone calls and high-speed Internet access, touch-button room environment adjustments and universal adaptors. The spacious dressing room includes a seated dressing table, Internet radio, weather display panel and nail dryer.
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Best of all is the signature Peninsula valet box for discreet pick-up and delivery of polished shoes, dry-cleaning and laundry with guaranteed maximum turnaround of six hours, or faster if required. Tonight’s suit can be worn tomorrow. The beautiful 25 metre indoor swimming pool and fitness centre have views over the Consulate Gardens and compliment the decadent Peninsula Spa by ESPA.
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Peninsula’s dining options include the Yi Long Court featuring a traditional Cantonese menu prepared by China’s Michelin Star winner, Executive Chef Tang Chi Keung, with private dining rooms and chef’s table. Up on the 13th floor is Sir Elly’s, the hotel’s fine dining restaurant. Chef Arnaud Berthelier prepares an elegant European menu in a setting more like the plush surroundings of a stately home than a restaurant. The glorious view from the restaurant and Sir Elly’s Terrace upstairs, however, almost eclipses the food.
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After dinner the soothing indigo of the Compass Bar is welcome. For a bit more fun, investigate the basement hideaway Salon de Ning complete with live band and DJ, it’s styled as the boudoir of fictitious wealthy socialite, world traveller and international hostess Madame Ning. This city artfully blends old with new. Just steps off the historic Bund promenade washing billows like colourful flags from tower story balconies. Narrow alleys conceal much from street level. The sound advice for travelling in Shanghai is to look up, because there’s a world to see above ground. There’s also much to see from the past but Shanghai will keep looking forward.
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Expo 2010 Shanghai runs until October 31, 2010.
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Details:
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Getting there: Cathay Pacific
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Stay: The Peninsula Shanghai
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