A crowning glory on the city’s riverfront, the Peninsula Shanghai has thrust the Art Deco district into the future, marrying timeless elegance with cutting edge technology.

Background

The Peninsula hotel group’s flagship property in China, The Peninsula Shanghai opened in 2009 to critical acclaim.

Occupying a splendid location with direct frontage on the historic Bund, The Peninsula Shanghai was the first new building on the Bund in the previous few decades and an anchor project in the Waitanyuan development scheme.

The hotel features 235 rooms and suites, five restaurants and bars, a Peninsula Spa, an indoor swimming pool and fitness centre, as well as a Peninsula Arcade featuring 25 top luxury brands. The adjoining Peninsula Residences has 39 apartments for lease.

Check-In

Guests who haven’t organized alternative transfers can arrive at the hotel in absolute style, thanks to the Peninsula’s fleet of Rolls Royce Phantoms, which are painted in a distinctive dark hue now known as ‘Peninsula Green’. Check-in was professionally conducted by some of Shanghai’s most impressive front office staff and I was being shown my room within minutes of arriving at the hotel.

The Room

Few hotel groups maintain the balance between elegant décor and technology better than the Peninsula. Despite its lavish Art Deco-inspired interiors, my apartment-style Deluxe River Suite is also wired with the latest in-room technology, including everything from internet radio and high-speed internet, to innovative lighting settings in the bathroom that turn the space into a tranquil spa, complete with piped-in world music.

The expansive suite features a regal living room, complete with a faux fireplace, flatscreen television, book-lined walls, a dining table, and an ample workspace, while the bedroom is equally impressive and drenched in natural light, with views across the former British Consulate gardens and the Suzhou Creek.

A dedicated makeup table features a nail dryer, radio, and weather updates, while a dressing rooms offers ample space for luggage and an innovative two-doored valet box that allows the butler to slip in the day’s dry cleaning, newspaper, and shined shoes without having to actually enter the suite.

The marble bathroom features double vanities, an oval-shaped soak tub, a spacious shower, a hands-free telephone, and a small mirror-back television. With all the amenities combined with absolutely impeccable fabrics and colour selections, it is easily one of the most beautiful rooms I’ve stayed in.

Dining

The Peninsula not only reset the city’s benchmark for luxury hotels when it opened but continues to thrill local foodies with some of Shanghai’s most sophisticated eateries, including The Lobby, an elegant, sun-kissed space that serves gourmet breakfasts and iconic Peninsula high teas. Sir Elly’s Restaurant delivers European fine dining and remains a firm favourite with business travellers, while a hidden gem rarely discovered by guests is the Peninsula’s breathtaking 14th-floor rooftop cocktail bar, which marries innovative concoctions with unsurpassed views across the river to Pudong’s skyscrapers.

Wellness

The Peninsula Shanghai is home to the indulgent Peninsula Spa, the group’s own spa brand. This chic wellness retreat is dressed in neo-classic French décor with navy blue and ivory accents and boasts seven treatment rooms and two VIP suites, as well as a menu of pampering ESPA spa rituals and journeys. Be sure to make time for a dip in the indoor swimming pool, with its glass room and vertiginous views.

Summary

Peninsula doesn’t open hotels without every expectation of creating a lasting icon and the group’s Shanghai hotel has single-handedly helped return the Bund squarely to the map of chic Shanghai.

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