After a Guangzhou
opening earlier this year, luxury hotel brand Mandarin Oriental has this month
opened their first Shanghai
hotel with a new property in Lujiazui. The hotel sits plum on the Huangpu River
in the new Harbour City development to the east of the Pearl Tower
and next to the soon-to-open Shanghai Metropolitan Marine Yacht Club.
The 362 guest rooms come with opulent gold and teal decor, iPod docks and squirrel away-worthy toiletries from London perfumer Ormonde Jayne, although we prefer the step up to the Club level rooms and their giant cereal bowl bath tubs. The hotel’s trump card though is the two bedroom presidential suite, which at 788sqm is the largest in the city, complete with two river view rock garden terraces, grand piano, steam room and sauna and private gym facilities.
The hotel also houses an impressive collection of over 4,000 artworks curated by the Art Front Gallery in guest rooms and public areas, including 43 specially created ceramic works from Jingdezhen-based master sculptor Lai De Quan.
Dining options include Yong Yi Ting Chinese restaurant (which interestingly focuses on cuisines from Shanghai and neighbouring Jiangsu and Zhejiang, rather than the tried and tested Cantonese fare), all day dining room Zest and the relaxed modern-French 58° Grill, which is headed up by award-winning chef Richard Ekkebus from the group's Michelin-starred Amber restaurant at The Landmark Mandarin Oriental in Hong Kong.
For drinks, the sleek Qi Bar is all metal and glass with a spacious private garden terrace nestled in among the towering skyscrapers of Lujiazui. They plan to have a DJ spinning every day from 4pm and the menu has an impressive Champagne list and decent amount of wines by the glass, as well as cocktails that fall on the fruity side, such as the Shanghai Tini, made from yangmei fruit, vodka, citrus liqueur and sweet vermouth.
The real star here however is the spa, which could just be the city's most luxurious. A staggering 2,415sqm space designed in the shape of a butterfly, it comes with 13 treatment suites as well as a crystal steam room, aromatic experience showers and a tepidarium. On the fitness side there is also a 24 hour state-of-the-art gym and a stunning 25 metre swimming pool and sauna facilities.
