A hotel that feels borrowed from the 1920s — but with a bathroom fitted with a 'spa' button — sits at the southern end of The Bund, facing the Pudong skyline across the Huangpu River. A reviewer from The Independent Travel checked into The Peninsula Shanghai and came away impressed by its old-school hospitality and vintage styling.
The 235-room property opened in 2009 but leans hard into Art Deco: tall ceilings, dark wood, black lacquer and chrome, plus a lobby that fills up each afternoon with guests and locals taking afternoon tea to live music. The location is a big part of the appeal. Rooms on the river side look straight at the Oriental Pearl tower, the 632-metre Shanghai Tower and the World Financial Centre's 'Bottle Opener' silhouette. Step outside and you're among The Bund's historic architecture, plus boutiques from trending Chinese brands like Songmont and To Summe.
Service is where the Peninsula brand earns its reputation. Guests can ping staff via a 'PenChat' message system for anything from a clothes steamer to extra bath salts, and a discreet valet box handles deliveries and laundry without anyone knocking on your door. Rooms come with walk-in dressing areas, same-day dry cleaning, daily fruit baskets and turn-down service. The bathrooms steal the show — twin full-size sinks flanking a large tub with an Art Deco stone carving, and dimmable spa lighting at the press of a button. At the top end, The Peninsula Suite offers two bedrooms, a working fireplace and a 12-seat dining room.
Food is a genuine draw rather than an afterthought. Yi Long Court holds a Michelin star for its Cantonese cooking — chef Jacky Zhang's tasting menu runs from dim sum and fragrant broths to flaky cod and Cantonese sweets. Up on the 13th floor, Sir Elly's serves Northern Italian dishes such as Iberico pork ravioli and wagyu, with cocktails against the skyline as it lights up. Facilities include a 25-metre indoor pool styled like a Jazz Age ocean liner, a gym, a spa offering Ayurvedic treatments, and Rolls-Royce transfers if you want to arrive in period-appropriate style.
Practicalities check out too. Connecting rooms and a kids' programme make it workable for families, there are accessible rooms with roll-in showers and visual alarms, and check-in runs from 2pm (6am on request) with 12pm checkout that can stretch to 10pm. No pets, though. The trade-off, as the review notes, is that this isn't the hotel for fans of modern minimalism — the glamour is deliberately, gloriously retro.
For anyone planning a Shanghai city break who wants location, views and service polished to a 1930s sheen, this is about as central and as stylish as it gets.
