Recommend October 2011 - (Page 32)

PEnInSuLA shanghai & hong kong The Peninsula Hong Kong offers a fleet of Rolls-Royce Phantoms for guests. of extreme contrasts combining the attributes of both East and West… with its good and its bad, offering a paradise for adventurers.” This was the Jazz Age at its apex and in keeping with Shanghai’s tradition, Peninsula Hotels last year opened the doors to a 14-story pleasure dome with 235 rooms and suites that just might be the finest hotel in mainland China. This is something of the return of the prodigal son, as the hotel’s corporate parent, Hong Kong & Shanghai Hotels Ltd., originally began operations in Shanghai in 1866 and had expanded into a 4-hotel conglomerate before closing Shanghai operations in 1949 due to political turmoil. According to corporate sources, Peninsula was offered the opportunity to return to Shanghai a few years ago, but a decision was made by higher-ups that the firm would wait until a prime location was available. The Chinese government razed the Friendship Department Store (a Communist showcase that ironically was available only to foreigners and well-connected party members) that stood on what originally had been the grounds of the British Consulate, HSH acquired the property, setting the wheels in motion for restoring some of Shanghai’s faded glamour. It did so in spades. This is a property that although it has two feet firmly planted in the present, feels like an old-style hotel that pampered the very rich from a bygone era. “People have forgotten that travel can be glamorous,” says Joseph W. Y. Chong, hotel manager. “We want to bring back that feeling. This hotel retains the elegance of the past, but represents the new generation of the family.” The sense of luxury and glamour is evident from the minute your chauffeured Rolls-Royce (the hotel has a fleet of BMWs that pick up guests at the airport; Rolls-Royces are sent to fetch guests staying in particular suites) purrs under the Peninsula’s porte-cochere to be greeted by fawning attendants. The exterior is rather understated, giving little hint to the luxury inside its doors. The place awes at first sight. 32 october 2011 It is an Art-Deco masterpiece that, although brand new, feels like one is visiting the mansion of a well-heeled 1930s tycoon. The lobby is a massive marble masterpiece with cathedral ceilings where a string quartet plays the classics. A grand marble staircase dominates the reception area that’s constantly bathed with natural light filtering from skylights that give it a hue designed to highlight superb floral arrangements everywhere. Exclusive boutiques lie discreetly along a marble, well-lighted corridor where Chanel stands as the hotel’s flagship shop. The upper floors are elegant, as befits a property of this type where deluxe rooms are the norm. They measure more than 600 sq. ft. with marble-floored foyers, huge dressing rooms, ample closet space, a dressing table with adjustable lighting, shelves for luggage and even a built-in electric nail polish dryer. Off the dressing room lies a large bath with a soaking tub, two independent vanities and a glass rain shower stall. The rooms and suites all have excellent adjustable lighting. The sitting area is full of amenities, including daily fresh fruit stacked tastefully on china plates on a glass table in front of a settee. There are down pillows and Frette linens covering beds the size of a hockey rink. Modern geeks will probably have a valid excuse never to leave their room. Hand-painted black lacquer screens roll down at the push of a button to hide huge flat-screen TVs. The curtains in the rooms are all electrically wired. Everything operates from keypads, and—most conveniently—every electrical outlet is dual voltage, making traveling with electric adapters a thing of the past. Guests will delight in iPod docking stations that filter their playlists through unseen speakers throughout the room. There’s even a keypad on the bathtub wall to operate the radio or the built-in TV at the foot of the tub. Perhaps the hotel’s most impressive amenity is the free use of international telephone calls. More cynical guests, of course, will say that for the price one pays to bunk here (prices run from approximately $950 per night for a luxury room, to about $1,500 per night for a riverfront suite) phone calls should be free, but it’s a convenience other upscale hotels would do well to adopt. Laundry is also complimentary. The restaurants here are already a legend. Sir Elly is an Art-Deco wonder on the 13th floor where food preparation has reached heights unseen in Shanghai since the city’s golden era. Yi Long Court, the hotel’s Chinese restaurant, looks like the mansion of a 1920s Chinese tycoon. It is accented with mahogany trimmings while fireplaces give it a warm feeling that contrasts nicely with the view of the cold river way below. You sit on red leather stools at tables framed by red curtains while enjoying great Cantonese cuisine prepared by a Michelin-rated chef. Even the chopstick rests are delightful: silver Chinese junks that just beg to be filched and taken home as conversation pieces or souvenirs from a memorable stay in an equally memorable hotel. n Archived related articles (available on recommend.com): Thailand’s Koh Samui (August 2011) contact information Cathay Pacific: (800) 233-2742; cathaypacific.com Peninsula Hotels: (866) 382-8388; peninsula.com recommend.com http://www.recommend.com http://www.cathaypacific.com http://www.peninsula.com http://www.recommend.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Recommend October 2011

Editor's Notes/Agent Speak
Hotel Desk: Coworth Park, London
Tour Talk: Cox & Kings
Paws Up Ups "Glamping" to New Heights
"Alpine" Adventure at Four Seasons Resort Vail
Hotel Beaux Arts Miami
Out & About in New York City
Adventures on Hayman Island
It's the Good Life at The Leela Kovalam Beach
Peninsula Shanghai & Hong Kong
Silversea's Silver Spirit
Thailand Travel Planner
Luxury in the Wilderness, by Best of Patagonia
Savoring St. Vincent & the Grenadines
CuisinArt Resort & Spa, Anguilla
Luxurious Egypt
A Good Turn for Bern, Switzerland
Mexico's Luxury Trail

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