Shanghai's newest five-star offering, The Peninsula, may not be historic, but China tours it is based on the design of a 1920s merchant's home – the kind that typified the stretch of the historic Bund which this first-class hotel overlooks. This is arguably the city's very best hotel and is the only one of note that boasts such excellent views of both the Bund and the skyscraper-filled skyline of Pudong on the opposite side of the Huangpu River. There are all the modern gadgets you could wish for, but the rooms here are designed so tastefully and with such elegance that you hardly notice the plasma-screen TV, espresso machine or iPod dock.
Spanning the 79th to 93rd floors of the towering Shanghai World Financial Centre, the Park Hyatt is Yangtze River cruises the tallest hotel in Shanghai and the second tallest in the world. More than just a record breaker, this magnificent hotel boasts impeccable service, top-notch facilities and an art gallery-like interior design. High walled corridors with brown-fabric and grey-stone textures lead to luxurious rooms with think-of-everything quirks such as a mist-free bathroom mirror containing a small TV screen, a rainforest shower in the middle of the bathroom ceiling, a plug socket in the safe for your laptop and a toilet seat that opens automatically as you approach it! The outrageously good views go without saying.
Before being superseded by its even taller, even grander next-door neighbour the Park Hyatt, the Grand Hyatt (which spans the top 34 floors of the majestic Jinmao Tower) was the place to stay in Shanghai. It is still pretty swanky with big, educational tours in China comfortable beds and huge windows that afford fabulous city views (especially in the deluxe rooms), and the service is stellar. Some say the interior is looking a bit dated these days, but no one can argue that the vertigo-inducing view down the spectacular inner atrium is not something special.
Purely indulgent stays
Shanghai's first city-centre resort, PuLi is an oasis of calm in the heart of the bustling Jing'an district. The spa "menu" is apparently inspired by the detoxifying effects of China's green teas, but there are Indian- and Thai-based massage treatments too. And just in case you are not feeling relaxed enough after your luxury rub-down, you can retreat to your room to enjoy China business tour the sleep-inducing rhythms of your own personal wave-sound music system.
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