Thinking of abandoning Cancun this summer for something a tad more exotic? Just beyond the hassle of negotiating a visa is Shanghai, and coming in May, its first Art Deco Boutique Hotel: the Langham Yangtze. Having taken over the old Yangtze Hotel masterpiece in 2008 for a renovation, Langham was lucky to have snatched a rare bit of Shanghai’s old world architectural glamor.
Since this will be a part of the luxurious Langham line, expect rates to be far higher than they were as the old and generically-outfitted Yangtze Hotel; something like $300 a night versus the $60 of several years ago. For this price and to rival the growing competition among luxury hotels in Shanghai, the hotel has some goodies planned.
n addition to 96 opulent guest rooms, the Langham Yangtze will be housing T’ang Court, the first location of the Michelin two-starred restaurant outside of their Hong Kong hotel, four other restaurants and China’s first Chuan Spa.
Situated in the business district yet around the corner from People’s Square in central Shanghai, the Langham is poised to return as a landmark for the area. In fact, every element of the property has been “carefully visualized to recapture the glamour and grandeur of the era when Shanghai was famed as the ‘Paris of the East,'” so perhaps we can expect the old worldly tinkling of champagne glasses and piano keys in the lobby. Until it opens, however, we are only left with the hope that the restoration will make this place gleam and stand up to the coming Waldorf-Astoria and Peninsula on the Bund, as we have high hopes for this baby.
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