Shanghai may be one
of the buzziest and most glamorous cities in the world, but it's
not a place to take a risk when it comes to choosing a hotel. The
city is sorely lacking when it comes to chic little boutique
hotels so if you want to be guaranteed of a quality hotel stay,
you need to go big- and go luxury. When we were in
Shanghai to check
out the city's best shops, we made The
Portman Ritz-Carlton our home base. Located in the
Portman Plaza, the hotel is named in
honour of its builder. The building used to be a Shangri-La hotel
but despite the name and management change, everyone still calls
it The Portman (if you're asking your taxi driver to take you
back to the hotel, just say “Portman” and everyone knows
it).
If you've come
to Shanghai to shop, you can't beat the location. Located on
Nanjing road, The
Portman Plaza is home to luxury boutiques, including Marc
Jacobs and Gucci. Just down the street is one of the city's
most luxurious shopping centers, Plaza 66, which has Prada,
Valentino, Chanel and Christian Dior stores. All
of Nanjing Road is basically one big shopping street, but few of the
stores are upmarket. There are murmurings of plans to turn it
into China's
version of Fifth
Avenue.
But if you're
looking for top shopping tips, make sure your first stop is the
concierge desk at the Portman Ritz-Carlton. The whip-smart
concierge staff have excellent shopping recommendations, whether
you're looking for custom tailored suits, some silk bargains or
beautiful antiques. When it comes to picking a tailor, definitely
ask the concierge for a suggestion as they can help to arrange
fittings in your room. The patient staff will also write out all
the directions in Chinese to show your taxi driver, as well as
make sure you have a handy directions card listed with everyday
phrases such as “Take me back to my hotel” to make navigating
simpler.
But this level of
service is what guests can expect from a Ritz-Carlton and make it
all the more crucial in a place like Shanghai where, because of
language barriers, it's hard for guests to get around. The hotel
has all the hallmarks of a Ritz Carlton experience- elegance,
prompt service, a wide range of facilities and every amenity you
can think of.
The
hotel has 598 rooms and caters to both business and leisure
travellers. Our room was on the Club Level floor, which gave us
24 hour access to the lounge, which is ideal for meetings, or
simply refuelling and chilling out. The lounge serves five meals
a day so it's great for a quick bite or a relaxing cocktail at
the end of a long shopping day. Club Level guests also have a
dedicated check-in desk so they can bypass the busier lines in
the lobby. Our room had recently been refurbished in shades of
gold and brown and the décor was contemporary with Chinese
touches, all with a nod to Shanghai's Art Deco past. One
piece of furniture in the room looked like an ancient herbal
medicine chest but was actually used to store the television. The
curtains were a delicately patterned gold to match the gold
carpet.
Out of all the big
luxury hotel groups, I have to confess that Ritz-Carlton
bathrooms are my favourites (especially the ones on Central Park
South in New
York). Why? Because they are huge, have
plenty of pale marble, plus oodles of storage and separate
showers and baths. The bathroom at the Portman Ritz Carlton was
just as spacious as I would have expected.
When
it comes to dining, there are no shortages of choices in the
Ritz-Carlton. The hotel has a total of six restaurants and
lounges, serving Chinese, Italian and Japanese food. Afternoon
tea is served in the lobby, often to the sounds of a string
quartet. If you're visiting Shanghai, make sure to sample
the city's dumplings. And in case you have been on the road for
awhile and are craving a skinny soy latte, no worries. The
Portman Plaza
is also home to a Starbucks as well as a California
Pizza Kitchen and a Tony Roma's if you're really, really
desperate.
Although we didn't
have time to sample it because we were busy going nuts at the
fabric market, the Portman Ritz-Carlton's Health Club is one of
the largest in Shanghai. It has indoor and
outdoor swimming pools, squash and racquetball courts and a fully
equipped gymnasium with aerobics, and t'ai chi classes. Or you
could just get a workout by lugging your shopping bags around
town.
Rates start
at 2580 (CNY) per night ($340 USD)
The Portman
Ritz-Carlton, Shanghai
1376, Nanjing
Xi Lu
Shanghai, 200040
China
Phone: (86 21) 6279 8888
www.ritzcarlton.com/en/Properties/Shanghai
Click here
for iTravel iShop's shopping guide to Shanghai
