Shanghai Nights
AMANYANGYUN MAY BE MAKING WAVES FOR ITS everything-old-is-new-again approach, but it’s not alone. The Capella Shanghai (capellahotels.com) has gone for the traditional treatment as well, opening in the French Concession last September in a cluster of circa-1930s brick-and-stone shikumen (townhouses). The low-slung retreat is a welcome respite from the local high-rise havoc, offering elegant residences decorated with a blend of 19th-century French and traditional Chinese art and antiques.
Look up and you’ll find plenty of contemporary new overnight options, too. Set to debut on January 8 in the city’s historic Dazhongli neighborhood, the Middle House (the-house-collective .com)—a sibling of Hong Kong’s Upper House and Beijing’s Opposite House—will be pure modern-chic thanks to a slick design by Milan’s Piero Lissoni. Two more Italian masters, Antonio Citterio and Patricia Viel, are behind the forthcoming Bulgari Hotel Shanghai (bulgarihotels.com), which will soon bring a fashionable Italian restaurant and 21,528-square-foot spa to the city’s riverfront. Outposts of Ian Schrager’s trendy Edition, Las Vegas’s showy Bellagio, and Europe’s beloved Rocco Forte Hotels are also in the works for the coming year. And just opened are the St. Regis Shanghai Jingan and W Shanghai (starwoodhotels.com), the latter of which offers some of the most impressive Bund views we’ve ever seen from its rooftop lounge and pool.