Legends live on at Shangri-La

"Shangri-La's oldest tradition is hospitality to strangers," says Chang, a monk in James Hilton's novel Lost Horizon, as he welcomes his stranded guest to a magical lamasery hidden from the outside world.

While the eponymous hotel in Shanghai's Pudong district is far removed from Tibet's uncharted glacial peaks, it manages to bring this sense of exoticism, mystique and effortless hospitality to the modern metropolis.

"It's all about understanding the needs of the individual," says general manager Cetin Sekercioglu, when asked about the hotel's acclaimed personalized service.

"Everybody says we're more friendly and warm than the other five-stars they've stayed in, and we work hard to differentiate ourselves in this way."

The color scheme of the re-designed River Wing, one of two towers that make up the 952-roomed hotel, certainly has a warm glow about it. The deluxe rooms are painted in a palette of beige, egg-white and soft yellow, with floral wallpaper and a Chinese peony pattern decorating the bed-linen.

Renovation work on the River Wing was finished in September after a 20-month overhaul, and the hard work has paid off. Business moguls and visiting dignitaries can now hold court at one of two luxury meeting rooms below ground. Called the Chairman's Room and President's Room, they cost $2.5 million to build and come with their own respective car parks and dedicated teams of butlers and chefs. The latter even has a private bar, billiards room and fireplace.

While many guests see the hotel's proximity to the Huangpu River as one of its biggest attractions - they can enjoy what Sekercioglu calls "the best view in town" from the comfort of their bed or bathtub - the CHI spa transports visitors to a magical place usually found only in works of fiction.

With its expansive size (800 sq m), atmospheric lighting, Chinese and Tibetan artifacts and cocooned interiors, the spa lives up to Sekercioglu's claim that "We designed everything to be unique."

The basic concept fuses ancient healing traditions, philosophies and rituals from China and the Himalayas. Its signature therapy, Chi Balance, integrates the five elements theory of traditional Chinese medicine: metal, water, wood, fire and earth.

While the hotel, one of the success stories of Hong Kong-based Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, was the first international hotel to open in Pudong in 1998, there is no sense of it having been left behind in the ensuing decade.

The Grand Tower, designed by New York-based architect Kohn Pedersen Fox and unveiled in 2005, distinguishes itself from the older River Wing with its modern technological equipment. All rooms in the tower enjoy the full array of Shangri-La amenities, including broadband Internet, data ports and IDD, satellite TV and 24-hour room service.

Meanwhile, weddings at the Shangri-La are the stuff that dreams of made of, especially for Chinese women. Apart from ranking as the only hotel on the mainland that offers Vera Wang wedding veils, it also organizes a range of exciting themes, bridal gowns and gifts.

Shi Yingying

(China Daily 11/14/2009 page8)