An estimated 70 million visitors are expected to attend the World Expo 2010 during its six-month run. On average, this amounts to 400,000 visitors per day. To accommodate the crowds, 500 star-rated hotels will be open for business during the event.
Li Bincheng, director of the Shanghai Municipal Tourism Administration International Promotion Department, says: “Most international hotel brands are already present in Shanghai. World Expo is a good chance for Shanghai to promote its resources and increase competition in the industry. People will see an improvement in service standards during the event.”
POPULAR VENUE
A popular venue for meetings, Pullman Shanghai Skyway is across the river from the World Expo site, a 15-minute drive away. It’s one of the closest five-star hotels to the site in Puxi and offers 653 guestrooms.
People’s Square is 3km from the World Expo site and there are a number of hotels in the area offering easy access to the event as well as a central downtown location. The 761-room Le Royal Meridien is two minutes from People’s Square metro station and a 15-minute drive from the Expo site.
Nearby, The Langham, Yangtze Boutique offers a choice of accommodation for small groups. The Art Deco hotel has 96 luxury rooms and meeting spaces that cater for up to 200 delegates. Across People’s Square, JW Marriott Tomorrow Square is known for its events catering expertise. It has a ballroom which seats 720 and a rooftop terrace with spectacular city views.
Moving towards Shanghai’s iconic waterfront, the Westin Bund Center offers 570 guestrooms and is a 20-minute drive to the World Expo site.
On the northern end of the Bund, Hyatt on the Bund, with 631 guestrooms, offers great views of the river bend. Guests can enjoy the contrast of the ultramodern Pudong skyline with the historic colonial buildings of the Bund.
Renaissance Zhongshan Park is an hour’s drive from the Expo site, but offers extensive meeting facilities for up to 1,400 people. Longemont Hotel located nearby, also has meeting spaces for 1,200 participants and more than 500 guestrooms. The hotel is 30 minutes from the World Expo site.
Across the Huangpu River in Pudong, Four Points by Sheraton has 326 guestrooms and is next to Sheraton Pudong, with 525 guestrooms. Both hotels, which are only five minutes from the Expo site, hosted a series of official events leading up to the World Expo. The Shanghai New International Expo Centre is 10 minutes away.
Also in the Lujiazui financial district is the Grand Hyatt, still an arresting sight despite newer and higher contenders. All 555 guestrooms have floor-to-ceiling windows and stunning views of the city.
NEW OPENINGS
The city also has a number of new hotels. David Liu, China Director of Ovation, the destination management arm of MCI China, says: “In the period before Expo, many hotels in Shanghai underwent refurbishment. Service is generally getting better.” Located in Pudong’s Lujiazui financial district, the first Gran Melia hotel in China opened late last year. It has 686 guestrooms and 17 meeting rooms, including a ballroom that can hold up to 800 people.
Nearby, Ritz-Carlton Pudong will open in early 2010. Part of a mixed-use complex with residential, office and retail space, the hotel’s 286 guestrooms will be located on floors 39 through to 51 of the 60-storey building.
The Expo Village, which will host exhibitors and other participants, is expected to be completed in the first quarter of the year. The most luxurious accommodation on-site comes in the form of the InterContinental Shanghai Expo. Its 400 guestrooms will overlook either the Expo site or the Huangpu River. The property, which incorporates nine refurbished heritage buildings, will also have two ballrooms and an outdoor event area.
Peninsula Shanghai is the first new building on the historic Bund waterfront in five years. There is no mistaking the touches of luxury in its 235 guestrooms. There are four themed suites and the Rose Ballroom has an impressive domed marble ceiling. For special events of up to 200 guests, the Rooftop Palace Suite terrace with marquee is a good choice.
Also along the Bund, Shanghai’s grand dame of hotels will make a timely return in the first quarter of 2010 in the form of the Fairmont Peace Hotel.
In addition to the 269 guestrooms and expansive outdoor terrace with views of the Bund, the recent renovations have added a swimming pool and a spa to one of the world’s most famous hotels.