Welcome To Wonderland

I only found out about this hotel when I stumbled upon a BBC TV show - Amazing Hotels - Life Beyond The Lobby - that featured it. It's the Intercontinental Hotel Sheshan, about an hour's drive from downtown Shanghai, although it took us almost 3 hours as it was the beginning of the 5-day May Labour Day holiday. What's unusual about this hotel is that it is an "earth scraper", built in an abandoned quarry. The entire structure, designed by British architect Martin Jochman, is built downwards from ground level, 88 meters to the quarry floor, with the two lowest floors submerged under water.

The structure and setting is indeed impressive and rooms here aren't cheap, starting at around 2,000 RMB per night. It's like an upside down hotel with the lobby at ground level and then the most expensive "penthouse" suites costing around 20,000 RMB per night on the 15th floor, which is at the very bottom of the building.

All of the rooms overlook the rock face of the quarry which turns into a massive projection screen each night as they put on an animated light show that involves over 30 projectors and 18 lasers and 80 speakers. Guests can enjoy the show from the comfort of their rooms, like having your own private theatre box.

There's also a water and light show in the main lobby several times per day, although this is on a much smaller scale than the rock face show.

The rooms are very well appointed with free wifi, complimentary water and soft drinks, high quality toiletries and a nice balcony to enjoy the show or just sit and drink a cup of coffee in the morning.

The Verdict
So is it worth visiting? Well, there's no doubting this is a very impressive place to visit if you don't mind the long drive from central Shanghai. I did feel though that they are relying too much on the unique setting and design and the hotel itself was lacking enough attractions to keep guests occupied when not marvelling at the structure or enjoying the 20 minute light show.

There was meant to be a bar on the 14th floor called The Quarry and I was looking forward to a drink with my wife after putting our son to sleep. However, we discovered it was not operating and we were directed to the lobby lounge instead, but this was really an area filled with guests waiting for transportation or for the light show and just didn't have the same vibe as a dedicated bar. My feeling is that they aren't getting enough guest traffic and have had to scale back some of the facilities as a result, which is a pity.

I would recommend Shanghai Wonderland if you have the time, but one night's stay is more than enough and I can't think of any reason to extend beyond that.

Address:
Chen Hua Road No. 5888, Songjiang District Shanghai, Shanghai 201619
上海松江区辰花路5888号