Remember when the Park Hyatt opened and we all ooohed and aaahed over its elegant white walls, blond wood furniture and subtle lighting. Shanghai was ready to embrace a future of tasteful elegance and refined sophistication. Well, folks, that was way back in 2008 and guest what – it turns out minimalism was simply a passing fad. Wanda’s new Reign on the Bund hotel leads the new charge of ‘more is more’ venues that reminds us just how much fun unbridled extravagance can be, and then some. Watch out Vegas, Shanghai is coming for you.
Wanda, the Chinese mega-conglomerate, has been busy furiously buying and developing commercial properties the world over, but it’s Shanghai that they’ve picked for their top level, flagship hotel. And when your CEO is Wang Jianlin, the country’s richest man, you don’t do things by halves that’s for sure. It’s very clear that no expense has been spared here – and whilst the building’s exterior has been overseen by none other than British ‘starchitects’ Foster and Partners, it’s the interior design by the company’s own Wanda Design Institute that is very much the star of the show here.
Whilst the hotel, like many, takes Shanghai’s Art Deco motifs as inspiration, its seen fit to inflate them to vast proportions, splash them in gold and dip them in diamonds before projecting holograms all over them. And that’s just the lobby.
Seriously, though, exploring the place is a genuine kick in a through-the-looking-glass type way. It’s hard to pick a favorite space: the guestrooms come replete with vintage style tubs and silver walls, the swimming pool has a giant LED screen that depicts trippy giant water splashes in vivid blue. It’s the dining venues though the really seal the deal – the old school theme of Chinese restaurant River Drunk leads into a cave from which you emerge into Japanese sushi bar He with a shoal of golden fish swimming above your head. It’s to top floor restaurant and bar MARC, overseen by Michelin-starred chef Marc Meneau, that we’ll most likely return to first though. Here, a contemporary Versaille-style décor is dominated by an unusual sculpture of a motorbike. Why? No one seems to know but it doesn’t matter since behind it all is one of the most impressive terraces that we’ve seen in a while. A fabulous view of Pudong’s skyscrapers reminds us of one thing that Wanda clearly remembered when they conceived this place: in Shanghai it’s go big or go home.
Wanda Reign on the Bund is located at 538 Zhongshan East 2nd Road (Tel: 021-5368-8888). Rooms start from 3,800 RMB ++ per night.