Fairmont Peace Hotel welcomes visitors for private viewings on March 28, lifting the curtain on one of Shanghai's most historic icons as it emerges from a three-year restoration.
"We are targeting the official opening late this spring," hotel manager Kamal Naamani told Business Traveller. "Peace Hotel has been the social heart of Shanghai and has always enjoyed a mix of local and international clientele. We expect our business mix will be 60 percent from Mainland China, 28 percent from Hongkong, 10 percent from North America, 10 percent from across Asia and 12 percent from the UK and Europe."
The private viewings are timed to start with the re-opening of Shanghai's Bund area, which has been undergoing traffic reconfiguration. Infrastructure such as flyovers, roadways and an historic bridge have been ripped up to follow the city's masterplan transforming the Bund into a unique pedestrian attraction, with much of vehicle traffic being diverted underground.
"The restoration integrates the hotel's art deco origins with the level of comfort, elegance and convenience that today's five-star hotel guests have come to expect," said Naamani.
The 12-storey hotel now features a low-rise extension at the back, which houses additional guestrooms as well as a spa and sky-lit swimming pool. Total room count is 270.
Some plans designed for the restoration were jettisoned. The ground floor, which should have included a luxury shopping centre, retains its classic crucifix floorplan, with revolving entrance doors on all four sides. The splendid octagonal glass skylight and the entire mezzanine level – which was concealed by gypsum boards for decades – is visible once more. At the back of the house, the hotel now boasts new mechanical and electrical systems for plumbing, heating and ventilation.
Business travellers can look forward to the Fairmont Gold, the hotel's club floor experience, which offers guests an exclusive dedicated check-in and check-out area as well as access privileges to the Fairmont Gold Lounge for complimentary internet access, Continental breakfast, afternoon tea and evening cocktails with canapes.
All 44 Fairmont Gold Rooms are located on the 7th floor and are fitted with a 37-inch plasma TV, a bath-side LCD screen, Blu-Ray DVD player and a plug-and-play wireless broadband connectivity among others.
Fairmont Peace Hotel is now offering an introductory nightly rate starting from CNY2,600 (US$380) for a Fairmont Room. The hotel also has an introductory package that allows guests to book three nights and getting the fourth night free. This runs until August 31.
For more details, visit www.fairmont.com
Gigi Onag 
