Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts is launching its first property under the five-star Kerry brand, the Kerry Hotel Pudong Shanghai. The 574-room hotel is expected to open in February 2011.
Kerry Hotel Pudong is part of the larger Kerry Parkside integrated complex, consisting of an A-grade office tower, serviced apartments and a retail component, directly linked to the Shanghai International Exhibition Centre.
The new property is different from Shangri-La's Kerry Centre Hotel in Beijing, which opened some years ago as part of the Kerry Centre, also comprising offices, serviced residences, a club house and retail offerings. “But at the time, management was not thinking of a future brand,” explained Betty Lau, Kerry Hotel Pudong’s director of sales and marketing. That hotel belongs to the Shangri-La portfolio, and whether it will be rebranded and brought into the Kerry fold remains to be seen.
The Pudong hotel, Lau said may presage the opening of other Kerry Hotels around China and the region, but added that it was still too early to tell where these might be located.
While positioned as five-star property, like sister brand Shangri-La, Kerry hotels, said Lau, would exude a more “contemporary-lifestyle” tone.
She said: “We’re part of the Shangri-La group but we intend to redefine the traditional business hotel environment, offering a more relaxed type of ambiance and service to be reflected in aspects such as our food and beverage outlets. For example, we plan to have a brewery.”
Guestrooms will be large, she said, measuring between 42sqm and 63sqm.
For more details about the Kerry brand, visit www.shangri-la.com
Margie T Logarta
