The Edition Shanghai

The new Shanghai Edition immediately rises to the top of the Bund hotel consideration set.

For my birthday I decided to treat myself to a little staycation at the newly opened Edition in the old Bund area of Shanghai. Unlike Studio 54 impresario Ian Schrager’s early hotel developments in New York like The Paramount or The Hudson, the Edition is not a hip club masquerading as a hotel. It’s supremely sophisticated and stylish, yes, but it’s first and foremost a hotel—pretty much exactly from a Schrager-Marriott collaboration.

The design throughout is sharp yet livable. It feels almost homey. The lobby and adjacent public areas are stunning, marked by a tastefully illuminated bar and lounge and a sort of hanging garden suspended from the sky high ceiling above the quiet fireplace gathering space. Just off the main lobby is the beautiful Shanghai Tavern restaurant, a delicious European brasserie and just one of the many dining options in the hotel. There’s also the clubby Canton Disco and a stylish Japanese restaurant called Hiya overlooking the Bund. Just off Hiya is an incredible rooftop garden and a reservation-only cocktail lounge. And, yes, there’s bouncing nightclub called Electric Circus, in the Schrager tradition, though I didn’t take in its neon lights and pulsating beats.

Unlike Schrager’s original hotels, the rooms are not afterthoughts. They’re large, stylish and wonderfully comfortable. They offer dazzling views of Pudong’s famous skyline through floor-to-ceiling windows from both the main living area and the bath. There’s simply no denying temptation to draw a warm bath and laze away an afternoon pruning your skin and admiring the views.

I don’t typically recommend visitors to Shanghai stay on the Bund. The hotels are generally expensive and the area is not particularly convenient if you want to get out and explore the more off-the-beaten path parts of the city. But the Edition proves an exception.

Hotel Website: The Edition Shanghai