Les Suites Orient, Bund Shanghai

To read it from the newspapers over the last few years you’d think Beijing was unequivocally the capital of the Chinese building boom. But on the Bund in Shanghai, architectural expression has long been the order of the day. It’s here that Les Suites, in their first expansion from Taiwan to the mainland, has set up shop, constructing a brand-new 23-story Art Deco tower as the setting for their latest hotel, Les Suites Orient Bund Shanghai.

At 168 studios and suites it’s larger than both the original Les Suites hotels combined, and the high-rise format is a departure from the low-slung compound layouts of its sisters. But the translation seems effortless — these suites are just as effortlessly stylish, and the atmosphere, however urban the surroundings, is just as calming. The design is at once cosmopolitan and idiomatically Chinese, and modern through and through.

The fixtures and fittings are modern as well, which is to be expected, but among Les Suites’ greatest strengths is something decidedly low-tech: the views. There really isn’t a bad one in the house, overlooking as they do either the Bund, the river, or the Shanghai city skyline. And despite its high-rise plan, Les Suites keeps a discreet atmosphere throughout — there’s a gym as well as some meeting rooms, and a lounge and cigar bar for socializing, but there’s little of the circus ambience of the busiest grand hotels.

Travel advisory: Passport and visa requirements differ from country to country. Please check with your local authority before booking.