Hotels

The new, slightly more youthful sub-brand from the venerable Shangri-La chain is off to a roaring start in Shanghai: the Kerry Hotel Pudong is the Kerry flagship, and in Shanghai it’s supported by the whole Kerry Parkside complex, effectively adding a shopping mall and an office tower to the Kerry’s five-star offerings (not to mention close proximity to the Shangai New International Expo Centre).

If you’ve stayed at a Shangri-La — or just about any Asian luxury chain — then you’ll quickly grasp the Kerry concept: top-flight luxury in the rooms, an exhaustive list of business and leisure services, big-name restaurants and bars, and a highly professionalized approach to service. In the Kerry’s case you can add a conservatively contemporary visual style and an atmosphere that’s a touch less formal than its Shangri-La counterpart.

Some things don’t change: there’s still seven floors of Club accommodation, the luxury-hotel equivalent of flying business class. But when it comes to food and drink, the Kerry Pudong has some welcome surprises in store, its formal Cantonese restaurant joined by a casual steakhouse, a gourmet food shop with an associated cafe and lounge, and an artisanal craft brewery, surely unique in Chinese luxury hotels, serving beers hand-made by the resident brew master.

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