Both the Beijing and Shanghai hotel markets are already crowded, but that hasn’t stopped these Chinese metropolises from attracting impressive hospitality developments. Universal Beijing Resort, for instance, a joint venture between Beijing Tourism Group and Kempinski Hotels, will open in the capital later this year, melding two different properties. Fittingly located outside the entrance to Universal Studios is the Universal Studios Grand Hotel, an homage to Hollywood’s Golden Age, while the NUO Resort Hotel – Universal Beijing Resort will be steeped in Chinese heritage and provide a more serene experience.
Among its 146 properties currently in the pipeline, according to Lodging Econometrics, Shanghai will welcome the Westbund Hotel in 2021. The project will be the first Rocco Forte Hotel in Asia, uniting the talents of the company’s director of design Olga Polizzi and London-based Muza Lab. Occupying the highest floors of a new skyscraper, it will be crowned with a rooftop bar and feature a bi-level spa, as well as a tearoom that references the Drawing Room at sister property Brown’s Hotel in London.
A rendering of the reception area at the upcoming Westbund Hotel, the first property in Asia from Rocco Forte Hotels, designed by Olga Polizzi and Muza Lab
Other notable brands are popping up in fast-growing cities. After recently opening the W Chengdu, with Glyph Design Studio at the helm, W Hotels is ramping up with properties in Changsha and Xiamen. Chengdu, the capital of China’s southwestern Sichuan province, is also the site of the newly opened Ocean Spring Resort Chengdu – MGallery, surrounded by Chendgu International Triathlon Park and containing villas with private hot spring pools, courtesy of PAL Design. Elsewhere in the country, Accor is expanding its portfolio with the Fairmont Sanya Haitang Bay (where a seawater canal will be the first to run through a hotel) and the Pullman Jiaxing Pinghu Excellence, close to Ming Lake and Jiulongshan National Forest Park.
Over the last few years, growth has been significant in Shenzhen, luring brands like Rosewood Hotels & Resorts to strengthen its Chinese foothold. In 2023, the Rosewood Shenzhen will open with interiors from BAR Studio in a building by London-based Foster + Partners that is part of a new mixed-use development.
When it opens on the edge of Ming Lake, the Pullman Jiaxing Pinghu Excellence will star a light-filled indoor pool, shown in a rendering
Hyatt too has a growing portfolio in China. Following the 2020 openings of the Andaz Xiamen, designed by the late Jaya Ibrahim and Blink Design Group, and the Park Hyatt Suzhou by Kohn Pedersen Fox and HBA, the Andaz Shenzhen Bay debuted in January (joining a handful of other Hyatt hotels in the southeastern metropolis), the handiwork of Chicago-based Goettsch Partners and New York-based tonychistudio.
“Shenzhen’s location links Hong Kong to mainland China and has become a huge hub for global tech companies. With that comes development for shopping, resorts, increasing leisure activities, and tourists,” explains Crystal Vinisse Thomas, global director of lifestyle brands for Hyatt. “And while Shenzhen has seen a recent rise in tourism over the past few years, we saw an opportunity all the way back in 2009 with our first property there, the Grand Hyatt Shenzhen.”
