Shanghai Marriott by Caroline Major

The centre of Shanghai is Puxi, at the heart of which is People’s Square in turn flanked by the Grand Theatre, The Shanghai Museum, The Art Museum and the JW Marriott at Tomorrow Square. It’s so central that all distances in the province are measured from here. It follows then that the hotel with its 38th floor lobby offers sweeping views of shimmering Shanghai. If you plan on working from home while in Shanghai, ask for a room which faces People's Square.

The ambiance at the JW Marriott is unusual and for our money, is the key U.S.P for this hotel. Most people in Shanghai are doing business. It’s not a tourist city and offers few attractions for the leisure traveler but Shanghai is the key port shipping all those ‘Made In China’ labeled goods to the global economy. It’s a 24 hour city where most likely, the people at the table next to you will be doing deals at midnight and be up at dawn ready to start again. What the JW Marriott offers is the feeling of being at home. Warm, cosy rooms with textiles you might have in your own home, normal windows that don’t let in the cold, staff who give you an acknowledging look in the eye but don’t intrude, a choice of soaps and a lift system that doesn’t stop on every floor to pick up passengers while you’re in your bathrobe on the way back from the gym. The corridors manage to feel like a home, with centrally placed furniture, bowls of fruit and flowers, interesting paintings and textural details that distinguish. Moody lighting is relaxing and there’s places to sit while you wait for the elevators.

Add the best gymnasium, spa and swimming pool in the city, fine restaurants and bar that makes great cocktails with an inspired view over the neon playground that is Shanghai and you’ve a winning base for those business deals.