Lunch at The Ritz-Carlton Shanghai, Pudong

On the 13^th January we arrived and visited The Ritz-Carlton Shanghai, Pudong to meet the lovely Jessica, Sales Manager and Maggie, Assistant Director of Catering & Conferences services. The hotel has 285 guest rooms and suites, 4 restaurants and bars, an extensive health club with personal training services, swimming pool, gym and squash courts. 

We had lunch at the Jin Zuan Restaurant –located on the 53^rd floor, and restaurant can seat 52 guests, six private dining rooms of 64 seats and two VIP private dining rooms of 40 seats. The five-course lunch was certainly a big treat on arrival to China, the food was delicious, being Chinese myself, I would classify the cuisine as high-end Chinese cuisine.

The Ritz-Carlton has five different dining experiences; Scena which offers Italian cuisine with a total dining of 133 seats and a private dining room for 18 guests, also located on the 52^nd floor is Aura, which offers afternoon tea and coffee during the day, then in the evening the atmosphere changes into a jazz entertainment night which seats a total of 130 guests. On the 1^st floor there is Aroma, which presents casual seating serving coffee and other refreshing beverages with a casual western menu. Finally Flair located on the 58^th Floor, amazing isn’t enough to describe how truly breath taking the view was. This restaurant serves Asian style tapas and has a raw seafood bar – the outdoor terrace would be a great venue for summer evenings, seating both outdoor and indoor for 239 guests.

The bedrooms all contained amazing marble bathtubs, which was transported from no less than Italy itself. The bathtub alone was amazing let alone the rest of the décor in every room which was designed between a classic luxury look with Asian and European twists.

There are a grand total of 15 meeting spaces at the Ritz, the Grand Ballroom holds 1,188 theatre style –difficult to believe that a hotel can hold that many people in one space. Jessica showed us their capabilities of all the spaces, they ability to alter the rooms accordingly to the brief.

The hotel represents timeless class which is different to find in some countries, the exquisite design and personal and attentive staff service truly make a difference.

For further event enquiries or information for events in Shanghai or globally please do not hesitate to contact our Senior Events Manager Anita Engebretsen at anita@emc3.eu.

By Ellen Lai 

Mandarin Oriental, Pudong, Shanghai 

Part of the Mandarin Oriental portfolio stands the beautifully new Mandarin Oriental, Shanghai overlooking the Pudong River. On Saturday 18th January 2014, Anita and I ventured to the hotel to enjoy the Spa …revitalising after a few busy days.  The concept of the spa was after you feel “reborn”. Definitely a mutual feeling for us. After our Oriental massage’s,  we were escorted to the relaxation room where there were jet-black leather lounge chairs with huge white crescent pillows overlooking a tranquil and secluded garden which was purposely built one level down into the spa. We were offered various healthy refreshments, the chairs even had in-built iPods and the capability to charge your phone – could you want anymore?!

Vicky, the Sales Manager informed us The Spa at The Mandarin Oriental, Shanghai had 8888 butterfly models in the spa and fitness centre. The significant being 8 is the lucky number for the Chinese; originating from the number sounding like the word meaning “to generate wealth”.

During this time we were shown the largest residential suite in Shanghai (Jackie Chan was the first person to stay in this suite!,  there are a total of 362 new bedrooms including this luxurious suite. The Mandarin Oriental is located on a new street, so new it wasn’t familiar to the cab driver #trendsetters anyone?

Not stopping there, the event spaces are located on the lower ground boasting two ballrooms, five function rooms, three boardrooms and a unique outdoor space adjacent to the river. One of the event spaces can be used as a communal/break-out room, which also has a chef on call – they can conjure anything up for your special event. The Grand Ballroom a contemporary design with a beautiful crystal chandelier can fit up to 450 banquet style and 750 theatre style, it can also be divided up into smaller rooms for break-out rooms, or smaller functions and is unique for its high ceilings. The Oriental Ballroom mirrors the Grand Ballroom in style, but is on a smaller scale fitting up to 250 guests. The external space offers a lovely alternative to overlooking the Huangpu River and if a perfect place to have a reception and with a capacity up to 2,000 guests! A unique selling point about their event spaces the foyer area offers massage chairs where delegates can take a couple minute to unwind.

Presidential Suite

The general décor corresponded with China’s theme of Marble however, a Master national-level artist, Mr Lai De Quan especially painted 43 porcelain artworks for the Mandarin Oriental, Shanghai. There was also the stonewall mosaic which from a far was a scene of trees.

We then had dinner at Fifty 8 degree grill – though a steakhouse the vegetarian options were equally delicious. The restaurant name comes from the perfect temperature to cook steak at medium rare. Fair to say- Dan was in food heaven! The contemporary French grill from Michelin-starred chef Richard Ekkebus was a lovely experience and the imported wines in glass wine cabinets at the entrance in a hallway style adding something different to the restaurant.

After dinner we went to see the apartments these are used for those who want to stay long-term, to be eligible for this you must rent the apartment for a minimum of one week – the standard amenities all include a kitchen, living room, lovely bathroom and bedroom and an amazing city or harbour view! If you want to feel at home this is definitely something I would recommend for longer stays in Shanghai.

Overall, the hotel was one of the best hotels I had ever visited, the atmosphere was lovely – the staff were very attentive and helpful – if you have any further events requirements or enquiries in Shanghai or beyond please do not hesitate to contact our Senior Events Manager, Anita Engebretsen at anita@emc3.eu

By Ellen Lai