Shanghai: 5 Places to Stay

Perched between the Bund and People's Square, this 570-room hotel attracts a mixed clientele of corporate high rollers, Asian celebs, and global leisure seekers. The bustling lobby, with its atrium bar, potted palms, and a cantilevered glass staircase, makes an immediate, swanky impression; the plush, stylish rooms—spread between two adjoining towers—follow suit with their black-and-blond-wood furnishings, jade ornaments, signature Heavenly beds, and marble bathrooms with separate rainforest showers and deep soaking tubs. Lodgings in the Grand Tower have extras like DVR's and wall-mounted TV's in the bathrooms. In the third-floor Banyan Tree Spa, staffers dole out treatments based on the five elements of earth, gold, water, wood, and fire (in-room services are available, too). Fitness fans can get their fix at the duplex on-site gym or the spacious indoor pool.

Insider Tip: The Westin's lavish Sunday brunch—during which Chinese acrobats, opera stars, and magicians all perform—is a Shanghai institution.

Room to Book: Executive suites (like No. 1262) have blond-wood paneling, potted plants, glass lanterns, and views of both the city and river skylines.

• 1. Westin Bund Center
  88 Henan Central Road, Shanghai, China 200002; 86-(0)21-6335-1888 31.232426121.486827 More Info