Bellagio Shanghai sits tucked away along the banks of the Suzhou River, where it overlooks the Bund, Shanghai’s most famous promenade, and skyscraper filled Lujiazui. The hotel’s neighborhood, called Hongkou, has remained one of the few bastions of the city’s past. While other districts have seen low-rise housing lanes razed to make way for gleaming towers of commerce, amblers along the streets of Hongkou are still likely to encounter elderly local residents coming home from their daily wet market pilgrimage.
The prominence of art deco style in this part of town is still obvious, and though it has faded in the older buildings, it shines brightly at the new Bellagio Shanghai by MGM. Inside, other artistic flourishes will catch your eye — more than 1,000 works curated from around the globe fill the grand property.
Opened in June 2018 as the first Bellagio outside of the United States, the hotel offers 162 sophisticated rooms, world-class dining options and a lavish spa.
- Shanghai is one of the world’s premier cities for art deco architecture, developing its own unique style that incorporates elements of traditional Chinese feng shui. Designed by international architecture firm WATG, Bellagio Shanghai is an overt homage to this tradition, with black, gold and marble dominating the lobby and an imposing silver lion statue guarding the entrance.
- The luxury hotel’s Chinese restaurant Mansion on One is housed in a lovely 1920s building, retained from the site’s former life as Shanghai General Hospital. Focused on private rooms, it's an excellent choice for an intimate gathering of friends or family.
- Swing by on a sunny day for a lovely afternoon tea, enjoyed alfresco on the rooftop café.
- Another culinary highlight, LAGO Italian restaurant by renowned Spanish chef Julian Serrano brings the best of its Las Vegas sister restaurants to a new audience in Shanghai. A two-page menu features Italian staples — pastas, risottos, antipasti and pizzas — that serve as starting points for the chef's original compositions, all served as small plates.
- Unusual for a hotel in China, Spa at Bellagio Shanghai takes therapeutic traditions from India as its theme. Inspired by Ayurveda, treatments balance the three essential energies, Vata, Pitta and Kapha, combined with adherence to the five elements: soil, water, fire, air and space.
- Although Bellagio Shanghai certainly brings some of the opulence of its Las Vegas sister property to China’s bustling financial center, those expecting a Sin City experience should look elsewhere. The hotel is rather refined, with a design more grand than gaudy, and not a casino in sight.
- Though staff at the Hongkou hotel is very friendly, English is limited.
- South-facing rooms boast a superior view over Suzhou Creek and the more charming elements of the local neighborhood.
- A rarity among China hotels, many of Bellagio’s rooms and suites boast terraces, all the better to soak up the local atmosphere of the streets below while relaxing with a coffee from the in-room espresso machine.
- Tech amenities include a 55-inch LED TV and Bose stereo.
- The hotel’s 24 suites each measure upwards of 1,000 square feet and come complete with butler service, daily breakfast, one-way airport transportation services and laundry or pressing of three garments.
- Black and white marble bathrooms have art-deco-style bronze accents and bath products from Australian natural skincare brand Biology — hop into the rainforest shower scrub away a day of sightseeing in Shanghai’s urban jungle.
- For the best accommodations, book the Presidential Suite, whose 4,306 square feet come with a home theater.
- Though the Shanghai Postal Museum may not be on your radar, it’s housed in a beautiful building illuminated inside by giant skylights. Head to the roof to discover a lovely secret garden.
- The Hongkou District carries a bevy of interesting architectural landmarks. One of the most striking is the hulking cement structure known as 1933, a former slaughterhouse-turned-shopping-and-dining-hub.
- During World War II, the city was one of the last ports that remained open to Jews fleeing persecution in Europe, with many thousands of newcomers making a temporary home in the Hongkou District. This fascinating historical period is commemorated in the Ohel Moishe Synagogue and Jewish Refugees Museum, just a six-minute ride from the Shanghai hotel.
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