Waldorf Astoria Shanghai on the Bund, Shanghai
Waldorf
Astoria Shanghai on the Bund, Shanghai
Looking to the future rather than feeling
nostalgic for the past. Shanghai is luxury hotels tend towards sky tower
modernism, but Asia’s first Wladorf Astoria adroitly rewinds the stylistic
clock. The setting is pure theatre: a colonnaded 1911 mansion on the Huangpu
River, which once housed the exclusive Shanghai Club, bathed in cream marble
and embellished with neoclassical columns, crystal chandeliers and polished
wood furnishings. Added to this, in the manner of its New York cousin, is a new
tower. The two building are connected by Peacock Alley, a tea lounge dressed
with high- backed leather armchairs and banquettes, overlooking the sunken
Grand Brasserie. The Bund- front heritage building has 20 suites designed like
traditional Shanghainese residences with low ceiling and patterned rugs, but equipped
with plasma TVs with internet interface, a 24- hour personal concierge service,
touchpad room controls and Hermes bath products. There are photogenic skyline
views from the 237 tower rooms and suites. The ancient- contemporary ambience
is exemplified by the Club’s recreated Long Bar with its 112ft counter,
Jacobean- style wood- paneling and oyster bar, and the Salon de Ville, an
afternoon tea lounge draped in courtly burgundy satin. The calming ambience
would suit any urban centre, but INS rocket- fuelled Shanghai, the Waldorf
Astoria’s evocation of a gentler era has added allure.
When to go
Grey cloud is Shanghai’s climatic plague,
but spring (April- early June) and autumn (September- mid- November) offer the
best chance of blue skies.
Room to book
A 24th- floor suite for
superlative skyline views; a Club Suite for a taste of old Shanghai with a 21st-
century upgrade.
00 86 21 6322 9988;
www.waldorfastoriashanghai.com. Double from $762
Australia – MONA Pavilions – Tasmania
MONA, an acronym for Museum of Ola and New
Art, is one- stop destination for audacious art, edgy architecture, fine food
and a king- size bed in a cubist suite. First came the subterranean art gallery
built on four levels in an old sandstone quarry. Its $107- million collection
was said by the Financial Times to include ‘some of the most provocative and
striking artworks of the 21st century’. Next, its founder, the
maverick gambling millionaire David Walsh, built four accommodation pavilions
and named them after four famous Australian artists, followed by another four
dedicated to leading 20st- century architects, all filled with min- collections
by artists including Brett Whiteley, Sidney Nolan, Damien Hirst and Jean-
Michel Basquiat. Three of the four ‘Architect’ pavilions are glass cubes
sheathed in steel; the fourth (Roy, after Roy Grounds) looks like a sculpted
shipping container, but has three levels and two bedrooms with unsuited
bathrooms. The four ‘Artist’ pavilions, made of wood and steel and with
Japanese- style interiors, have cantilevered decks over the river. All eight
have fully equipped kitchens. As for the furniture and fittings, the world’s
leading contemporary designers are represented aplenty, including Philipe
Strarck, Ron Arad and Fillippo Dell’Orto. MONA’s source Restaurant, one of
Tasmania’s best, is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Wine tastings are available
at the Moorilla Winery Cellar Door and beer from the micro- brewery can be enjoined
at the café/ bar.
MONA,
an acronym for Museum of Ola and New Art
When to go
For warmer weather and longer days, visit
between late October and March.
Room to book
One of the Architect pavilions, such as
Walter or Roy, for admirers of cutting- edge modernism; the Artist suites have
calmer, softer interiors.
00 61 3 6277 9900; www.mona.net.au.
Pavilions from $503
Australia – the Dariling – Sydney
The-Darling-hotel-Sydney-Australia
The Darling carries the unmistakable stamp
of a metropolitan art gallery: suspended above the Entrance is a giant
sculpture of a gliding swallow; behind the reception desk is an installation of
bronze leaves on a vivid red panel; two enormous Akira Isogawa rugs create
intimate spaces within the cathedral- sized lobby. Housed in a 16- story glass
tower, the Darling is attached to The Star casino, a glitzy complex recently
renovated at a cost of $899 million. Views from its 171 rooms are of the
historic port and city- centre skyline with the famous Harbour Bridge in the
middle distance; they are best enjoyed from the Adored, Jewel and Stellar
suites on the upper floors. Entry- level Darling rooms are decorated in
masculine shades of flax, latte and grey with plum accents on the handmade
Venetian glasses, bathrobes, towels, bed linen and cushions, the pillow menu
has no fewer than 12 options; there are Delonghi Nespresso machines and IPod
docking stations. The spa- Sydney’s largest- has 16 treatment rooms and two hammers
in a labyrinthine complex of subtly lit corridors adorned with candlelit black
granite bowls and heavy bronze sculptures. The hotel’s Skyo restaurant serves
A- grade Japanese cuisine from a Nobu- trained chef, and there are also 20 new
restaurants, bars and cafes in the casino complex.
The
casino at the Star
When to go
January for summer and the Sydney Festival;
May and June for cooler, drier weather.
Room to book
Splash out on a Jewel or Adored suite on
the harbour side.
00 61 2 9777 9888; www.thedarling.com.au.
Doubles from $411
