Shanghai Presidential Hotel Living

What do Singapore's leading statesmen, the head honcho from Harley-Davidson, a star basketball player, and Jackie Chan have in common? They have all stayed in presidential suites when visiting Shanghai.

Shanghai and its neighboring cities boast many of China's finest and most prestigious hotels — and the finest and most prestigious places to stay in the area are the presidential suites of those hotels.

Many hotels in the Shanghai area are in scenic locations with views over such sights as the Bund and the Pudong cityscape in Shanghai or the gardens, canals, and traditional houses in Suzhou. Thomas Gou the general manager of the Shangri-La Hotel, Suzhou says, "The Presidential Suite at Shangri-La Hotel, Suzhou is the highest in the city. Guests staying in it can enjoy a commanding panoramic view over the whole city. What's more, there is a black grand piano in the center of the suite. Play a melodious song in the soothing afternoon and indulge in the beautiful scenery out of the window."

Gerhard Fasching, the general manager of the Radisson Hotel Pudong Century Park in Shanghai also highlights the view, saying, "Located on the 20th floor and offering panoramic views of the dramatic Pudong skyline towards Century Park, the Presidential Suite is a contemporary take on traditional Chinese design."

Ronald Kang, general manager of Hyatt on the Bund comments, "The uniqueness of Hyatt on the Bund is the view. The hotel is located at the northern end of the legendary Bund, therefore most of the guest rooms enjoy a spectacular view of both the historical architecture down at the Bund and of modern skyscraper-lined Pudong across the river. This is especially so for the Chairman Suite ."

Peter Weber, the general manager of the Four Seasons Hotel Shanghai also highlights the panoramic views of Shanghai's skyline and the Puxi district from the hotel's presidential suite.

Living up to its name the Grand Hyatt Shanghai's Chairman Suite on the 82nd floor of the landmark Jin Mao Tower is — at the time of writing — the highest premier suite in the world and, in the words of general manager Peter Chau, "It offers exquisite accommodation with spectacular views of the Bund and the city skyline." Guests can even enjoy views over Shanghai while soaking in the Chairman Suite's oversized Jaccuzi tub.

In terms of design there is a dichotomy between two philosophies that have been applied to the look and feel of the presidential suites. The first design approach is to pay homage to the culture of the country in which the suite is located. The second approach is to adopt an international style that will feel familiar to VIP guests, irrespective of their cultural origins.

A prime example of the first design philosophy is the Sheraton Suzhou Towers. Ask general manager Neil McDonald about the hotel and he replies, "Unique places inspire unique ideas — Sheraton Suzhou Hotel and Towers being the most unique hotel in China… its stunning architecture and private gardens and water features create the most amazing, special, and one of its kind experiences in China — the presidential suite is like a miniature palace within the hotel."

Championing the second philosophy, Fasching comments, "The Radisson Hotel Pudong Century Park Presidential Suite offers a refreshing change from traditional hotel presidential suites where marble and extravagant fittings tend to dominate. Instead the suite captures the owner's vision of an understated space that reflects the contemporary look and feel of a modern art hotel."

Some hotels aim to achieve the best of both worlds. According to Robert Fabiano, general manager of the Shanghai Marriott Hotel Hongqiao, "The design concept fully embodies the combination of Chinese and Western. We work on many of the subtle details of decoration and layout. That could be Shanghai construction's apotheosis."

A friendly rivalry exists between Beijing, the nation's capital, and Shanghai, the commercial center of China. In the light of these differences how do the source markets for presidential suites compare? In both cities approximately half of the guests are corporate visitors while the remainder is split fairly evenly between overseas delegates and FIT guests. Similarly when comparing the geographic source markets the largest single group guests staying in presidential suites come from outside Asia and there is a fairly even split between guests from China and from the rest of Asia.