Two High-Tech Luxury Hotels to Open in the Himalayas Center, Shanghai

Two visionary hotel concepts, Zendai Hotel Yin, a luxury, boutique-style ‘city retreat’ and Zendai Art Hotel, a 5-star business hotel, will open in Shanghai’s latest architectural masterpiece, the ‘Himalayas Centre’ which is due to open in Pudong in spring 2010, in time for the Shanghai World Expo.

The Zendai Group has invested over RMB 2.4 billion in the Himalayas Centre which is located opposite to Shanghai’s New International Expo Centre and just 15 minutes from the city’s main financial district in Pudong. Metro line no. 7 is accessed directly from the basement of the Himalayas Centre and the high speed Maglev train, for 7-minute transfers and from Pudong airport, is just 10 minutes away.

Designed by one of the world’s leading architects, Arata Isozaki who is renowned for his work on the Barcelona Olympics Stadium and the Los Angeles Museum of Modern Art, the Himalayas Centre is being hailed by developers, the Zendai Group, as an ‘archisculptural icon for 21st century China’.

The Himalayas Centre will incorporate the Daguan Theatre with multi-functional auditorium seating 1,600, the Himalayas Mall and Himalayas Creative Complex / Museum Zone, as well as the two luxury hotels.

The boutique-style Zendai Hotel Yin will occupy the top four floors of the dedicated hotel tower. There will be 78 spacious guestrooms, ranging in size from the 376 square meters presidential suite to 60 square meters luxury suites, which are accessed via elevators exclusively for use by boutique hotel guests.

The Zendai Hotel Yin has been designed by world renowned interior designer Khuan Chew of KCA International, who is celebrated for her distinctive designs of such international icons as the world’s first 7-star hotel, the Burj al Arab in Dubai, UAE. In her Chinese inspired designs for the hotel, Khuan Chew has based all measurements on the ancient Chinese “Luban” technique.

Highly trained butlers will take care of guests from arrival to departure, 24-hours a day.

All guestrooms are equipped with a wireless IP phone whereby calls to their room can be transferred directly to their IP phone.

The spa will be the spiritual core of the hotel, offering a sanctuary of calm and well being with an unparalleled range of Chinese, Asian and Western health and beauty treatments and therapies, some using traditional Chinese medicines, and others originating in the Himalayas. Spa suites will also be available for the ultimate combination of health, beauty and hospitality.

A highlight of the hotel will be a contemporary take on the traditional Chinese tea house. Here guests will be able to enjoy authentic tea-house delicacies and performances of Chinese music and dance, as well as the opportunity to partake in traditional arts such as poetry, calligraphy, painting, folk music, tea ceremony and floral design.

The 24-hour bibliotheque will offer a wide range of Chinese history, culture, art, and music related books and information.

The 5-star Zendai Art Hotel occupying the first 14 floors of the hotel tower and also designed by Khuan Chew, will feature over 300 rooms and suites in a contemporary Chinese style, with high-tech communications and services, and dining outlets offering authentic Chinese and International cuisines.

All rooms will feature flat screen TV’s with Internet surfing capability, along with complimentary cabled and wireless high-speed Internet access throughout the hotel.

The hotel will also feature a state of the art gym with a spinning room, indoor pool, hot yoga and rejuvenation pods where guests can sit, relax and enjoy sensory treatments such as oxygen therapy, smell therapy, image treatment and music therapy.

Dining options will include a Lobby Lounge, All-day Dining Room and Mezzanine One - which incorporates a steak house, wine bar, jazz lounge, sushi and teppanyaki bars – and the Shanghai Art Restaurant for fine Shanghainese cuisine.

For meetings and events, the hotel features a 864 square meters, cone-shaped ballroom with a 9 meter ceiling, a suite of six private rooms ranging in size from 48 to 152 square meters and an impressive 300 square meter roof garden with adjoining events space.

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