A Legendary Shanghai Hotel With an Incredible Skyline Views Is Revitalized With Regent
Shanghai remains China’s luxury spending capital, even with lingering economic uncertainty, and continues to attract new high-end hotels, restaurants and retail projects to be revealed throughout the year.
But there is one hotel that truly symbolizes Shanghai’s sophistication: the Seagull Hotel on the Bund, now revitalized as the Regent Shanghai on the Bund.
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First opened in 1984 as one of the earliest hotels and as a club for seamen after China’s reopening, the Seagull Hotel has long occupied one of the best locations in town. Situated on the northern tip of the Bund, the hotel overlooks an historic embankment where colonial-style buildings now host financial institutions and upscale restaurants, as well as Pudong, the central business district and source of the city’s iconic skyline.
“We are blessed with a prime location on the Huangpu River at the crossroads of the Suzhou River just next to the famous Garden Bridge and the Grand Halls, a world-class convention center incorporating historical warehouses,” says Giorgio Olivotti, general manager of Regent Shanghai on the Bund.
The property went through an elaborate expansion to host the Regent hotel brand’s flagship project in mainland China, and the second Regent location in Shanghai, after a collaboration agreement was signed with the InterContinental Hotels Group in 2020.
Reimagined by the Hong Kong-based architect Joe Cheng, the new Shanghai location comes with 135 guest rooms with unparalleled views of the city that was once described as Paris of the East. Twenty of them are suites with private balconies.
Known for understated and Eastern-influenced hospitality projects across the Greater China region, Cheng based the hotel’s design on the magnolia, the official flower of Shanghai. Not only is the property filled with blossoming fresh flowers, but the selection of art installations includes 3D floating magnolia blossoms, a crystal tree of “Chasing Lights” in the lobby, and a ceiling of cascading red flowers in glass and acrylic inside the hotel’s Chinese restaurant Jin Lin.
On top of Jin Lin, which offers traditional Chinese cuisine with a contemporary twist, the hotel also operates Harmonia, a light-filled restaurant overlooking the Bund that serves a wide array of dining options from day to night, and Condé Boutique, a cafe with a lush garden terrace that serves artisanal pastries and beverages.
The hotel also features a 25-meter indoor swimming pool, a 24-hour fitness center, and a ballroom with a 270-degree view of Shanghai’s skyline and the Huangpu River that can accommodate up to 600 guests, perfect for fashion events, business conferences, gala celebrations and weddings.
Daniel Aylmer, managing director of IHG Greater China, believes that the opening of the Regent Shanghai on the Bund marks “a new peak for our luxury hotel business in the Greater China region.”
“We look forward to bringing an unprecedented luxury experience to guests through unique innovative concepts and unparalleled excellence in service. Here, luxury is not just a state of being; it is a way of life that immerses every guest in endless comfort and prestige, creating precious memories that are uniquely their own,” says Aylmer.
The hotel is in soft launch period, with an official opening celebration expected this summer. Rooms start at 5,000 renminbi, or $700, per night. Tom Rowntree, vice president of global luxury & lifestyle brands at IHG, calls it “an alluring addition to our collection of ultra-luxury hotels in many of the world’s most fascinating locations.”
Regent is one of the best-known IHG’s luxury hotel brands in China, as the Regent Hong Kong, opened in 1981, was heavily featured in box office hits from that era like Stephen Chow’s spy comedy film “From Beijing With Love,” as the pinnacle of a luxury lifestyle.
The Hong Kong location, which is now part of Adrian Cheng’s K11 Musea mega-complex alongside Rosewood Hong Kong, was rebranded as InterContinental Hong Kong between 2001 and 2020, and reopened as a Regent last year. Regent also has hotels in Beijing, Chongqing, and Taipei.
Regent was founded in 1970 by Robert H. Burns as a joint venture with Japan’s Tokyu Group. IHG acquired 51 percent of Regent for $39 million in 2018 from Taiwan’s Silks Hotel Group. A new identity was given to Regent the following year, as IHG positioned the brand as its top-tier offering in the luxury hotel segment.
And the hotel brand plans to branch out even further, with nine Regent properties slated to open in the next five years: Santa Monica Beach, Calif.; Canggu, Bali; Jakarta, Indonesia; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Sanya and Shenzhen, China; Jeddah, Saudi Arabia; and Kyoto, Japan.
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