Hotel Review: Alila Shanghai is a resort hideout in the middle of the city

To create a resort in the middle of Shanghai’s touristy Jing’an district, only a few minutes’ walk from Zhang Yuan Shikumen, Alila Shanghai first takes guests through a dramatically dark lobby before emerging onto the fourth-floor lobby, opening onto a garden.

Here, the check-in desk and adjoining all-day dining Golden Pavilion hug the garden’s perimeter, with floor-to-ceiling glass windows blurring the line between indoors and outdoors. 

In the middle stands a lone tree — the Gathering, a stainless steel sculpture by Oscar Wang adorned with Jingdezhen ceramic leaves — and a reflecting pool surrounded by pathways that snake from one end of the courtyard to the next, leading to private dining rooms and a secret rooftop bar.

The contrast is quite intentional. Leaving behind the traffic-clogged streets of the city and entering a cocoon of tranquillity via a re-emergence from dark to light acts as a reset; a clever design feature that is used throughout the “urban resort-style” property.

Bringing a resort to the city

Alila Hotels & Resorts’ crowning achievement — its famed villas on the cliffs of Uluwatu, Bali — cemented the brand’s reputation as a minimalist, eco-luxury resort. And while its signature visual style has been adapted to various outposts in cities around the world, from Jakarta to Kuala Lumpur, designer Ju Bin of Horizontal Design has taken it up a notch. 

Moving from one inner sanctum to the next turns into a journey. I get lost several times in the dimly lit hallways, saved by hotel staff who seem stationed on every floor. It’s a bold choice, one that might not be so friendly to the visually challenged, but it transforms corridors into galleries, illuminating the smattering of contemporary art around the property. 

Public spaces such as teahouse Cha Yan@5TH and the Library feature long sofas, armchairs, coffee tables, and a faux fireplace, separated by Chinese shutter panels that remain open during the day. Large paintings by Vietnamese artists Nguyen Khac Chinh and books on art, design and history add to the spaces’ residential charm.

The idea: recreate the living room of a well-travelled, well-read friend. At night, the panels partially close as jazz musicians perform for a cosy audience. 

The soundproofed 189 rooms and suites likewise feel intuitive and familiar. Room number plaques are made from repurposed blue bricks salvaged from Shikumen buildings, patterned bathroom floor tiles resemble those found in heritage townhouses (reminiscent of Peranakan houses), and automated paper blinds shield from the sun.

Every room has a living area carved out; even the smallest, at 419.8 sq ft, has a seating area to laze on. 

Enhancing the “resort” element, Ju Bin extends the tactile, raw materials into the bathroom. The cave-like shower and tub are wrapped in black, roughly hewn stone and lit as dimly as the corridors. Complete with a rain shower, it almost feels as though you’re showering outdoors, albeit at night.

A zen state of mind

After a red-eye flight or a full day of exasperated fiddling with Chinese navigation apps, Alila Shanghai’s reminders to slow down are much appreciated. Quiet gestures like turn-down service — chrysanthemum flower tea placed in a teapot in the evening — and curated programming such as morning gong sound baths help you recharge for the next day. 

Its wellness offerings also have a more holistic element, including treatments at Spa Alila, a 19-meter infinity pool overlooking the hotel’s organic herb gardens, a Turkish sauna, a warm magnesium pool, and an ice scrub. 

While spatially far from a “resort”, the hotel has managed to replicate the tangible effects of a getaway. Time feels inconsequential, and the rush of the city’s streets is easy to forget. 

Whether it’s from the repeated sensory deprivation of light or sound, my abode at Alila Shanghai quickly feels like a safe haven, and I find myself wanting to stay in just a little longer.