Set into the side of an abandoned quarry on the outskirts of Shanghai, the InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland is an extraordinary hotel which drops 88 metres below ground level, turning what was once an industrial landscape into one of the most remarkable hotel settings in China.
Rather than building upwards, the architects have effectively built downwards, following the contours of the quarry and creating a hotel that appears to disappear into the rock face. It is a spectacular piece of architecture and, even before you step inside, it is clear that this is going to be a hotel stay unlike any other.
👩💻 About the author – Nichola is a family travel expert and has written for The Guardian, The Telegraph, Lonely Planet Magazine and Wanderlust, amongst many others. She’s spent over a decade travelling the world with her children, finding the best places for you to explore too.
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Location of the InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland
For families travelling in China, there is something exciting about arriving somewhere that feels almost like an attraction in its own right. Shanghai is, of course, packed with extraordinary experiences, from the Bund and Pudong skyline to its historic neighbourhoods, museums and food markets, but an hour’s taxi ride outside of the city the InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland offers something completely different. Here, the sense of adventure begins at the hotel entrance, with the quarry walls becoming part of the experience rather than simply forming the backdrop.
InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland’s rooms
The hotel has 330 rooms across 17 floors, with a choice of accommodation including Classic Rooms, Premium Rooms and a series of suites. The rooms are designed to make the most of their unusual surroundings, with quarry views forming part of the experience. They are spacious and contemporary, with large televisions, audio systems, separate showers and baths, branded bathroom amenities and Dyson hairdryers among the facilities available. Connecting rooms are also available, which is particularly useful for families who want a little more space while keeping everyone together.
And then there is the view. At InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland, looking out of the window doesn’t necessarily mean looking across a city skyline. Instead, you find yourself surrounded by the enormous rock face of the former quarry, with waterfalls and vegetation helping to soften the dramatic landscape. There is something surreal about waking up in a luxury hotel and realising that the landscape outside your room is actually the inside wall of a quarry.
Food
Breakfast
Breakfast at InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland is a generous start to the day, with an impressive choice of both Chinese and Western favourites. There was everything from freshly prepared eggs, pastries, breads and cereals to a tempting selection of Chinese dishes, including noodles, steamed dumplings, rice and a variety of savoury options.
I particularly enjoyed being able to switch between the two, starting with something traditionally Chinese before finishing with fresh fruit and a pastry. The quality was excellent throughout, and there was more than enough choice to keep everyone happy, whether you prefer a familiar Western breakfast or want to use breakfast as another opportunity to explore Chinese flavours.
Under the sea
The hotel has five restaurants and a particularly extraordinary dining option in Mr Fisher, a speciality restaurant which gives the impression of being located beneath the water surface. The restaurant takes inspiration from crystal caves, with lighting and underwater imagery creating an immersive dining environment where guests can watch fish swimming past as they dine.
Cai Feng Lou – InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland
For Chinese cuisine, Cai Feng Lou offers a more traditional experience, with private dining rooms and dishes inspired by Chinese culinary culture. The restaurant uses produce from Songjiang and draws on the culinary traditions of Zhejiang and Guangdong. For families travelling together, this gives you the opportunity to experience regional Chinese food within the hotel while still having plenty of choice elsewhere on the property.
There were so many interesting flavours and textures to discover, including baked Lanzhou lily bulbs served in a clay pot and braised bean curd with matsutake soup. It was exactly the sort of meal that reminds you why travelling is as much about tasting somewhere new as it is about seeing it.
We found this one of the most interesting meals. of our travels.
Inside the hotel
The subterranean theme continues inside the hotel. IHG describes the lobby as a “Subterranean Adventure”, with bronze-toned walls designed to echo the natural layers of the quarry rock. The effect is theatrical without feeling like a theme park, and the combination of stone, water, light and contemporary interiors gives the hotel a sense of place that is difficult to replicate anywhere else.
InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland’s pool
One of the most talked-about features is the hotel’s indoor swimming pool, which has views towards the waterfall. The heated pool is open from 7am until 10pm and includes a children’s pool, making it one of the facilities that can work particularly well for families. After a day exploring Shanghai, there is something rather appealing about returning to the hotel and heading for a swim while looking out towards the dramatic quarry landscape.
Other facilities
For anyone who likes to keep active while travelling, the hotel also has a fitness centre with treadmills, stationary bicycles and free weights, as well as an onsite sports trainer. More unusually, pickleball has now become part of the hotel’s recreational offering. The sport combines elements of tennis, badminton and table tennis and provides another way of making the most of the hotel’s extensive leisure facilities.
Sheng Spa
There is also the Sheng Spa, open from 11am until 11pm, with hydrotherapy alongside beauty treatments and facials. It provides a more relaxing counterpoint to the hotel’s adventure-focused architecture and makes the property work just as well for adults looking for a restorative break as it does for families wanting somewhere memorable to stay.
The InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland light show
The location is worth considering when planning a Shanghai itinerary. InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland is in Songjiang, away from the traditional tourist centre of Shanghai, which means it isn’t the obvious choice if your entire trip is going to be spent walking around the Bund or exploring the heart of the city. Instead, it works as a destination in its own right, or as part of a wider Shanghai itinerary where you spend some time in the city before moving out to this extraordinary landscape.
As darkness falls each evening guests at the hotel are treated to an incredible light show displayed on the walls of the quarry, with colour and movement spreading across the rock face. We watched it from the comfort of our balcony as the story of a brave Chinese warrior played out with mythical beasts and dragons appearing across the quarry walls.
What we thought of the InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland
Shanghai is a city that rewards curiosity, and InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland feels like an extension of that spirit. It takes something that was once industrial and seemingly inhospitable and transforms it into somewhere extraordinarily luxurious. Instead of trying to hide the quarry, the hotel embraces it completely, allowing the rock, water and enormous scale of the landscape to become part of the architecture.
For a family trip to China, it is the kind of hotel that can become one of the destinations you talk about long after you have returned home. We really enjoyed our stay.
Ready to book?
Find out more about the InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland here.
