Finding specialties
By Yang Yijun (China Daily)
Updated: 2010-11-07 09:32
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Yu Garden Hotel combines historic charm with modern amenities. Yang Yijun reports
Shanghai is a city that perfectly blends its history and its modern elements. Renaissance Shanghai Yu Garden Hotel is one place where guests will experience what happens when old meets new.
"Yu Garden is the 'China town' of Shanghai," says Juergen Sterkau, the hotel's general manager. "The hotel is in a very unique position because this is the only area in the city where you can look over the Yu Garden and see the Pudong skyline."
The 22-floor hotel provides a horizontal view of the landscapes outside. "If you go to a hotel which is very high, the only things you see when you look down are roofs," he says.
In this hotel, the guests can see painting-like views of the ancient-style Yu Garden in the front and the skyscrapers in Pudong as the background.
With three tunnels close by connecting the hotel to Pudong, it takes less than five minutes to go to the Lujiazui area.
"Our hotel is ideal for people who want to experience Shanghai and have business in Pudong," Sterkau says.
In addition, tourist attractions, including the Bund and Xintiandi, are a quick drive from the hotel.
The hotel has 341 guestrooms featuring modern design donned in bright blue and yellow, creating a whimsical yet cozy atmosphere.
The bathrooms in the hotel are uniquely designed, as Sterkau believes bathrooms have become a lifestyle, and most of the bathtubs are deep and freestanding.
In the hotel's studio rooms, the bathtubs even stand right in front of the living room windows, offering a special bathing experience. The studio rooms are especially popular around Valentine's Day.
The hotel also has a bath menu catering toward women, which contains a selection of bathing products, including bath salts.
Lately, the hotel has been preparing a special Christmas event. Like most other hotels, they will set up a large Christmas tree in the lobby when the festival approaches. But the tree in Renaissance Shanghai Yu Garden Hotel is not simply a decoration.
"We hang wish cards from an orphanage on the tree," Sterkau says. "The orphans will write down what they want - a small bicycle, red boots, red jacket or candy."
Guests and hotel associates will take the cards down, buy the items the children have asked for and put the gifts under the Christmas tree. Shortly after the festival, the associates will visit the orphanage and give the presents to the children.
Each year they collect around 150 presents for the children, and this year, they have set the target at 200.
"It's not a monetary donation. It's what the kids really want," Sterkau says. "If you are able to capture moments of the children's joy, it's really incredible."
The three-year-old hotel was recently recognized as a five-star establishment by the national star-rating committee.
Sterkau believes the official recognition will bring stable business.
"It stabilizes our room rates, our customers and workforce," he says.