Jumeirah has been appointed by Shanghai Lixing Hotel Limited, a joint venture between Shanghai Hotel Investments Limited and Shui On Private Group, to manage its new hotel development in the downtown Luwan District.
The HanTang Jumeirah Shanghai will be part of Xintiandi, which forms the food & beverage, retail and entertainment component alongside office, residential and retail facilities in a 52-hectare development in the heart of Puxi.
The 338-room hotel is being designed by New York based Kohn Pedersen Fox Architects and Japanese interior design firm Super Potato.
It will feature 338 guestrooms, suites and villas; conference and banqueting facilities; and a luxury spa alongside the requisite food and beverage concepts. The hotel is scheduled to open in mid 2008.
Best known for its iconic Dubai properties - the Burj al Arab, Jumeirah Beach Hotel and Emirates Towers - Jumeirah has refocused its strategy since June 2005 when a rebranding exercise saw it drop the 'International' suffix. It has overhauled its sales and distribution policy, dropping a long held association with Leading Hotels of the World in favour of its own GDS codes. Most crucially it has begun to seek opportunities in strategic locations outside the Middle East.
Reports that it was bidding to purchase the Hotel de Crillon in Paris from Starwood Capital came to nothing, but it entered the US market last year with the signing of a management contract for Essex House in New York, owned by Dubai Investment Group. Both Jumeirah and Dubai Investment Group are owned by Dubai Holdings.
It also has a foothold in London, where it runs the Carlton Tower and Lowndes Hotels.
Gerald Lawless, CEO of Jumeirah, has said the company's aim is to become a global hotel luxury brand on a par with the likes of Mandarin Oriental and Four Seasons. He wants the group to manage 40 hotels worldwide within five years.
Commenting on the Shanghai deal he said: "We feel privileged to have been appointed by Shanghai Lixing to manage this luxury hotel in the heart of downtown Shanghai, China's primary commercial city, and are proud to be associated with such a high profile and prestigious development."
Lawless added: "The essence of Jumeirah can be expressed in two words - 'Stay Different' - and we believe that this hotel development represents a unique opportunity to create one of the world's greatest and most individual hospitality experiences."
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