Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts Strengthens China Presence with Agreement to Manage Hotel in Chongqing

Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, Asia Pacific’s leading luxury hotel group, recently signed an agreement with Chongqing Guest House Co. Ltd. to manage a hotel in Chongqing that is scheduled to open in late 2011. The 469-room Shangri-La hotel will occupy the first 28 floors of a new 58-storey landmark building, a multi-purpose complex incorporating office space and innovative retail outlets.

Designed by East China Architectural Design Institute, the hotel will be located in the central business district, 45 minutes from Chongqing Jiangbei International Airport and an eight-minute walk from the Chongqing People’s Liberation Monument, the commercial centre of the Yuzhong District and the largest pedestrian street in Western China.

Contemporary yet classically styled, the hotel will feature the largest standard guestrooms in the city with a minimum room size of 45 square metres. Guestrooms will feature urban views, and upper floor guestrooms as well as the Horizon Club executive lounge will feature river views. In addition, the hotel will offer a diverse range of dining and entertainment options, including a Chinese restaurant, specialty restaurant, lobby lounge and an all- day dining outlet, in addition to a spa and health club, swimming pool, lounge, hair salon and an entertainment centre.

The new Shangri-La hotel will have 2,000 square metres of meeting and banqueting space, including a 1,000-square-metre ballroom with 12-metre high ceiling, which will be the largest ballroom in the city, complemented by 10 function rooms to cater to different event requirements. A business centre with multi-purpose function rooms will also be available to suit the needs of corporate clients and meeting organisers.

“As one of mainland China’s most robust economies and with the strong economic ties between Chongqing and Chengdu, where we already have the Shangri-La Hotel, Chengdu, it is a natural step for Shangri-La to open a hotel in Chongqing to further strengthen our presence in the region. As China’s largest luxury hotel group, we look forward to bringing world-class hospitality experiences to business and leisure guests in Chongqing,” said Madhu Rao, managing director and chief executive officer, Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts.

A renowned ancient Chinese city with more than 3,000 years of history, Chongqing is located on the banks of the Yangtze and Jialing Jiang rivers, and filled with scenic and picturesque hills and mountains. With over 30 million citizens of Han nationality and 49 other ethnic minorities, Chongqing is a hub of cultural diversity and is the birthplace of the Bayu culture, a special ethnic culture found along the upstream of the Yangtze River. Chongqing’s pillar industries include machine building, metallurgy, chemicals, environmental protection, food and tourism.