My review of InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland

My three-week holiday in China starts at Shanghai, where my BA flight lands. I made up my mind quite easily where the first stop would be: InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland, one of the most talked about hotels in China in the last decade.

Nicknamed 深坑 , or “Deep Crater”, the hotel is built into an abandoned quarry in Shanghai’s suburban Sheshan area and is an architectural marvel. It was featured in a BBC documentary recently.

The hotel is usually priced at around 2,000 CNY or 40,000 points, making it a great spot to use my Chase Anniversary Award. Interestingly, a friend recently used the same certificate at the Regent Berlin, and the staff, mistaking it for a wedding anniversary voucher, prepared special decorations and congratulations – a humorous anecdote.

The hotel is quite remote, about a 90-minute taxi ride from Pudong Airport. The surrounding area is sparse, with only a botanical garden and the Guangfulin Relics Park nearby. Keep that in mind and I think one night is more than enough for most travellers.

Since the majority of the architecture is underground, there’s barely any visual driving into the hotel’s entrance.

If you turn left from here however, you’ll find a great viewpoint that is publicly accessible before entering the hotel. A walkway around the cliff may be available too but it’s not always open.

This installation in the lobby is for a fountain show, that is performed four times a day, lasting 10 minutes.

As an IHG Diamond member with an annual lounge pass, I received a welcome email from the club lounge the day before arrival, accommodating my early check-in and room upgrade requests. I arrived around 10:30 AM and was promptly checked in, with a late checkout granted until 3 PM.

I was actually considering purchasing the Ambassador membership here, but since they were so generous with room upgrade and late checkout already, there’s no longer the need. If you have a suite upgrade award, you could apply here for an amazing underwater suite. Unfortunately there’s no availability when I checked 14 days in advance already.

I was upgraded to a Ruby Room on the 9th floor. The hotel’s floor numbering is unique: higher numbers correspond to lower levels, with the lobby on the ground floor and the underwater restaurant on the 15th floor. Among the non-suite rooms – Turquoise, Ruby, and Sapphire – the main differences lie in floor level and view. Sapphire is theoretically the best, but twin-bed configurations are only available in Turquoise and Ruby.

Let’s check out my room:

The room itself is modest by China standards, with somewhat dated decor. However, the bed is comfortable, and the room features smart amenities like electric curtains and AI assistant voice controls.

The minibar is complimentary, stocked with soft drinks and snacks.

The bathroom is a bit on the smaller end, equipped with a smart toilet seat which is common in China’s five-star hotels. Interestingly, while the hotel’s website mentions Ferragamo toiletries, the in-room amenities were actually from Byredo.

The room offers a direct view of the quarry wall, which is quite impressive.

At 8:30 PM, I watched a light and water show projected onto the rock face, lasting about 20–30 minutes.

Drone shows are also a feature, but they were cancelled due to strong winds prior to my arrival.

The hotel provided a fruit platter, a bottle of red wine, and two drink vouchers for the lobby bar.

Next up I’m exploring the hotel, visiting the observation deck on the 14th floor.

While the view from down here is less striking, it’s still enjoyable with the koi fishes.

Being Sunday, the hotel’s occupancy is rather low, but on the other hand there are SO MANY tourists. Access to the observation deck requires a room key, and those visitors try to tag along with staying guests, which is amusing.

Another highlight is the underwater restaurant on the 15th floor, which is open for visiting between 2 PM and 5 PM. As I couldn’t upgrade to an underwater suite, visiting this mini-aquarium-like restaurant is a satisfying alternative.

The swimming pool, located on the same level as the observation deck, has a semi-circular design with ample natural light and views of the quarry waterfall. However, swimming there feels a bit unusual.

The sauna and fitness centre:

The hotel offers guided tours in the afternoons, but I missed them and explored on my own. Many areas of the hotel have windows showcasing the quarry walls, and learning about the hotel’s construction history would have been fascinating.

Adjacent to the all-day dining restaurant is a children’s play area.

Breakfast is served in the all-day dining restaurant, with entry controlled by room key rather than room number – a first for me, likely due to the high number of visitors.

While the variety was limited, the quality was good enough, especially the bread.

For lunch, I dined at Cai Feng Lou, the Chinese restaurant. The prices weren’t cheap, the flavours okay, and the portions unexpectedly large.

IHG members receive discount on dining (15% for Diamond members). A minor issue arose when I couldn’t charge the meal to my room due to a missing pre-authorisation, but the front desk staff promptly attempted to rectify it by contacting the restaurant. Although the charge couldn’t be reversed, I appreciated their proactive service.

It is now time to visit the club lounge on the 13th floor, which has a typical business lounge decor.

The space is large but has obstructed views. Afternoon tea starts at 2:30 PM:

Featuring items include chicken wings and sesame cakes, a distinctly Chinese offering that suffices as a light lunch.

In the evening, I planned to enjoy the lounge’s happy hour, only to find it got cancelled. Instead, lounge guests were upgraded to the all-day dining restaurant’s buffet dinner, which has a face value of over 600 RMB per person.

The buffet included Chinese, Indian, Japanese, and seafood options, along with an Indian dance performance.

However, the selection was limited, and few dishes stood out, except for the Indian naan bread. I found breakfast much more satisfying.

My first “Deep Crater” experience was slightly underwhelming compared to my expectations. The hotel’s unique structure is undeniably impressive, and all friends were amazed by my photos. The service was attentive, but the hardware design was unremarkable, and signs of aging were evident already in the rooms and restaurants, despite the hotel opening in 2018.

If you are visiting Shanghai and have spare time, come to InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland for the experience, but there’s no need to return.