The Intercontinental Shanghai Wonderland has opened in an abandoned quarry near Shanghai. The 336-room hotel is built into the side of the quarry, with two floors peaking above it and 16 floors below. The bottom two floors are submerged below the quarry’s lake and offer butler service and “windows” facing an aquarium filled with exotic fish. Most of the rooms in the top 14 floors have balconies facing the lake, and the hotel has internal walls mimicking the quarry cliff with waterfalls and rock formations.
The InterContinental has a restaurant, fitness room, swimming pool, and rock climbing and bungee jumping facilities. There are eight meeting rooms including a ballroom with a stage, lighting rig and adjacent foyer space for receptions, and exhibition space. The hotel also features a “green” roof which offers outdoor space for guests and also serves to insulate the hotel. Powered by geothermal and solar renewable energy, the structure hugs the quarry wall and is sheltered from drastic temperature changes.
The quarry is located roughly 20 miles outside Shanghai in the Sheshan Mountain range in an area known for tourism. The hotel, designed by Atkins, has been nominated by the National Geographic Channel’s MegaStructures series as one of the architectural wonders of the world.
Click here for a bird’s eye video of the building.
