Best Luxury Hotels in Shanghai 2026
8 Five-Star Picks Backed by Real Guest Reviews

Ask anyone who has stayed at a five-star hotel in Shanghai which one they would go back to, and The Peninsula comes up again and again — 9.4/10 from 3,000 real reviews is not an accident. This is the last building permitted on The Bund before the Chinese government permanently closed the historic waterfront to new construction, and it shows in every detail. Sir Elly's rooftop restaurant delivers a 180-degree Pudong skyline that guests describe as worth the flight to Shanghai on its own. The service style — anticipatory rather than intrusive — is the thing repeat guests mention most. Rolls-Royce and BMW fleet transfers, Peninsula Spa, and room technology including a valet box and nail dryer complete the picture.

The Middle House is what happens when a hotel genuinely commits to feeling like a well-designed private residence rather than a lobby showcase. Designed by Piero Lissoni and managed under Swire's House Collective, the Deluxe rooms start at 50+ sqm with high ceilings and natural materials — space that five-star hotels in Tokyo or London would charge significantly more for. With only 111 rooms plus 102 Residences, the staff-to-guest ratio stays personal: guests frequently note that staff remember their coffee order by day two without being told. Frasca, the Italian restaurant, draws locals as well as hotel guests — a good sign. West Nanjing Rd Metro is a three-minute walk, connecting the whole city including Pudong Airport.

Stand on a Bvlgari Hotel balcony at dusk — Suzhou Creek below catching the last light, the Lujiazui towers across the river beginning to switch on. Every detail here is the work of Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel: marble, pale wood, custom furniture, and a freestanding marble bathtub in the bathroom that guests talk about more than the room itself. The hotel occupies the fully restored Shanghai Chamber of Commerce building from the 1920s — the kind of architectural quality that new construction cannot replicate. Il Ristorante–Niko Romito, the Michelin-recognised Italian dining room, is consistently cited by guests as one of the best meals they had in Shanghai.

Open your River View room curtains at Mandarin Oriental Pudong and The Bund is directly across the water, lit up and full-width — no lift to the roof required. What sets this hotel apart from the other towers in Lujiazui is its riverside garden and pool, which sit at water level on the Huangpu itself. Guests with 2,500 reviews behind them consistently highlight service that is attentive without hovering. Yong Yi Ting, the hotel's Jiangnan Chinese restaurant, draws high praise from guests who say they had no reason to go out for dinner — a meaningful endorsement for a hotel of this price.

The Ritz-Carlton Pudong occupies floors 53 to 71 of Shanghai ifc — which means the lowest room here is already above most of the city. Open the curtains and the Art Deco Bund is right there across the river, Oriental Pearl Tower to the left, the full Pudong skyline behind you. 9.0/10 from 4,000 reviews is the strongest review volume in this guide — sustained performance, not a lucky streak. Flair Rooftop Bar on floor 58 is one of Shanghai's highest open-air bars, and the direct connection to ifc mall (and Lujiazui Metro) makes this the most conveniently located luxury hotel in Pudong.

Every evening, tourists walking The Bund stop to photograph this building — the white Beaux-Arts stone of the 1911 Shanghai Club, the most exclusive address in colonial-era China. The Long Bar, restored from what was once Asia's longest bar, delivers cocktails in a setting of old mahogany, high ceilings, and warm light that no modern hotel can replicate. Guests consistently describe standing at the Long Bar as one of those rare moments that transport you rather than just impress you. Rooms run to 45–55 sqm with marble baths; the Waldorf Astoria Spa and indoor pool round out a property where there is genuinely no need to leave.

If you want to sleep in a building that is itself part of Shanghai's story — the Art Deco Sassoon House from 1929, green copper pyramid visible from The Bund — the Fairmont Peace Hotel is where to do it. Step out the front door and The Bund is right there, East Nanjing Rd Metro a two-minute walk: the best-located luxury hotel in this entire guide for getting around the city. The Old Jazz Bar in the basement has had live music every single evening for decades — some musicians have been playing here for years. 5,000 reviews at 8.8/10 tell a consistent story: for travellers who value location and atmosphere over room size, this is the hotel.

Picture soaking in a deep tub of warm water, looking through a full-height window, with the Oriental Pearl Tower and Shanghai Tower directly across the river beginning to light up. At Banyan Tree On The Bund, that is not the premium suite — that is the standard room. Every room faces the river, and nearly every room has a soaking tub at the window. The angle from North Bund to Lujiazui is actually cleaner and wider than the view from The Bund itself because there are no buildings in the way. The Banyan Tree Spa, resort-calibre in every sense, is consistently cited by guests as a half-day commitment they planned their itinerary around.