InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland: going underground at China’s subterranean hotel

Do we reach wonderland by falling down a rabbit hole? Almost. It’s actually an 88-metre-deep abandoned quarry, about an hour’s drive from downtown Shanghai. The 336-room hotel built inside opened in November and it’s certainly an inversion of reality. The popular term to describe the concept is an “earthscraper”, that is a downward-pointing skyscraper.

Ah, it’s one of those weird build­ings that President Xi Jinping isn’t too keen on. Well, no. You couldn’t call it a blot on the landscape – only two floors are visible when you arrive at the main entrance. The other 15 run down the side of the quarry face directly below your feet, which means that, technically, they are subterranean.

Sounds claustrophobic. Not at all. Because the whole structure clings to one side of the cliff and the pit is wide, the rooms are surprisingly light. All of them have balconies from which you can admire the waterfall cascading down the opposite cliff. There’s also a specially imported Japanese tree; it’s perched on a craggy outcrop in the middle of the lake that fills the quarry floor. Dry ice is regularly pumped round it to encourage a resemblance with the Chinese paintings with which the hotel is extensively decorated.

So you’d hardly know you’re subterranean. You do when you walk along the corridors and marvel at the rock just on the other side of the windows. At certain times of day, some of the cliff’s undulations are lit by shafts of light; Hot Spots was unexpectedly reminded of the narrow defile that leads to another rocky place, Petra, in Jordan. And there are counter-intuitive moments in the lift when you wish to go from, say, the 12th floor to the first and are obliged to press the Up button.

It must be an engineering marvel. Yes, and there’s a continuous short film in a side room at lobby level that shows how it was done: seven years’ planning, five years’ construction, thousands of labourers, billions of yuan. It’s in Chinese but the general stupendousness isn’t lost in translation. Afterwards you feel that at the very least you should be tackling nuclear fission or a Bond villain instead of the buffet dinner in all-day-dining Commune (588 yuan [HK$686] plus tax).

Actual sharks – admittedly on the smallish side – swim outside the windows of another restaurant, Mr Fisher, which, like the lower floors of the hotel’s family suites, is underwater.

What about the decor? The theme is industrial chic – think miners’ lamps, exposed steel beams, scattered rocks. Rooms are deliberately plain with large baths in which, if you’re of an exhibitionist nature, you can take selfies against the quarry backdrop.

Every room has an AI system that understands spoken commands for lighting, temperature, curtains … but only in Mandarin. English-speakers can console themselves with £300 (US$390) Dyson hairdryers, Nespresso machines and irons with tiny spotlights to guide your smooth­ing path. Workaholics should know that the phone signal can be a little dodgy.

Any activities on offer? The hotel had originally hoped to offer bungee-jumping but, apparently, there were insurance issues. Rock climbing is available, however, and kayaking is being planned. The Shimao group, which built the hotel, owns Dream City, a children’s theme park next door (they have just signed a deal to make it China’s ultimate Smurf destination). The park’s glass walkway curves thrillingly over the quarry’s edge although you’ll need to book a package with the hotel for entry.

You can have a dip in the futuristic indoor pool or treatments in the spa. The must-see, however, is the light show, daily at 7.30pm. It’s a combi­nation of Close Encounters of the Third Kind, James Turrell, Fantasia and a 1960s psychedelic trip – all set against an exploding curtain of water and solid rock. Prepare to be genuinely overwhelmed.

Anything else? It’s much closer to Hongqiao airport than to Pudong. And the wow factor means it’s pretty busy at weekends.

And the reality check? Prices for a double room start from 3,110 yuan ((US$460) plus taxes.