On Sunday evening we went into the newly renovated Peace Hotel to check it out and ended up having a cocktail at the famous Jazz Bar! We were with Carey who was in town for business.
I copied a bit of information from Wikipedia as this is quite an old (for China) and famous hotel.
The
Peace Hotel is a
hotel on
The Bund in
Shanghai,
China which overlooks the
Huangpu River.It was built by Sir
Victor Sassoon, of the famous Sassoon family who dominated Shanghai business and real estate in the early 20th century. He was a British
Sephardic Jew of Iraqi origin, and his family had extensive business in
Hong Kong,
Shanghai, and
Calcutta.Construction began in 1926 and completed in 1929. The building is ten storeys in height, partially thirteen storeys, and with a basement.Before 1949, the ground floor space facing the Bund was leased to two banks. This space later became the Shanghai branch of
Citibank in the 1980s
Before 1949, the Cathay Hotel (Now known as the Peace Hotel) was regarded as the most prestigious hotel in Shanghai. Most international envoys visiting Shanghai would stay in the hotel. After the
Communist takeover in 1949, some of the offices were used by the Municipal Finance Committee. In 1952 the building was taken over by the Municipal Government. In 1956 it resumed trading as a hotel under the name "Peace Hotel". In 1992 the Peace Hotel was listed as one of the famous hotels of the world by the World Hotel Association. Today, it is particularly renowned for its Jazz Band and its roof terrace restaurant, overlooking the now booming district of Pudong across the Huangpu.
The Cathay Hotel, officially opened on September 5, 1929.
The hotel was widely known as the luxurious "Number One mansion in the Far East", due to its prime location along the Bund, and for its grandeur, including the distinctive copper-sheathed roof that rises 77 meters above ground, white Italian marble floors, and priceless Lalique glass artwork.
The Cathay Hotel welcomed distinguished guests from all over the world, including politicians, financiers, entrepreneurs, important Chinese officials and celebrities, such as General Marshall, Charlie Chaplin and Bernard Shaw. It was here that Noel Coward completed his famous play "Private Lives". The hotel was also renowned for its Old Jazz Bar, a favourite of the city’s expatriate community. Its band of six veteran musicians entertained dignitaries from around the world, and also toured to great acclaim in the United States and Asia.
week of October Tony and I spent 10 days in Thailand. We spent the first half in Bangkok and the second half on Phuket Island. Here are some pictures of while we were in Phuket .
