The One Shanghai is a 28-storey Art Deco hotel in Jing'an District
Naming a hotel ‘The One’ is both bold and brilliant. Such a label means the property must be singular and sensational, unique and unprecedented, daring and distinctive.
Luckily, the five-star The One Shanghai is all of the above.
“Our chairwoman (Jessica Yu) created the name to reflect the place, the building, the intersection of modern and old, a luxury brand,” said Jobst Herr, general manager of The One Shanghai. “Plus, the Chinese symbol for ‘The One’ easily translates between Chinese and English.”
While The One is hailed as a 28-storey Art Deco masterpiece, it wasn’t actually built during the design period’s heyday of the 1920s or 1930s.
Instead, the tower at 601 Fengyang Road in Shanghai’s tony Jing’an District downtown was constructed in 2007 in the Art Deco style as an upscale apartment building.
Thus, the Art Deco flourishes are abundant throughout: verticality (28 floors), aerodynamic curves (the facade arches punctuated by palm trees), geometric ornamentation (the building toppers) and smooth, polished surfaces.
Get to know IHG’s Vignette Collection
The highrise was converted into a hotel in 2021 when it became a Kempinski property. And then in February 2026 it joined IHG (InterContinental Hotel Group) as one of 38 in the Vignette Collection.
Vignette, introduced three years ago, is the leading luxury and lifestyle portfolio of IHG. IHG, of course, is the massive global hotels and resorts group that has 21 brands and 7,000 hotels, including Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, InterContinental, Regent, Kimpton, Hotel Indigo, Crowne Plaza and Iberostar.
Vignette has a dozen other hotels in China, including The Hari Hong Kong, Shanghai Snow World (yes, a hotel at an indoor ski resort), Xanadu Guangzhou and Huazia Centre in Hangzhou. Other Vignette hotels around the globe include Bristol Berlin, Ciel Dubai Marina, Hotel X Brisbane, The Venice Times and The Hari London.
“Vignette is a signature, a collection built on three pillars — one-of-a-kind stays, memorable rituals and A Means for Good,” explained Herr. “The One’s one-of-a-kind is its Art Deco indulgence, a boutique feel, and 243 suites designed for stays of three to five days, or longer. Every suite has its own living room and kitchen, laundry and bedroom with a window seat for two with a view to the Shanghai of old and new.”
The One’s core customer base is Chinese, both business and leisure travellers.
But, Herr said The One is seeing an increasing number of Canadian visitors thanks to more Air Canada flights from Toronto and Vancouver to Shanghai (more on that below).
“Our Canadian guests tend to fall into two groups — Chinese Canadians who come to Shanghai to visit friends and relatives and tourists here to experience Shanghai,” he said.
The memorable rituals at The One include its own signature cocktail — Amber Jewel — and its own brand of specially brewed India Pale Ale.
Both drinks are served up in Art Deco-style glasses at the plush hotel bar and at themed soiree and salon parties, dinners and events.
A Means for Good is Vignette’s local philanthropy program, which in the case of The One is showcasing the Art Deco-style creations of special needs artists throughout the hotel.
Travel advisors and travel agents can earn 10% commission on all eligible The One bookings made through GDS (Global Distribution System).
Check out: https://www.ihg.com/vignettecollection/hotels/us/en/shanghai/shaos/hoteldetail.
Fly away
Shanghai is part of Air Canada’s bullish push into China. There have been daily flights between Vancouver and Shanghai for years. The airline also launched three-times-a-week service between Toronto and Shanghai in June, which will expand to daily in the spring of next year.
Air Canada Vacations also packages return flights to Shanghai with hotel stays for seamless trips. Travel advisors and travel agents can earn around 10% commission on Air Canada Vacation packages. Air Canada also flies between Vancouver and Hong Kong and Beijing.
In the spring, Air Canada will also start flying between Vancouver and Guangzhou, the only direct link to the Chinese global trade and manufacturing powerhouse by a North American airline. Check out aircanada.com and https://vacations.aircanada.com/en.
We flew Air Canada to Shanghai and chose The One as our base to explore all the city’s greatest hits – the buzzy 2.6-kilometre Bund promenade on the colonial west side of the Huangpu River; the daily light up at dusk of the futuristic skyline of the Lujiazui financial hub on the east side of the river; a touristy night cruise to gawk more at the Bund and the glowing skyline; a Lost Plate food tour for dumpling, scallion noodles, wonton soup and braised pork belly feasting; peddling through the colonial French Concession with China Cycle Tours; and rooftop bar hopping for Chinese Riesling and even more Bund and Lujiaxui views.
