Shangri-La opens in the Shard

As the tallest hotel in Western Europe and the first high-rise hotel in London, the Shangri-La occupies levels 34 to 52 of the 72-storey Shard.

Guests will be escorted in a high-speed elevator from the hotel’s dedicated entrance on St. Thomas Street to the sky lobby on level 35.

The 202 rooms and suites all feature marble-clad bathrooms with heated floors, separate bathtubs and showers, Acqua di Parma amenities, and mirrors with integrated television screens. A third of the bathrooms will have floor-to-ceiling city views — right next to the bathtub.

Although the hotel will open in May, three signature suites will still be under development until September.

That includes the flagship Shangri-La Suite, with a sweeping 180-degree view of London taking in the Palace of Westminster, Big Ben, the Tower of London and River Thames.

The hotel will offer three restaurants and bars. TĪNG, derived from the Chinese word for a living room, is the restaurant and lounge on level 35 and LÁNG – the Chinese word for ‘pathway’ – is a deli on the ground floor.

GŎNG on level 52 will be London’s highest bar. It takes its name from ‘dougong’ – an ancient Chinese structural element of interlocking wooden brackets that will be a component of the bar’s interior.

Level 52 will also be home to a 24-hour gym and London’s highest infinity pool, and along with GŎNG, level 52 will open from 1 July.