Echoes of nostalgia meet a modern city at Andaz Shanghai ITC

The first note is osmanthus, one of the most memorable scents of Shanghai’s autumn, when the alleys are filled with its fragrance. Guests are welcomed with a cup of fragrant tea on arrival, beginning a floral thread that continues throughout the stay—from the signature bath bomb at turndown to the pillow spray offered as a farewell gesture. These details form part of a multi-sensory journey inspired by local memory, connecting Chi and Gabriella not just to cherished memories of their own but also to the city through taste, scent and play.

The setting sharpens that idea. Andaz Shanghai ITC opened earlier this year in one of the city's most connected contemporary districts, where offices, luxury retail, dining and direct transport links converge. The hotel is cleverly positioned as a meeting point of alleyways and skylines so connection forms its core identity, becoming a gateway between old Shanghai intimacy and the energy of the modern city.

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Rooms and routines

The 267 guestrooms and suites are conceived as residential-style urban retreats, with floor-to-ceiling windows, spa-inspired bathrooms and custom furnishings by local artisans. Each guestroom entrance features its own colour palette and door design, inspired by the individuality of homes found within Shanghai's traditional lane-house neighbourhoods—reinforcing the feeling of arriving at a contemporary Shanghai residence rather than a standard hotel room. References to historic laneways, shikumen architecture and plane tree-lined streets are woven subtly through the design, while corridor carpets marked with plane-tree silhouettes and maisonette-style doors reinforce the feeling of a contemporary home shaped by local memory. Byredo Eleventh Hour amenities add another cultivated detail, while expansive windows keep the city in view.

A gentle sense of time travel begins with an in-room childhood game, inviting guests to rediscover the simple pleasure of play. It feels like old Shanghai quietly sharing its own past with you—an experience about more than aesthetics alone. As Chi and Gabriella move through the hotel together, its games and shared discoveries take on an added warmth, suggesting that memories are often tied less to a particular place than to the people with whom they are made.

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Taste, play and skyline

Food and social customs are central to the hotel's world-building. East Wing draws on Shanghainese culinary tradition, reworking classic local flavours alongside seasonal ingredients in a contemporary setting. Of special note is the Shengjianbao pan-fried pork buns and Grandmother's Braised Pork with Dried Bamboo Shoots, a tribute to Shanghai's home kitchens that transforms a familiar family favourite into a refined dining experience without losing its sense of comfort and nostalgia. West Wing shifts the mood towards a European-style deli and wine bar for relaxed, all-day sociability. At breakfast, East Wing is bright and greenhouse-like; by evening, the Rooftop Bar extends the hotel's sensory language through tea-inspired cocktails and wide-open skyline views.

The day's mood shifts again at Andaz Hour, marked by the hotel's daily 5.30pm clock chime. Drinks and snacks are served at the table as the grand clock marks the transition from day to night, turning a familiar aperitif hour into a small, theatrical moment of connection. Elsewhere, a shuttlecock-making session with a master and a neighbourhood map for local exploration encourage Chi and Gabriella to engage with Shanghai beyond the expected routes.

Together, these experiences make the hotel feel lived-in and local rather than merely polished. They also give Chi a way into the city through craft, taste, sound and movement—not only through what can be photographed, but through what can be handled, sipped, heard and remembered.

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Memory and modernity

At Andaz Shanghai ITC, memory is a sensory medium. The hotel returns repeatedly to childhood—its games, scents, flavours and small ceremonial comforts—then places that nostalgia against the contemporary energy of Shanghai. In Xujiahui, old neighbourhood references sit alongside one of the city's most ambitious new urban developments, creating a setting where heritage and modernity do not compete but coexist.

Through Chi's perspective, that contrast becomes especially resonant. She is moving through a version of Shanghai assembled from fragrance, skyline, texture and shared sisterly moments. The city reveals itself not only in panoramic views and polished surfaces, but in the quieter poetry of osmanthus, architecture, craft and play—the kinds of details a creative eye might carry forward long after checkout.

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