HotelChatter

Andaz Shanghai
The Andaz's exterior is described as "playful" largely because the exterior will be animated by multi-colored LED lighting. The lighting will be activated into a random pattern once the guests close their blackout shades. So cool. You have input in the LED lighting on the side of the hotel!

Another exterior note--The Andaz's L-shaped punched windows are from a pattern abstracted from the Tang Lady--an icon of the Tang Dynasty.

The Andaz will have 309 rooms, a rooftop wedding chapel as well as a rooftop nightclub along with a spa, restaurants, bars, and retail shops.

The Langham Xintianid
The Langham's exterior features traditional Chinese latticework and the L-shaped punched windows on this hotel's podium is derived from the flying horse--a symbol associated with the Han Dynasty. The 357-room hotel caters to the biz travel crowd with plenty of meeting rooms, an atrium lounge, lots of restaurants, as well as a Chuan spa (opening in September), a heated indoor swimming pool (opening in August), an outdoor lounge XTD Elevated and some retail shops.

Rates at the hotel start at 1695 CNY or about $254USD and includes complimentary breakfast through October 9. For the full list of what's open and what's still to come, check out the hotel's website.

It's quite interesting to have these two brands going up at the same time, in the same project and actually encouraging guests to go from one to the other. But the architect group, Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates, has a nice way of describing the whole thing:

The massing of the two towers suggests a coupled relationship between individuals, inspired by the Shanghai Sisters--larger-than-life figures associated with the city’s lively nightlife in the 1920s.

Shanghai Sisters. We love it. Now we're just awaiting the news that reservations have opened at the Andaz. We'll keep you posted as soon as we hear.

[Photos: Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates/Langham Hotels]