InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland, Five-star Waterfall hotel
InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland is a 5-star hotel in Songjiang, Shanghai, built into a former quarry that descends roughly 300 feet (about 90 meters) below the surrounding ground level. Most rooms face an artificial lake at the bottom of the pit, while the uppermost floors sit at ground level.
The site operated as a working quarry for decades, supplying stone for construction around Shanghai, before it was abandoned and left as a deep pit in the landscape. A development project began in the late 2000s to convert the pit into a hotel, which opened in 2018.
The hotel is known locally as the "Wonderland" for the feeling of descending into a former quarry pit and finding a fully functioning world below. Guests move between levels by elevator and walkway, giving the stay an unusual rhythm that sets it apart from any standard hotel experience.
The hotel is in Songjiang, about 22 miles (35 kilometers) from central Shanghai, so plan for a longer transfer from the city. Because much of the building sits below ground, it helps to check the floor plan before moving around the property, as orientation can be disorienting at first.
Two of the rooms sit entirely underwater, with views into the lake through glass walls, making them among the very few hotel rooms in the world that are genuinely submerged. Guests in these rooms report that fish passing by the glass become a simple but unexpected source of entertainment.
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