The depths of luxury

Fancy a subterranean stay? This one will not come cheap.

This aerial picture shows the InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland, built inside a formerly abandoned quarry 88m deep, about 32km south-west of Shanghai.

The 337-room hotel opened its doors yesterday as part of a US$288 million (S$397 million) development that also includes a theme park.

The 17-floor hotel hugs one side of the quarry, with a waterfall cascading down the opposite face. One floor of suites is below the water level, but instead of letting guests gaze into the depths of Shenkeng Quarry, the windows are instead buffered by large fish tanks.

Engineers faced challenges during the project's construction, such as when heavy rainfall caused a nearby river to overflow into the quarry in 2013. An embankment was built around the edge of the pit to prevent that from happening again.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on November 16, 2018, with the headline The depths of luxury. Subscribe