After a massive three year renovation, the iconic Peace Hotel is preparing to opens its doors once again, in hopes of restoring its days of glamour and glory. In the lead up to its soft opening in March, the Fairmont Peace Hotel’s general manager Kamal Naamani gives a sneak preview of the transformation.

Parisian fashion shows, extravagant gala events, and nights on nights of jazz once filled the Peace Hotel with Shanghai’s glamorous elite. Those were its 1930s heyday, a history which many in Shanghai still look back on with pride.

But despite how it easily overshadowed any other hotel in Asia back then, the century-old building was in need of a makeover as Shanghai modernised and Grand Hyatts and Ritz Carltons started to up the ante. Since 2007, the 12-storey Peace Hotel has been closed and the result of the historic restoration on the Bund is eagerly awaited.

“This is not just another hotel opening in Shanghai. There’s so much soul and unique history that stands on its own. We’re not competing with anyone else at this level,” says Naamani, who came to Shanghai in May 2009 to lead the Peace Hotel’s restoration. “What we’re selling is a piece of history.”

History is all fine and good, but striking a balance between preserving its legendary art deco feel without making it a museum has its challenges.

Naamani – who has worked at other landmark hotels like the Fairmont Banff Springs, Hotel Vancouver and most recently helped lead the Fairmont Dubai’s opening in 2001 – knows the importance of a building’s history all too well. 

“The Peace Hotel has such history, and beautiful art deco inside. You don’t want to change the feel of the hotel, the way it was meant to be, because there are expectations in Shanghai,” Naamani explains.

With heritage hotels like the Savoy in London in its portfolio, Canadian hotel operator Fairmont Hotels & Resorts joined hands with Jin Jiang International Group – China’s largest hotel operator and owner of the Peace Hotel – to refurbish and manage the landmark. Though Naamani wouldn’t disclose the renovation’s price tag, media reports estimate it to be around RMB 500 million.

“When it opens, you’ll walk into the lobby and your jaw will drop. You will be able to experience the Peace Hotel as it looked when it first opened.”

The goal was to uncover the heritage property’s lavish feel, Namaani says, while also enhancing it with today’s luxury standards and amenities.

When it opens, the revitalised Peace Hotel will offer 270 guestrooms and suites, including its original ‘Nine Nations Suites’ which are individually designed with an Indian, British, Chinese, American, French, Italian, Spanish, Japanese and German theme. An extension has also been added to the hotel’s back end, which will house additional guestrooms and a new sky lit swimming pool and spa.

The hotel’s façade will be kept intact, while the much-loved Jazz Bar, a Shanghai institution since the 1930s, is also being resurrected – complete with its old band.

Naamani also says its original décor colours will be uncovered again, and plans for a museum and on-site historian are in the works. The Peace Hotel certainly has many stories to tell, especially since it has lured the likes of Charlie Chaplin, Bernard Shaw and Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai as past guests.

“Our intention was to restore it to its original grandeur, make it a place to show off Shanghai and have great nights out,” he says. 

“When it opens, you’ll walk into the lobby and your jaw will drop. You will be able to experience the Peace Hotel as it looked when it first opened.”

Fairmont Peace Hotel, 20 Nanjing Dong Lu. Tel: 6321 6888.
Web: www.peacehotel.com.cn