The PuLi Hotel and Spa

I have a confession. Don't read this review for what to see and do in Shanghai. After an eventful year, the other Mr Smith and I are not full of grand sightseeing plans to start with. Succumbing to the magnetic charms of the PuLi Hotel and Spa, it’s a fait accompli: we barely leave the hotel at all.

The personable PuLi is one of those places that states its viewpoint from the outset. Pulling off the main road, under the bamboo-lined porte-cochère, and into the discreetly understated (yet assuredly sophisticated) lobby, we know we are all on the same page: here is the adult, sensuous calm needed to counter-balance our exertions.

This is a destination for the quietly confident. Seated at the 32-metre-long, dark-timber bar that doubles as reception, we are rubbing shoulders with global executives, Italian film-producers and international style-makers, all over a heady local cocktail of gin, elderflower and jasmine tea. Gazing through the floor-to-ceiling windows at the reflection pool and bamboo-filled courtyard outside, things get even better. The words everyone wants to hear when checking-in are spoken: we’ve been upgraded to a suite. Fabulous.

A candy-box of choices awaits in our room, sorry, suite. Do you start with an espresso from the handy machine or crack open the complimentary Côtes du Rhône? Bathe in the alcove bath tub overlooking a sliver of Shanghai or wash away jet-lag with the rainshower? Recline in the lounge or sprawl on the raised bed beyond the silk and glass sliding screens? Both of these spaces have sweeping city views, but with a thread-count this high, the vista outside may be the last thing on your mind. Let's just say the abundance of indulgent options at the PuLi is sufficient excuse to put off exploring the full range of Shanghai’s urban treats. There are simply too many reasons to stay in.

The next day, it’s spa time. Having left the other Mr Smith in the suite to work his way through the myriad of untested opportunities for lazing, lounging or lying down while eating, drinking or reading, I take myself off for a shamelessly indulgent two-hour massage. An entire floor dedicated to replenishing the body beckons at the PuLi’s Anantara-run spa. Here the experience is perhaps most seductive, as door after door slides away as you approach, to reveal chamber after chamber promising relaxation. Decked out with soothing limestone, concealed lighting and bamboo screens, rooms are arranged in a row to unveil a journey through sauna to steam and ultimately to the infinity lap pool, overlooking the private garden. One of the most mesmerising things about the PuLi is that, like a good burlesque dancer, it knows how much to reveal... and when. The design and attitude is such that there is always a hint of mystery, of something enticing to discover around the next corner. For quite a large hotel, it also has an amazing ability to feel exclusive, even private; which is just fine with us.

One of those cliched movie moments involving closing lift doors and surprised glances occurs when we do finally both venture out, as we recognise a passing member of staff as a friend of a friend from Australia. Having left the position of maitre’d at one of Melbourne’s finest restaurants, it turns out he is now head of food and beverage at the PuLi. All of which bodes very well for the restaurant we have yet to sample. When we do make our way to the sleek restaurant for dinner, it certainly doesn’t disappoint.

The next evening, we arrange to meet an old friend who has recently set-up the Shanghai office of a Danish architectural practice. Just a few streets from the elegant intimacies of the PuLi are the animated, tree-lined avenues of Shanghai's French Concession. In a city that bustles by day, we’re surprised to find that by night a network of secretive bars and restaurants awaits (such as the enigmatic concrete bunker that is Peoples 7, which required a sleuth's, or at least a knowledgeable concierge's, intuition to unearth.

However, before we set out, Mr Smith and I once again find ourselves at the lobby’s Long Bar, and it is from this vantage point that you can best appreciate the PuLi’s charms. Sitting here in one of the most handsome and engaging bars I’ve ever been in, the refined, non-conformist attitude of the hotel is perfectly encapsulated. The attention to detail at the PuLi makes you feel like you are in trusted hands and are part of something truly special, something essential: a hotel crafted from natural materials, designed and built to last. It has a way of pre-empting your needs; from the bath-side position of the button to control the window shades to the bottles of fresh water sitting on the day-beds beside the pool. Everything is just where you want it to be.

And at that moment in the Long Bar, there is nowhere else I would rather be to let the pressures of the year drain away. Mr Smith by my side, a martini in hand and a suggestively illuminated room full of people exchanging glances and sharing conversations. And, as always with the PuLi, a hint of something mysterious still to come.