In W*138, we announced Wallpaper* and Fortune magazine’s shortlist of the world’s 40 slickest new business hotels. Here, we reveal the winners and our judges’ eight other standouts.
The joint winners are The Peninsula hotel - which captures the 1920s glamour of Shanghai’s fabled Bund - and the Mandarin Oriental in Barcelona, housed in a former mid-century bank, recently made over by Patricia Urquiola.

The Peninsula, Shanghai
Set on Shanghai’s fabled Bund, The Peninsula is a speedy cab ride from the financial district of Pudong, which might explain the frisson that greeted its opening late last year. Inspired by the Bund’s art deco architecture, the public spaces, such as the pool (right), have an interwar glamour about them, while the 235 rooms are styled like a 1920s private home, albeit offering wi-fi, complimentary international and local calls, humidity control systems and Nespresso coffee machines. Michelin-starred chef Tang Chi Keung presides at the Yi Long Court dining room where he serves up exceptional Cantonese fare.
www.peninsula.com/shanghai
Photography: Jan Siefke