Shangri-La changes Vancouver's skyline

VANCOUVER—North America now has its first Shangri-La hotel as of 11 a.m. Pacific time on Jan. 24, when general manager Stephen Darling ceremonially unlocked the front door of the Shangri-La Hotel, Vancouver. This is the 60th hotel worldwide for the Asian-based luxury hotel group.

In attendance were the 190 men and women who will bring Shangri-La’s renowned Asian hospitality to life in North America.  They include the Shangri-La “Tigers,” a group of young hoteliers placed in positions at the group’s properties throughout Asia on training programs ranging from two months to two-and-a-half years, who are now leading the hotel’s staff.

Shangri-La is a hotel with a difference. Throughout their stays, guests will experience the touches and technology that define this next generation hotel.

A calming sensory experience using light and sound will welcome guests; candlelight flickers along a back wall and natural light streams into a small bamboo garden while wind chimes, crickets and rustling grass provide soft background sounds.  The traditional front desk has been eliminated and each guest is met individually and escorted to their room for private in-room check-in with Shangri-La welcome tea. Purpose-built for Shangri-La, the hotel’s technology system is intuitive, responding easily to human touch – from proximity cards for guestroom access to a single remote control for the entire in-room entertainment system, which includes a 46-inch flat screen TV.
                                                                                    
Within the hotel, guests will be in the care of service professionals from around the world, among them a team of guest hospitality ambassadors who transition seamlessly throughout the hotel, playing many roles rather than serving in a fixed position.  With one of the highest staff to guest room ratios in North America, personalized service will be a hallmark of Shangri-La Hotel, Vancouver.

Distinct among the facilities and services of the 119-room hotel will be guestrooms that average 52 square meters (550 square feet) – among the largest in Canada; CHI, The Spa at Shangri-La, the group’s signature spa brand; MARKET by Jean-Georges, the first restaurant in Canada for three-star Michelin chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten; and intimate meeting space that includes the first private hotel screening room in Vancouver.
 
Luxury finishings include d’Porthault linens in each guestroom, B&B Italia furniture in rooms and public spaces, Dedon outdoor furniture on guestroom balconies, crystal chandeliers commissioned from Italy and art chosen to suit each space occupied.

Three design firms have come together to create a destination that integrates British Columbia’s west coast style and Shangri-La’s Asian heritage.