SHANGHAI (AFP): The world's highest luxury hotel, boasting a restaurant on the 120th floor and 24-hour personal butler service, has opened in Shanghai to guests with deep pockets and a head for heights.
Elevators whizz guests up the intimidating spiral-like skyscraper at ear-popping speeds of 18 metres per second to the J Hotel's 165 opulent rooms.
The hotel occupies the top floors of the 632-metre (more than 2,000 feet) Shanghai Tower in the city's financial district, the second-tallest building in the world after Dubai's Burj Khalifa.
Its opening was delayed partly by the coronavirus pandemic but the hotel has now started receiving well-heeled guests who can call on the services of a dedicated butler at any hour, day or night.
Patrons can also enjoy one of the hotel's seven restaurants, bars, spa, 84th-floor swimming pool, and all the other usual trappings of a top-notch hotel.
It does not come cheap. To celebrate its opening J Hotel is offering a "special experience rate" of 3,088 yuan (US$450) a night, but prices for its 34 suites sky-rocket.
The hotel is part of Jin Jiang International Hotels, a major Chinese state-owned group, and officially opened on Saturday (June 19).
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