What do you think of when you hear the words “abandoned quarry”?
If you’re anything like us, the answer will be something along the lines of: “location for coming-of-age or horror movie”, “scary swimming pool” or “repository for broken-down cars and shopping trolleys”.
The InterContinental Hotels Group, however, has come up a very different use for an abandoned quarry in China: five-star hotel.
Located in the town of Songjiang, about 35km from Shanghai, the InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland is set to open in October. The luxury hotel is being hailed as an architectural wonder thanks to its extraordinary design and location, built into the side of an 88-metre-deep abandoned quarry.
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Probably the most interesting thing about this very interesting hotel is the fact that it’s mostly below ground. In fact, of its 18 floors only two storeys are above ground – the other 16 are, technically speaking, underground. And two of these – housing guest rooms, a restaurant, a leisure complex and a swimming pool – are actually completely underwater.
In total the InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland has 336 rooms and suites, all with curved balconies from where you can gaze out at waterfalls tumbling down the surrounding quarry cliffs. A waterfall has also been built into the centre of the hotel, and pours into the pool at the bottom of the quarry. And, according to Travel+Leisure, thanks to clever use of geothermal and solar energy, the eco-friendly hotel even generates its own power, heating and lighting.
The price tag for this incredible hotel, therefore, probably comes as no surprise – according to Stuff, the total is more than US$500 million (approx AU$690m).
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