J Hotel Shanghai Tower

Character and identity

Occupying floors 84 to 105 (plus the 120th) of the 2,000-foot Shanghai Tower, J Hotel is a vertical statement piece in Pudong, with 131 rooms and 34 suites arranged around the building's spiral so every window frames a different slice of the Huangpu, the Bund, the Pearl Tower and the city beyond. Interiors lean into a contemporary Chinese sensibility: embossed wallpaper, lacquerware, landscape paintings, wire sculptures in the sky lobby. Seven restaurants include what is billed as the world's highest, a Reiki-focused spa sits on level 85, and the 84th-floor pool runs to a 1,400-square-foot viewing deck. Butler service is round-the-clock.

Who's it for

Bottom line

What you are paying for here is altitude and the art-led interiors that come with it: no other Shanghai hotel puts you this high, with rooms this generously sized and butler service this attentive. Book a Skyline room at minimum for the separate living area, splurge on a Puxi-facing suite if the Bund view matters, and treat the rooftop dining as part of the itinerary.