Travellers' Checks | Luxury hotel in a quarry? Shanghai to open a five-star hole in the ground
Plus, Best Western’s American trailer experience at resort outside Bangkok
A disused quarry might sound like an unlikely location for a luxury hotel, but that’s where you’ll find the InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland when it opens this year. With two floors above ground level and 16 below, the hotel looks spectacular, at least in computer renderings, and will surely become a destination in its own right.
All 336 rooms and suites will feature a balcony offering views of the surrounding cliffs and waterfalls, and will probably be fully booked well into 2019. Watch this space for opening dates, rates and a more in-depth look at the hotel.
On track – book celebrates railway heritage and forgotten lines
Most countries with a significant railway network also have their share of abandoned and mostly forgotten lines – the Fanling to Sha Tau Kok KCR branch line (1912-1928) is a local example.
Enthusiastically built all over the world from around the mid-19th to mid-20th centuries, railways often became obsolete with the advent and expansion of road and air travel, or the demise of the communities they were supposed to serve.
More than 30 interesting examples are featured in a new book by Anthony Lambert, called Lost Railway Journeys from Around the World. There are just four Asian examples, including the Patiala State Monorail Trainways, in India, and Indonesia’s Surabaya Steam Tram, which was the last of its kind when it was taken out of service in 1978.
