Shanghai's Best Boutique Hotels

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Set behind a wall with a peaceful courtyard, just two blocks from Jin An Temple subway station in the Puxi district, URBN is the perfect retreat, set in the heart of the hurly-burly city. It also boasts an excellent new restaurant and lounge called Roomtwentyeight. Rooms start at $285, and a penthouse goes for $1,145.

Surprisingly few tourists who make the pilgrimage to Shanghai's trendy Xintiandi district realize that it houses a luxurious boutique hotel overlooking the park: 88 Xintiandi was originally built as serviced studios and apartments, which explains why the rooms are more commodious and better equipped than those in standard hotels. Built in 2003, the hotel feels at once modern and traditional, thanks to the use of antique art deco furniture and Chinese screens rescued from demolished buildings in the neighborhood.

Beds on elevated woven platforms and surrounded by gauze make these rooms among the most romantic in the city. With 41 rooms and 12 suites, it is the only boutique hotel in Shanghai with a 20-meter swimming pool. Don't miss the breakfast, which is included, and which most of the year can be eaten on the second-floor terrace overlooking pollarded plane trees lining the street and the man-made lake beyond. A studio costs $258 and an executive suite with two bedrooms goes for $688.

A Bavarian Villa

Undoubtedly the most fanciful design among Shanghai's boutique hotels is found in the Hengshan Moller Villa, which looks as if it might have been inspired by the mad Bavarian king, Ludwig. Its original owner was Eric Moller, a British shipping magnate and lover of horse racing. (There's a bronze statue of his favorite horse in the garden.) Moller had it built for his daughter during the 1920s to resemble an urban castle, complete with turrets and brickwork to mimic fortified walls. The communists took it over in 1949, but in 2001 it was refurbished and opened as a boutique hotel with 28 rooms and a lush garden.

The villa is at the northern boundary of the old French Concession, just off the Yan An expressway on Shan'xi road. Visitors can choose from Italian-, British-, French-, or Spanish-style rooms, and restaurants offering Chinese, Japanese, or French cuisine. Rooms range from $250 for a standard to $740 for an executive suite.

Hotel Web Sites:

Hengshan Moller Villa: www.mollervilla.com
Jia Shanghai: www.jiashanghai.com
Mansion: www.chinamansionhotel.com
URBN Hotels: www.urbnhotels.com
Xintiandi: www.88xintiandi.com

Balfour, BusinessWeek's Asia Correspondent, reports for the magazine from Shanghai