Shanghai is home to the world's first underground hotel
A disused quarry in Shanghai has been transformed into at million-dollar hotel.
Discerning travellers always hope to find hotels that give them the perfect combination of luxury and serenity. Now, with the opening of the Deep Pit Hotel in Songjiang, just outside Shanghai, travellers can expect the kind of exclusivity that wouldn't be out of place in a Hollywood spy movie.
Officially known as the InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland, the hotel took ten years and $288-million to build.
Architects and designers transformed an 88-metre deep, water-filled disused quarry into an 18-floor, 337 room hotel that is accessed by helicopter. The Deep Pit Hotel is a feat of environmentally friendly property development: "By keeping most of the construction to within the quarry pit, the architects have limited altering the natural landscape. Even the roof blends with nature. Its greenery seamlessly merging with the environment, providing a tranquil hangout for guests."
There is a glass-enclosed artificial waterfall that visitors can enjoy from the comfort of their own rooms. The more adventurous visitors can go bungee jumping or rock climbing - all without ever having to leave the hotel.
The Deep Pit Hotel is now officially open to the public, with the first guests expected on 20 November 2018.
But before you dust off your passport you should know that a stay at the hotel will cost you $487 (roughly R7,000) per night.