Load & Haul

Sneak peak of luxury quarry hotel

The Shimao Wonderland InterContinental Quarry Hotel – or the ‘Shanghai Quarry Hotel’ – is being built within a 90m water-filled quarry pit in the Songjiang district near Shanghai, China.

In October, ‘sample’ rooms were unveiled to the public following construction of the underground main structure.

The Quarry Hotel will be operated by global luxury hotel company InterContinental as a sport and leisure-oriented spa resort and will boast an aquatic-themed restaurant, sightseeing platform, bungee jumping on the cliffs and other entertainment facilities.

As per other reports, the hotel’s main structure will be underground, with approximately 300 guest rooms over 18 floors to be located in the underground structure. The two lowest floors will be underwater, which will harbour ‘luxurious’ suites and an aquatic-themed restaurant.

Furthermore, each room will reportedly have its own viewing balcony where guests will be able to see a 60 metre high waterfall on the other side of the quarry.

Breaking new ground

According to China Daily, the hotel’s developer Shimao Group has faced “many challenges” during the development process in the past six years.

“We had to evaluate whether the quarry cliffs were strong enough to support the hotel," an engineer reportedly stated. "Luckily, the geological structure in Sheshan is better than in the urban area of Shanghai.”

The publication added the developer had also registered approximately 20 patents to address problems such as materials transportation within the quarry.

As previously reported by Quarry, the Shanghai Quarry Hotel has been in construction since 2012; however, Atkins, the international architecture firm behind the innovative idea, won an international design competition for the concept back in August 2006.

Shimao purchased the disused pit and the surrounding land in 2006 to build a site that would integrate hospitality, leisure and entertainment elements.

The quarry was active from 1950 to 2000.

the hotel

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