The Peninsula Hotels expands into Shanghai & Paris

Peninsula staff member portrait

Annie's portrait of the pageboys

Portraits of Peninsula by Annie Leibovitz

The Peninsula Shanghai

e -Travel Blackboard met with representatives from The Peninsula Hotels this week to discuss the recent opening of The Peninsula Shanghai and progress on The Peninsula Paris.

Jean Forrest, General Manager Marketing; Malcolm Thompson, General Manager of The Peninsula Tokyo and Sian Griffiths, Director of Communications took time out from their annual road show to meet with e-Travel Blackboard on Thursday.

Jean said that on October 18th, The Peninsula Hotels introduced its ninth hotel, The Peninsula Shanghai, which boasts 235 superbly appointed guestrooms and suites.

The hotel graces Shanghai's celebrated Bund and it is styled after a 1920s and 30s noble residence, which reflects the city's heritage as "the Paris of the East."

The Peninsula Shanghai has the honour of being the Bund's first new building in over 60 years.

Occupying a prime location on the Huangpu River beside the former British Consulate Gardens and the Suzhou Creek, The Peninsula Shanghai offers spectacular views of the Pudong skyline, river and historic Bund.

Jean said the company had "met their expectations" in terms of bookings, since The Peninsula Shanghai opened last month.

While it is too early to collate statistics, Jean expects the hotel will welcome a 50/50 split between business and leisure travellers.

Malcolm said The Peninsula Hotels was also looking forward to welcoming its 10th hotel when the brand makes its first foray into Europe with the forthcoming opening of The Peninsula Paris in 2012.

Ideally located in a magnificent historic building - formerly The Hotel Majestic - on Avenue Kleber just off the Arc de Triomphe on the prestigious Champs Elysees, the 200-room Peninsula Paris 'will bring a new level of distinction to Paris's luxury hotel scene.'

Sian said that work on The Peninsula Paris will begin in January and she shared some of the buildings fascinating history.

"George Gershwin wrote most of 'An American in Paris' when he was staying at the building and Henry Kissinger and Tho signed off on a treaty to end the Vietnam War at the Hotel Majestic in Paris in 1973."

Jean also spoke about this year's reprisal of The Peninsula Hotels' campaign 'Portraits of Peninsula' - by Annie Leibovitz.

"Portraits of Peninsula" originally debuted in October 2004 with the launch of The Peninsula Hotels' global advertising campaign featuring the work of renowned portrait photographer Annie Leibovitz