Published : 2025-09-23
Where is the hotel with the lowest elevation in the world? The answer is Shanghai, China. The Intercontinental Shanghai Wonderland, also known as the underground hotel, took 10 years to build and is the world's first five-star hotel constructed in a quarry.
Its ground-breaking design even earned it a spot as one of the "architectural marvels" in the documentary World's Great Engineering Feats. With such impressive credentials, this miraculous hotel is definitely an experience worth seeking out if you get the chance!
Built against a cliff
While countries around the world are competing to build the world's tallest skyscrapers, a hotel in Shanghai has bucked the trend by being built underground. So, what exactly is this hotel like?
The Intercontinental Shanghai Wonderland is a luxury hotel built 88 metres below sea level, clinging to the walls of an abandoned quarry. It holds the titles of the world's lowest-elevation hotel and the world's first five-star quarry hotel.
Furthermore, it has been acclaimed as an "architectural marvel of the world" by renowned television programmes such as National Geographic's "World's Great Engineering Feats" and the Discovery Channel's "Engineering Marvels."
This quarry hotel in Shanghai was designed by the same team behind the Burj Al Arab in Dubai, which is also listed as a "world architectural marvel."
As this was humanity's first attempt to construct a massive building in such a unique geological environment, the design team had no prior experience to reference, facing immense construction challenges.
After thousands of adjustments and optimisations, and nearly a decade from planning to completion, the team ultimately broke through all barriers to successfully create this stunning, miraculous quarry hotel.
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In harmony with nature
Besides creating many breath-taking architectural wonders, the design of this quarry hotel itself is also exceptionally meticulous.
From beginning to end, the quarry hotel has consistently implemented the design concept of "integrating with nature"—building the hotel along the curve of the quarry cliff and incorporating waterfall design elements into the lifts, allowing the quarry, cliff face, and waterfall to form a natural and poetic dwelling.
The quarry hotel has a total of 336 guest rooms, with a style inspired by cliff faces, waterfalls, and hills.
The main building uses a large amount of glass for natural lighting, paired with metal panels, giving it a strong sense of modern lines. And each guest room has an external viewing corridor and balcony, allowing guests to enjoy up-close views of the cliff waterfall and the quarry's pristine scenery.
With natural ecological viewing rooms above and underwater-themed rooms below, the layout of the Shanghai quarry hotel is divided into two floors above ground and 15 floors below ground, with the bottom two floors being underwater.
The hotel has transformed the two underwater floors into a fantastical marine-themed area. Besides dining in the aquarium restaurant, guests can also sleep alongside small fish and experience the joy of being immersed in the ocean.
In addition to this, the hotel has also incorporated the features of the quarry, offering entertainment facilities and activities such as a bungee jumping centre, a water spa, and outdoor rock climbing.
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From an abandoned deep quarry left behind by ancient stone excavation, it has been successfully revitalised and restored into a world-renowned architectural marvel.
Now, featuring highlights such as the underwater-themed suites, the sky garden integrated with the quarry landscape, and the cascading hundred-metre waterfall, this hotel built within the deep pit has become a premier vacation destination for countless travellers.
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