Along with the Peace Hotel, the Waldorf Astoria is one of the few luxury properties in Shanghai with history in the building. The hotel’s Long Bar has its origins back in 1911 when the first British Consul General in Shanghai established an exclusive gentleman’s club for the city’s movers and shakers.The bar’s leather and dark-wood paneled interiors harken back to an earlier era, and it boasts one of the finer selections of scotch available in Shanghai; the best seat in the house is still on the couches and at the end of the bar closest to the windows with the Bund view. The Waldorf Astoria is comprised of two buildings: the restored Heritage Building — which has 100-year-old marble floors and contains the hotel’s restaurants, bar and 20 carefully-restored suites — and the recently constructed 24-story Waldorf Astoria building where the majority of rooms are located. Rooms are wonderfully luxuriant, with high thread-count sheets, lovely Art Deco touches, high ceilings with chandeliers and modern touches such as televisions embedded in some bathroom mirrors. The Waldorf’s Pelham’s French restaurant is fantastic, with Wagyu beef tenderloin and various seafood dishes equally well done. Breakfast offerings lean toward Western, with smoked salmon, cheese and bakery offerings and an egg chef that can make Eggs Benedict to order. Service is generally 5-star attentive at this Hilton property; this is a good choice for guests who want to experience the Bund and Shanghai history, yet want some distance from the tourist crowds that flock to the Fairmont Peace Hotel.