Can you introduce Indigo On The Bund Hotel and the concept?

Indigo hotel was formerly an office building. Located on the South Bund just in front of Shiliupu docks and overlooking the Huangpu river, it offers unique views over the Bund and Pudong financial district.

Everything is a reflection to the Huangpu river and the docklands and Bund area . From the lobby to the guestrooms you are invited to discover the local atmosphere. During the room check-in process our guests can enjoy the traditional Kung Fu tea ceremony.

Located at close proximity from the Yu Garden and the Bund, the hotel is about “Neighbourhood stories”. The design itself reflects stories about people and about the place.

Can you tell us more about the way you create a unique experience for your guests?

Beyond the design itself, Indigo hotel is about the experience.

Our staff is very young and we value personality. We do a great job to hire people who are creative, passionate and vibrant. Positive behavior, is what we look for.

Indigo Hotel is a fun place to work and that’s how we create a unique atmosphere and experience for our guests.

For instance, we recently organized a coffee making competition with our staff and selected the best espresso. It was a lot of fun and we believe it helps to create this unique atmosphere for our guests.

On the 1st of December Indigo Hotel will turn one, what will be 2012 about?

We have achieved a lot of work since the opening last year. We are very thrilled after only one year on the market to have a lot of repeat customers.

Our restaurant, the CHAR located on the hotel top floor and offering a breathtaking view over the Bund is a destination itself.

In addition, we have recently opened three themed suites, representing the past, the present time and the future, absolutely worth seeing.

And few weeks ago we have opened our latest addition, the CHAR private dining offering intimate space for board meetings and private dining.

Your offering for meeting planners is quite unique, can you tell more about it?

Indigo On The Bund is a great option for companies willing to get away without leaving Shanghai. Meetings at our hotel are more intimate and unique.

Our meeting rooms offer very inspiring views over the Huangpu river as well as a “cute” environment, we want our guests to smile.

Even the food served during meeting breaks looks different and original. We designed “shared platters” for lunch, a convivial way for guests to share western and chinese food.

For example we serve brownies on ice cream sticks, we have candy bowls and bean bags. It kind of looks like a kid’s birthday party and all of this creates a very inspiring atmosphere for corporate customers.

What are the main challenges that you face at the moment?

We are in Shanghai, and customers do have an amazing bunch of great options. We overcome this by being unique and by offering a great product for people to get away.

At the same time, the global situation might be a challenge next year. Fortunately, we have built our product to match both local and international demand. Today our customer base is 50% chinese, which somehow protects us from European and American markets turndown.

What is your best memory as the General Manager of Indigo Hotel on The Bund?

The whole team has been very much involved from the beginning in the hotel design.

The challenge was to teach from scratch the team about the “Neighbourhood stories” concept, and to make everyone understand what it was about.

With this in mind, before the hotel opening we had everyone - including the hotel executive manager, the financial controller, myself, etc. – go for a two days trip to Jingdezhen (known as “Ceramics Metropolis” of China) to source local furniture and decoration for the hotel.

We had two amazing days during which we sought, chose and bargained the hotel China directly with the local suppliers. It was an unforgettable experience.