Marriott will open the first-ever urban Ritz-Carlton Reserve in Shanghai in 2030, a 110-room hotel inside a 480-metre North Bund tower, as US hotel giants race to expand in China.
Cover image: Shanghai's Lujiazui skyline on the Huangpu River, facing the North Bund district where the tower will rise — photo by David Zhang from Canada, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
Marriott International will take its most exclusive brand into a city centre for the first time, announcing on 21 August 2026 an agreement to open the Ritz-Carlton Reserve Shanghai in 2030. The roughly 110-room-and-suite hotel will occupy the ultra-luxury portion of a planned 480-metre, 103-storey mixed-use tower on Shanghai's North Bund, developed with Shanghai SIIC North Bund New Landmark Construction and Development Co., Ltd. It will be the first urban property in the Ritz-Carlton Reserve collection, which until now has consisted entirely of small, remote resorts.
The announcement matters beyond a single signing. Reserve is deliberately scarce — just nine properties are open worldwide, against more than 565 hotels across Marriott's wider luxury portfolio — and the brand's identity has been built on secluded natural settings. Planting a Reserve flag in a skyscraper in China's commercial capital is a strategic redefinition, and a signal of how hard American hotel groups are now competing for China's luxury traveller. Marriott says the deal will also make Shanghai the only city in the world with all eight of its luxury brands represented.
What is a Ritz-Carlton Reserve?
Reserve sits at the very top of Marriott's brand architecture, above The Ritz-Carlton itself and alongside ultra-luxury names such as Bulgari in positioning — a tier explored in our ranking of the most valuable hotel brands in 2026. Each Reserve is small (roughly 50 to 115 rooms), highly personalised and, until now, located in what Marriott describes as handpicked remote destinations. The nine open properties are:
| Property | Location |
|---|---|
| Phulay Bay | Krabi, Thailand |
| Dorado Beach | Dorado, Puerto Rico |
| Mandapa | Ubud, Bali, Indonesia |
| Zadún | Los Cabos, Mexico |
| Higashiyama | Niseko, Japan |
| Rissai Valley | Jiuzhaigou, China |
| Nujuma | Red Sea, Saudi Arabia |
| Nekajui | Peninsula Papagayo, Costa Rica |
| Siari | Riviera Nayarit, Mexico |
More are on the way: a Reserve at Trojena in Saudi Arabia is expected in 2026, Eleuthera in the Bahamas in 2027 and Abu Dhabi in 2029. Shanghai, due in 2030, will be the brand's second property in China after Rissai Valley — but the first anywhere that is not a resort.
What will the Shanghai hotel look like?
The Reserve will anchor a new landmark tower on the North Bund, the redeveloping waterfront district on the Puxi side of the Huangpu River, facing the Lujiazui skyline. At approximately 480 metres and 103 storeys, the mixed-use scheme will combine retail, offices, residences and an observation deck, with the hotel taking the ultra-luxury component. That height would place it among Shanghai's tallest buildings, behind only the 632-metre Shanghai Tower across the river.
Detailed designs, room categories and the hotel's position within the tower have not yet been disclosed. "Ritz-Carlton Reserve has always been about creating rare, deeply personal experiences that could only exist in their destination," said Tina Edmundson, Marriott's president of luxury, framing the urban debut as a translation of that idea to a city address rather than a departure from it. Huang Haiping, vice president of partner SIIC Group, said the companies aim to "create a world-class luxury property" on the site.
Why is an urban Reserve a strategic shift?
Reserve's promise has always been seclusion — rainforest, reef, powder snow — so a 103-storey tower is a genuine break with brand doctrine, and not everyone is convinced. Points site One Mile at a Time argued the move shows luxury "brands mean nothing anymore" if a remote-sanctuary concept can be rebadged onto a skyscraper.
The commercial logic, though, is straightforward. Ultra-luxury demand is concentrated in gateway cities, and rivals such as Aman and Rosewood have profitably taken resort-born brands urban. For Marriott, an urban Reserve creates a price ceiling above The Ritz-Carlton in cities where it already operates, at a moment when a record global hotel construction pipeline is making differentiation at the top end harder. Expect the Shanghai experiment to be watched closely — and, if it works, repeated.
Why is Marriott betting on China's luxury market?
China is Marriott's fastest-moving growth market. The group signed a record 200-plus deals in Greater China in 2025, adding more than 36,000 rooms to its regional pipeline, with luxury and premium brands leading. Competitors are moving just as aggressively: Hilton passed 888 trading hotels in Greater China and Mongolia in late 2025 and says it is on track to double its footprint, while Hyatt ended 2025 with 213 hotels in the region and a pipeline of roughly 265 more.
Underpinning it all is a strong inbound recovery. Beijing has extended visa-free entry for citizens of about 45 countries through the end of 2026, and visa-free arrivals were up more than 48% year on year in late 2025 — momentum we covered in our report on China's visa-free entry policy and 2026 tourism surge. Luxury operators are chasing that demand across Asia's gateway cities, from Shanghai's North Bund to Fairmont's debut in Bangkok. A 2030 opening gives Marriott a four-year runway — and a highly visible flagship — in the market most likely to define the next decade of ultra-luxury travel.
Frequently asked questions
When will Ritz-Carlton Reserve Shanghai open?
Marriott and its development partner expect the hotel to open in 2030, as part of a 480-metre mixed-use tower on Shanghai's North Bund. As with any project of this scale, the date could shift as construction progresses.
How many Ritz-Carlton Reserve hotels are there?
Nine are currently open: Phulay Bay (Thailand), Dorado Beach (Puerto Rico), Mandapa (Bali), Zadún (Mexico), Higashiyama (Japan), Rissai Valley (China), Nujuma (Saudi Arabia), Nekajui (Costa Rica) and Siari (Mexico). Further Reserves are planned for Trojena, the Bahamas, Abu Dhabi and Shanghai.
Is this the first Ritz-Carlton Reserve in China?
No. Rissai Valley, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, already operates in the Jiuzhaigou valley in Sichuan province. Shanghai will be the brand's second Chinese property — but its first urban hotel anywhere in the world.
How big will the Ritz-Carlton Reserve Shanghai be?
The hotel is planned at approximately 110 guest rooms and suites, in keeping with the brand's intimate scale, inside a 103-storey tower that will also house offices, residences, retail and an observation deck.
Sources
- WebWire — Marriott International press release: Ritz-Carlton Reserve to debut in Shanghai
- One Mile at a Time — Ritz-Carlton Reserve Goes "Urban," With Shanghai Hotel
- One Mile at a Time — What Are Ritz-Carlton Reserve Resorts? Locations & How To Book
- Hilton Stories — Hilton on Track to Double Portfolio in China Following 888 Hotel Milestone
Post a comment