Five-star Two MICHELIN Keys Xuhui, Shanghai
Capella Shanghai, Jian Ye Li
Fifty-five villas cut from a 1930s shikumen lane in Xuhui, each behind its own stone gate, with Pierre Gagnaire cooking across the alley.
Opens the hotel's own website. We have no arrangement with the hotel.
- MICHELIN
- Two Keys, 2025 and 2026
- Villas
- 55, with one to three bedrooms
- Opened
- September 2017
- From the airport
- About 30 minutes from Hongqiao, our estimate
The hotel
A lane of stone-gate houses.
Jian Ye Li is one of the last clusters of shikumen in Shanghai, the stone-gate lane houses that once filled the old city. These were built in the 1930s for foreign traders, and from 1945 Shanghainese families lived in them, often several to a house. Capella kept the brick façades and the narrow alleys and rebuilt the interiors as villas of one, two or three bedrooms.
The hotel opened in September 2017. Jaya Ibrahim set the tone indoors: French furniture, silk on the walls, Art Deco mirrors and wooden screens made in the region. Next to the villas sit forty private residences, a library for forty people and a walled Secret Garden. The MICHELIN Guide gave the hotel two Keys in its first selection and kept them in 2026.
- le Comptoir de Pierre Gagnaire The French chef's only restaurant in mainland China, about seventy seats across the lane from reception, with one MICHELIN star in 2026.
- Auriga Spa Five single and two double treatment rooms, a flotation tank, a vitality pool and a lounge with a wall of salt.
- le Bar The hotel bar, named in the Forbes Travel Guide Hotel Star Bars awards in 2025 and again in 2026.
Rooms & suites
A house of your own in the lane.
Every room here is a villa, from about 1,200 to 2,700 square feet, set over several floors of an old lane house.
- One bedroom Shikumen Villa For up to four guests. The Garden Villas look onto the Secret Garden.
- Two bedrooms Two Bedroom Shikumen Deluxe Villa For up to six guests, with king and twin beds.
- Three bedrooms Three Bedroom Shikumen Grand Villa For up to eight guests, with a dining table that seats eight.
Dining
French cooking in a Shanghai lane.
Venues as listed by the hotel; the star is from the MICHELIN Guide Shanghai 2026. Shown for information.
- le Comptoir de Pierre Gagnaire One Michelin star French Pierre Gagnaire
- le Bar Cocktails Forbes Hotel Star Bars Award, 2025 and 2026
- La Boulangerie Parisian bakery Bread and pastries
Recognition
Awards and listings.
- Two MICHELIN Keys 2025 and 2026
- Forbes Travel Guide Five stars, 2026
- DestinAsian Readers' Choice No. 1 hotel in mainland China, 2025 and 2026
Good to know
Before you go.
- Arrival Check-in from 3 pm, check-out by noon.
- Children Welcome. Breakfast is free for children under six, and the larger villas sleep six or eight.
- Pets Neither the hotel nor the MICHELIN Guide states a policy. We ask the hotel before booking.
Getting there
Flying to Shanghai.
Hongqiao, 13 kilometres west of the centre, is about thirty minutes away by car, our estimate. International flights land at Pudong, roughly fifty minutes east by car, also our estimate; private jets use the business aviation centre there or the one at Hongqiao.
- Beijing 1 h 45
- Hong Kong 1 h 55
- Tokyo 2 h 40
- Singapore 5 h 20
- London 12 h 30 long-range jet
Questions
What guests ask first.
- How many MICHELIN Keys does Capella Shanghai have?
- Two. The hotel received two Keys in the first MICHELIN selection for Shanghai in 2025 and kept them in 2026.
- Are the rooms really whole houses?
- Yes. All 55 are villas made from 1930s lane houses, with one, two or three bedrooms over several floors.
- Which airport is closest to Capella Shanghai?
- Hongqiao, about thirty minutes by car by our estimate. Most international flights use Pudong, around fifty minutes away.
- Can SkyCourtage arrange the flight to Shanghai?
- Yes. We arrange Business and First Class seats on scheduled airlines and private jet charter to Shanghai, with one final price, our margin included. The hotel is booked with the hotel or through our booking partner.
Also in Shanghai
Other hotels worth the trip.
- Bvlgari Hotel Shanghai In and beside the old Chamber of Commerce building, with Bao Li Xuan holding two stars and Niko Romito’s restaurant one.
- The Peninsula Shanghai The Peninsula on the Bund, with Yi Long Court and its star for Cantonese cooking.
- J Hotel Shanghai Tower High in the Shanghai Tower, and a new entry with two Keys in the 2026 selection.
- The PuLi Shanghai One Key in the 2026 selection, held again this year.
- Amanyangyun Aman outside the city, with one Key in the first Shanghai selection and two in 2026.
- Upper House Shanghai The former Middle House, renamed by Swire, central in Jing’an and holding one MICHELIN Key.
- InterContinental Shanghai Wonderland Built down the wall of a former quarry at Sheshan, with a Key in the 2025 selection.
- Mandarin Oriental Pudong, Shanghai On the Pudong bank of the Huangpu, where Yong Yi Ting, with one MICHELIN star, cooks in the Hangzhou style.
- Waldorf Astoria Shanghai on the Bund One MICHELIN Key, and a heritage wing that was the Shanghai Club, built in 1911.
- The Sukhothai Shanghai Neri&Hu designed the interiors in stone, fine woods, silk and polished brass; the hotel holds one Key.
- Park Hyatt Shanghai Floors 79 to 93 of the Shanghai World Financial Centre, with the 100 Century Avenue steakhouse.
- The Langham, Shanghai, Xintiandi T’ang Court, with two MICHELIN stars in 2026, is one of the restaurants in this hotel of 357 rooms.
- The St. Regis Shanghai Jingan Five glass sculptures by Dale Chihuly, and a club floor, The Manor, on the 55th storey.
- The Portman Ritz-Carlton, Shanghai Five hundred and ninety-three rooms and suites, and afternoon tea in The Ritz Bar & Lounge.
Staying at Capella Shanghai, Jian Ye Li?
Book the room, then the flight.
Rates and availability come from the hotel itself. For the journey to Shanghai, a Business or First Class seat or an aircraft of your own: tell us the date and we come back with one final price, our margin included.
Opens the hotel's own website. We have no arrangement with the hotel.