5 Shanghai boutique hotels you'll want to call home

'Boutique' often can just mean a pleasant spin on 'small.' We've gone beyond that -- here are some of our favourite Shanghai boutique hotels with the right intimate and personal vibe that's sure to impress us jaded locals as well as our out-of-town guests. Here we go:

1. Come home to JIA Shanghai

Jia means “home” in Chinese and that’s exactly what this upscale Shanghai boutique hotel is going for. It works -- that is, if your home includes sleek furniture, funky lighting and edgy artworks. This 55-room hotel even has a common kitchen adjacent to the lobby with fresh-squeezed fruit juices in the fridge and biscotti on the counter. That’s hard for even a doting mother to compete with.

The spacious rooms conjure dreams of dinner parties to be thrown in them. Add LCD TVs, a wine cabinet stocked with international labels and a kitchen complete with burners and silverware and it appears the perfect house party locale. There are even laundry machines next to the gym to clean up the next day -- though that might be pushing the concept a bit too far.

931 Nanjing Xi Lu, near Taixing Lu 南京西路931号, 近泰兴路, +86 21 6217 9000
www.jiashanghai.com

2. A 'reel' boutique hotel: Ivy Shanghai

This Shanghai boutique hotel took the place of what was once a 1950s Shanghai cinema, and history isn’t lost on the venue’s new tenant. The Ivy Shanghai’s walls are scribbled with legendary cinematic lines like "Go ahead, make my day" while the lobby morphs into a mini-cinema in the evenings. Even the floors have that red carpet thing going on.

Inside, the 46 guest rooms exaggerate comfort to the point of having a pillow menu (yes, that would be a menu for pillows) just in case you’re really into cervical spine support. The mix of traditional Chinese and Western design is done well -- exactly what you’d expect from a hotel in the Strumpet of the Orient. Think traditional moon doors painted in modern, bright primary colors. One suite features a commonly seen door shape with the red character for "double happiness" (喜喜, incidentally, also the name of a popular cigarette brand) is scrawled across it.

709 Jiaozhou Lu, near Yuyuan Lu 胶州路709号, 近愚园路 , +86 21 3221 2600
www.ivyshanghai.com

3. Greener pastures: URBN Hotel

This 26-room Shanghai boutique hotel has made international headlines for being China’s first carbon neutral hotel. That’s definitely a laudable accomplishment, but not necessarily a reason in itself to park your bags there. But, what’s cool about this renovated downtown factory is how they creatively -- and stylishly -- use recycled materials.

The lobby wall is constructed with stacks of 1930s Shanghai leather suitcases, hallways are covered in grey tiles from demolished Suzhou buildings, and the hardwood floors come from old ships. Still not impressed? Its green vibe is literal, too. Rooms look out on a patio full of with bamboo, ivy and towering trees. You get all comforts of home and a clean, green conscience. Not a bad deal.

183 Jiaozhou Lu, near Beijing Xi Lu 胶州路183号, 近北京西路, +86 21 5153 4600
www.urbnhotels.com

4. In the center of it all: 88 Xintiandi

This hotel was one of the first in the city to capitalize on the boutique concept in 2002. According to guests, they've got the model right. One visitor relayed the tale of breaking his reading glasses and within an hour, having a perfect replacement delivered to his room.

Along with service, the other big perk of this 53-room Shanghai boutique hotel is the location. Some might raise an eyebrow at staying in the touristy Xintiandi, but then again, it's pretty convenient to walk out the lobby and find coffee, ice cream, wine bars and fusion restaurants. And, did we mention there's a pool, gym and yoga classes? We just did.

380 Huangpi Nan Lu, near Madang Lu 黄陂南路380号, 近马当路 +86 21 5383 8833
www.88xintiandi.com

5. A warm touch: Lapis Casa

It could be the size. It’s just 18 rooms. It could be the fact that they’re decorated with unique antique pieces. Or, maybe it’s that spicy sweet candle smell that reminds you of grandma's house at Christmas. Regardless, this Shanghai boutique hotel is one of the most intimate around -- and not in the 'massage' type of way.

With stone walls and stain-glass windows, you almost feel as if you’re walking the dim hallways of an old European castle. Fortunately, light from the nearby park keeps the rooms from feeling too medieval -- or too creepy. Lapis Casa is definitely not a museum though. The antiques from green farmhouse-inspired chairs to a claw foot bathtub are all for sale. Everyone buys Mao memorabilia when they’re in Shanghai, but who else can say they brought home a claw foot bathtub?

68 Taicang Lu, near Songshan Lu 太仓路68号, 近嵩山路, +86 21 5382 1600
www.lapiscasahotel.com