Lap of luxury

Riverside views to remember. [Photo provided to Shanghai Star]

The ballroom/banquet hall also offers spacious seating and a large pull-down projector screen, making it ideal for weddings, wine-tasting events and end-of-year parties.

"It's very big, so we can adapt it to all kinds of events," says Cao.

After the main event, guests can scramble upstairs to have (bilingual) resident bartender Joseph O'Rourke conjure up their favorite cocktails as they relax in its 200-square-meter lounge and three VIP rooms.

Luxury Lounge rarely opens to the public, although this may change down the road. They made an exception last Halloween and ended up having to turn people away such was demand.

There are more Union Jacks than appeared in Skyfall, the most recent James Bond movie, as well as a bovine motif that may be intended to evoke the English countryside.

In terms of amenities, there are DJ decks and beverage bars on both main floors, a pool table on the seventh floor presided over by an impressionistic rendition of the Mona Lisa, a foosball table, darts, and plastic shrubbery on the stairs leading to the roof.

The rooftop looks like a cross between a faux English lawn and a Cubist furniture-maker's dream, courtesy of its greensward floor and Spanish VONDOM tables and chairs.

Either way, the unobstructed views of the river and the financial center of Lujiazui are breathtaking. The white marble ledge serves as the perfect drinks counter, much like at Bar Rouge.

"We expect the property will be opened to the public on a members-only basis as it keeps growing in popularity," says O'Rourke.

If you go

To make a reservation call 021-6346-1971 or contact Izam Cao on 138-0195-4902. For more information check the official website at www.luxurylivingclub.com.

Address: 6-8 F, Block 13, Lane 505, South Zhongshan Road, 黄浦区中山南路505号13号6-8层