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Hard hat tour of the Shangri La hotel at The Shard

shardbedroom

Who doesn't like getting a behind-the-scenes look, whether it's a restaurant, bar or hotel? So when Shangri-La asked us whether we'd like to take a hard hat tour of their new hotel at the Shard before it opened, we jumped at the chance.

We started off in the downstairs tea bar Lang which will open during the day serving up pastries and lighter meals but will close at 7pm to become a sort of holding bar for the restaurant and bar higher up in the hotel. As we left that to take the elevator up - it'll take an ear popping few seconds to reach reception on the 34th floor - we were told no pictures sadly. So you'll have to wait until the builders are out before we can bring you some of those.

Up to floor 35 and we came out into the lounge area for Ting - this is where more comfort food will be served up, so it's also where you'll find more South East Asian dishes on the menu. They'll be having both a traditional English afternoon tea and a Chinese tea here too.

The lounge leads through to the restaurant - you can actually walk right around this floor as everything at the Shard points out with only boring things like kitchens and lifts in the centre - which, as you'll imagine if you've been to any other restaurant here, has tremendous views.

But it's the hotel's top floor bar where things get really interesting. Gong on the 52nd floor is nosebleed territory where you'll have to drag yourself away from the view to pay attention to the person you're drinking with. And as the Shard gets smaller as it reaches the top, there's room for just 90 drinkers here, so it'll be reservations only.

We couldn't leave without taking a look at one of the bedrooms - the one pictured is their Iconic City View with 180-degree panoramic views. With Meantime in the mini bar and the city spread out before you, frankly we'd just order room service and never leave the bed.

The Shangri-La hotel at The Shard opens for business on Tuesday 6th May. They'll be open for afternoon tea and Ting will be in service for dinner.

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