Three Shangri-La Destinations Designing the Experience of Culture & Hospitality

For a creative moving through London, Toronto and Paris, hospitality has become another form of cultural expression. The spaces we drink, eat and stay in increasingly carry the same visual language as fashion, architecture and contemporary art, turning a night out or a weekend away into something closer to an immersive editorial. Across three distinct experiences, design becomes the thread connecting the bar, the hotel and the landscape beyond it.

Fifty-two floors above London Bridge, GŎNG bar introduced its new Icons of Asia cocktail menu this July, approaching the drinks list with the sensibility of a magazine. Created by Bar Manager Simone Ghiozzi and Assistant Bar Manager Davide Capirola, the menu moves through different moments of Asian pop culture, transforming references into flavours, objects and visual cues. India arrives through The Master Stroke, combining Enemigo Blanco Tequila with Darjeeling tea and Alphonso mango, while Japan's arcade culture is translated into Arcade Monkey, pairing Haku Vodka with yuzu.

The menu becomes particularly expressive when it moves beyond flavour and into visual storytelling. Neon City takes Hong Kong's illuminated skyline as its starting point, built around Campari, while Global Stage looks toward K-pop's worldwide cultural reach through mezcal, gochujang and sesame-spiced miso. Singapore's Golden Orchard arrives in a Merlion-shaped carafe, turning the serve itself into an object, while Manila's colourful jeepneys inform the rum-based Island Parade. Thailand, Taiwan, Vietnam and China continue the journey, with alcohol-free cocktails representing Indonesia and Malaysia extending the menu's conversation around Asia's breadth and diversity.

The idea is compelling because the experience operates on several levels at once. The ingredients carry cultural references, the vessels become design pieces and the menu itself acts as a visual archive of contemporary Asia. For creatives, it offers another reminder that inspiration can move freely between disciplines: a city skyline can become a drink, a vehicle can become a serving piece and a musical movement can inform flavour. GŎNG turns hospitality into a form of cultural publishing, with every page offering another point of entry.

That same instinct to design an experience beyond a single room can be found at Shangri-La Toronto, where the hotel has created a full-day journey into Niagara-on-the-Lake for those looking to move beyond the city. Approximately 90 minutes from Toronto, the experience begins with a chauffeur-driven transfer before shifting perspective completely with a helicopter flight over the Niagara River and Falls. The route crosses the Whirlpool area, Queen Victoria Park, the American Falls and the Skylon Tower, before arriving at Peller Estates Winery.

At Peller Estates, the pace changes from movement to ritual. Guests settle into a three-course à-la-carte meal accompanied by the winemaker's pairings, bringing the experience back to the landscape and the craft of wine. The package includes two nights at Shangri-La Toronto with breakfast, return transport and the Niagara excursion, starting from £2,032 ($2,747 USD) for two guests when booked directly through the hotel's concierge. It is an experience designed around progression: hotel, road, sky, landscape and table.

In Paris, La Bar Botaniste at Shangri-La Paris takes a more intimate approach. Designed by Pierre-Yves Rochon, the bar draws from the history of former resident Prince Roland Bonaparte, a botanist and great-nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte. The room borrows from the theatricality of Napoleonic tents, while botanical references run throughout the interior, from its pistachio ceiling and striped wallpaper to forest-toned leather seating. Even the cucumber and dill-infused drinking water becomes part of the narrative.

Under Head Barman Clément Emery, the concept continues into the drinks themselves. Hornet's Treat combines honey with Patrón Tequila, while Insomnia pairs sage and olive with Champagne and passion fruit, translating the botanical premise into a contemporary cocktail language. Named among the winners of Forbes Travel Guide's 58 Best Hotel Star Bars in June 2026, La Bar Botaniste demonstrates how hospitality can operate with the same attention to world-building found across fashion, art and design. These spaces are no longer simply places we pass through; they are environments built to be experienced, remembered and interpreted.