Swire's newest House Collective hotel in Jing'an — Piero Lissoni minimalism, serious art and standout dining. Intimate, design-led and well connected for a metro hop to the nightlife.
The Middle House (镛舍) is the fourth and newest of Swire Hotels' acclaimed House Collective — sister to The Upper House in Hong Kong and The Opposite House in Beijing — and it carries that pedigree beautifully. Opened in 2018 within the HKRI Taikoo Hui complex in Jing'an, it's the work of Milan's Piero Lissoni: restrained Italian minimalism crossed with Shanghai 'Haipai' craft, twin 14-storey towers wrapped in rounded aluminium louvres, and a genuinely good contemporary art programme. It's intimate — 111 studios plus serviced residences — with quiet, polished design credibility, and it made Travel + Leisure's 2025 'World's Best'.
The dining is a real draw: Café Gray Deluxe with its terrace bar, the Italian Frasca, and Sui Tang Li for contemporary Chinese (a 2025 Black Pearl pick), plus the Mi Xun spa with a heated indoor pool and a 24-hour gym. Rooms tend to start around ¥2,000 and climb from there. It's not in the gay quarter, but it's attached to Taikoo Li retail and a short walk from Nanjing West Road metro (Lines 2/12/13), so Xintiandi and the Huaihai nightlife are a quick metro ride or 15–25 minute taxi away. As with all hotels here, any LGBT-friendliness is brand-level rather than a property policy — but Swire's design-savvy, internationally-minded posture makes it a comfortable, stylish base.