SHANGHAI - The one-hour drive from Pudong International Airport through snarled traffic seems to take longer than the 14-hour flight that brought me to China’s largest city. By the time the cabbie turns off the legendary Bund and onto Nanjing Road and I see the yawning doors of the Fairmont Peace Hotel waiting to welcome me, my body and mind are in a state of total jetlag numbness — the result of getting only a few hours’ sleep on the flight.

Jetlag is the price overseas travellers pay to visit amazing Asian cities like Shanghai and for business executives it’s a scourge that can jeopardize BIG DEALS negotiated through blurry eyes.

No one recognizes the challenges of jetlag better than the Fairmont Peace Hotel, where 60 per cent of its clientele are business travellers. That’s why Shanghai’s most elegant property has instituted a number of important initiatives aimed at helping executive travellers overcome jetlag so they can get down to business faster.

There are lots of theories on how to deal with jetlag — drink lots of water on flights, avoid alcohol, take jetlag pills — but few (if any) really work. The Peace Hotel’s remedies, however, offer a much higher rate of success and are far easier to swallow.

“We’ve designed menus in our restaurants featuring healthier foods which have been proven to help overcome fatigue and help re-energize our guests,” says amiable manager Christophe Le Chatton. “And our spa menu offers lots of treatments — pre- and post-flight — that deal specifically with relieving the stress and discomfort brought on by jetlag.”

Since every jetlagged traveller seems to come with a “built-in 4 a.m. wake up call,” Le Chatton and his team have also designed a 24-hour in-room dining menu featuring many healthy choices.

“Our Fairmont Fit Program is also geared to business travellers so they don’t have to carry their heavy fitness gear with them, thus allowing them to use carry-ons more often, which saves them time waiting for checked-in luggage at airports,” says the manager with the charming Parisian accent.

Fairmont’s Fit Program supplies Fairmont Gold Members with workout gear at little or no cost.

Left: The Fairmont Peace Hotel is an iconic symbol in Shanghai. Right: The Peace Hotel offers special spa treatments to help guests overcome jet lag.

La Chatton also says Gold Members — made up mostly of business execs — have their profiles stored and their preferences follow them from one Fairmont property to another.

“That lets us know a guest’s dietary needs and restrictions and other detailed information well in advance of their arrival,” says Le Chatton. “Our guest services staff then has plenty of time to attend to those needs discreetly.”

That kind of care and service is not surprising, considering Fairmont properties claim to be places where you can “find your energy and inner peace.”

The Peace Hotel’s food and beverage manager, Mazen Abilmona, has plenty of experience dealing with jetlagged guests thanks to stints at Fairmont’s Dubai properties. That’s why he’s rewritten the Peace Hotel’s menus, which now offer lighter fare like steamed fish and chicken instead of fatty foods that slow down the metabolism.

“We’re also working with local farms near Shanghai on an organic program so our guests will get even healthier food options in the future,” says Abilmona, who mentions that rooftop bee hives and herb gardens are all part of the Peace Hotel’s program going forward.

The Peace Hotel’s renowned spa, governed by director Shanti Krisna, comes to the rescue of jetlaggers with specially designed treatments administered by expert therapists.

“One of the treatments we’ve designed for people who travel across international date lines is the Time Zone-Out,” says Krisna in reference to a 90-minute treatment that starts with a 20-minute steam, followed by an invigorating back exfoliation and full-body massage that focuses on the legs to encourage circulation and ends with a temple rub to alleviate cabin fever.

Lily, one of the spa’s top trainers and the therapist who expertly administered my massage, says the jetlag treatments have become a favourite with international travellers.

Other treatments Krisna suggests for Peace guests after a long flight are the “Find Your Energy Massage” — an intense workout designed to heighten energy levels — and the “Retail Therapy” massage, which features a foot soak and heavy concentration on the neck and shoulder areas, both of which stiffen up on long flights.

For those travellers too tired to leave their rooms after a flight, the Peace Hotel offers in-room spa treatments, which Krisna says are becoming more popular.

Left: The rooms of this classic beauty are elegant. Right: Meals at the Peace Hotel are designed with jet lagged guests in mind.

Another way jetlagged guests can rejuvenate is just by walking the hallowed corridors and lobby areas of this Art Deco masterpiece, which qualifies as one of the most beautiful buildings in the world.

The 84-year-old Fairmont Peace Hotel keeps getting better with age thanks to constant upgrades like a new top-floor terrace bar.

From the rooftop vantage point, guests get uninterrupted views of the Huangpu River and futuristic Pudong. The legendary hotel’s Cathay Room also boasts a small terrace with a similar view and offers one of Shanghai’s most sought after weekend brunches, featuring lots of fresh fish and eggs benedict topped with lobster.

Of course, the hotel’s famous Jazz Bar off the main lobby, which patrons jam nightly to listen to its legendary band whose youngest member is in his early 80s, and the Cin Cin bar above the Jasmine Lounge were also designed to help you overcome jet lag.