The Shangri-La Hotel in Tokyo has been named as the number one Luxury Hotel in the World in the Traveler’s Choice 2012 Awards by TripAdvisor.

The awards are based on reviews and opinions provided by travelers and were introduced 10 years ago.

The categories for 2012 have been expanded to include top-25 lists for 30 countries and regions, as well as an international competition for the best properties to visit.

Luxury hotel chain Shangri-La will stop serving shark fin at its 72 properties, as the campaign to protect the marine predators gains ground among Chinese consumers.

The Hong Kong-based group said it would cease serving shark fin in all of its restaurants as well as accepting new orders for shark fin products in banqueting with immediate effect, under a “sustainable seafood policy”.

Shark fin soup is viewed by many Asians as a rare delicacy and is traditionally served at wedding parties and business banquets in Hong Kong.

Even though Christmas is not a traditional Japanese celebration, few places in the world mark December 25 with such gusto as Tokyo.

The Shangri-La Hotel, Tokyo has announced a WISH.forJapan Christmas package that is available December 10-25.

10 percent of the price, which starts at Y52,000 per night will go to support people affected by the earthquake and tsunami that struck northeast Japan in March.

The opening this week of Shang Palace restaurant will at long last answer an unresolved question: Is Paris ready for truly gourmet Chinese cuisine and the prices that come with it?

That the capital of fine dining might give an ambitious Asian eatery the cold shoulder is not unimaginable.

For most French people, Chinese eats rhymes with bottom-of-the-food-chain takeout, not 80 euros for lunch and 120 for dinner per head.

Only one Chinese establishment in Paris has ever shined in the Michelin Guide firmament, and then only fleetingly. Modest by comparison, Chen Soleil-Est earned its lone star — literally front page news across France — in 1999 and lost it in 2007.

The Shangri-La Hotel in Tokyosaid Monday it would not accept any new bookings “until further notice”, citing the city’s uncertain power supply following Japan’s massive earthquake and tsunami.

The hotel said it hoped to resume normal operations as soon as possible but the decision highlighted problems the tourism industry will be forced to confront as Japan recovers from the deadly March 11 twin disasters.

“Following the natural disasters in Japan on 11 March 2011 and the resulting logistical difficulties and hazards, Shangri-La Hotel, Tokyo will not be accepting any new guests until further notice,” the statement said.

Shangri-La has debuted a new luxury five star brand with the opening of a new hotel in Shanghai February 18.

Kerry Hotels is a new five-star contemporary brand from Shangri-La which provides “a seamless link between business, entertainment and recreation.”

The new Shanghai Pudong property offers 574 guestrooms decked out with the latest technology such as DVD players, Nespresso machines, iPod docking stations and 40-inch televisions.