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-Any word on/experience of the conversion of the former Hotel Nikko new Hilton City Centre?
-The Mandarin Oriental location is referred to on a couple of occasions as being slightly non-centric: is that much of a thing? It actually looks nice to me, so as to be able to do 20-/30-minute walks a day?
TIA
We found Shanghai Marriott Marquis City Centre comfortable, ridiculously clean and close to the stuff we wanted to see and do. Also great (slightly distant, but still great) views of the Bund (if Gold / you ask nicely). But the Hilton does look a bit newer spec.
@Michael C – I don’t know that new Hilton but it’s in a really poor and very ugly location and right by the Yan’an elevated highway, one of the busiest/noisiest arteries in the city.
The Mandarin sort of is and sort of isn’t in a non-centric place, but for us it’s a brilliant location although having stayed there, we didn’t think it’s quite up to scratch and the rooms a bit cramped. We have stayed in five different hotels in the city, but our past four stays (and a fifth upcoming booking) have been at the Grand Kempinski which is a few doors down from the Mandarin. Both are right by the only river crossing ferry station for miles which is a big plus. Great £20 massage place by the ferry terminal as well. The other side is the newly developed North Bund and you can walk all the way to the People’s Monument via the Hongkou district which has undergone a lot of renovation and one of the most interesting areas of the city.
One can walk to lots of restaurants (on both sides of the river), the Pearl Tower and the Lujiazui metro stop. There is a newish, really good riverside walkway + cycle path outside both hotels from which you get great views of the Bund and Pudong, day and night. Both hotels offer spectacular views, better than most in the city.
There are lots of nice hotels, but so many, like the Regent (ex Four Seasons) are very much in no man’s land and for us location matters a lot in Shanghai.
I like Indigo on the Bund. Great views of Shanghai’s amazing skyline, but a little out of the way. Also InterContinental Shanghai Ruijin is worth a look – huge site & good lounge.
I like Indigo on the Bund. Great views of Shanghai’s amazing skyline, but a little out of the way. Also InterContinental Shanghai Ruijin is worth a look – huge site & good lounge.
It really is out of the way and rather isolated; nothing useful around. The whole area that was previously quite Chinese has been redeveloped in a surprisingly unattractive way.
@JDB @SwissJim all great tips, thanks so much: will peruse the suggestions. It will be a short 5-day visit,
with our 11-yr old, so these are factors too.Will definitely consider the MO but in a larger room. At that age, the ferry-trip
is seen as a plus rather than a bind!I did indeed look at the Regent, after our wonderful Beijing experience last year,
but feel location will indeed take priority.I haven’t been to Shanghai since 2008, when I stayed at Le Royal Méridien, which
has fairly recently become a Conrad: I guess that would be an easy if less romantic option.@Michael C – the ferry is a big plus because, as you may recall, there are no bridges across the river in the centre of town. The next ferry station is 25-30 minutes walk. It’s also only 30p or so and offers great views, avoiding the awful cruises.
We’ve booked the Shangri-La Jing’An for our first-time visit this summer, primarily based on the location being decently rated by a few experienced locals over in the FlyerTalk China forum (and the added bonus of having Jade status in Shangr-La means we don’t have to pay for breakfast)
We’ve booked the Shangri-La Jing’An for our first-time visit this summer, primarily based on the location being decently rated by a few experienced locals over in the FlyerTalk China forum (and the added bonus of having Jade status in Shangr-La means we don’t have to pay for breakfast)
I’m sure the Shangri-La itself will be fine but what are the people in this forum saying is good about staying in the Jing’An area for tourists? Or that Shangri-La rather than one on the river?
@JDB One of the main contributors on that forum (Moondog) is a Shanghai resident IIRC and I think his view is that the Pudong/Bund area is a must-visit during the course of a holiday, but that a bunch of the other tourist attractions are further west in the city so he’d suggest folks base themselves more west, unless they’re in Shanghai for business. What we want to see is mostly on the Puxi side, although we will definitely make a trip over to see the Bund and spend some time in Pudong as well.Although bit dated and not Shanghai’s best hotels, the Park Hyatt and Grand Hyatt are worth a visit being in one of the world’s tallest buildings.
Although bit dated and not Shanghai’s best hotels, the Park Hyatt and Grand Hyatt are worth a visit being in one of the world’s tallest buildings.
The Park Hyatt also has a great Cantonese restaurant on about 87F with a bargain lunch menu.
@JDB One of the main contributors on that forum (Moondog) is a Shanghai resident IIRC and I think his view is that the Pudong/Bund area is a must-visit during the course of a holiday, but that a bunch of the other tourist attractions are further west in the city so he’d suggest folks base themselves more west, unless they’re in Shanghai for business. What we want to see is mostly on the Puxi side, although we will definitely make a trip over to see the Bund and spend some time in Pudong as well.I guessed the recommendation came from a resident rather than a tourist. There’s no right or wrong and you must stay where you wish but while Jing’An is an upmarket area, it’s not an especially nice or interesting area and the Shangri-La is right on the Yan’An elevated highway to Hongqiao airport/train station.
Whatever places you plan to visit, transport is very easy and the river, Bund (plus nearby Hongkou) and Pudong really are the essence of the city and there are lots hotels from which you can see both and/or step out and see which will impress every time, day and night until the lights go off at about 10pm.
We stayed at the MO in December in a Club Mandarin river view king which was a perfectly adequate size for us with a slightly oblique view of the river and full on to the Oriental Pearl Tower. In addition to the river ferry, we used the Metro quite a bit; it’s clean, safe and very cheap – but don’t underestimate the distances involved in changing lines. The nearest station to the MO is about a 10 minute walk but the hotel shuttle service will take you there foc. The lounge is very opulent but strangely lacking in atmosphere; one evening we were the only people there.
Breakfast in the main restaurant was excellent; on our very early start for birding, they provided takeout boxes so we could pack a picnic. Service was amazing throughout.
Haven’t stayed at the Grand Kempinski but might try it next time; we did like the area.
I have never been to China. I’m off to Shanghai in March for a few nights and have opted for The PuLi because I liked the modern style. I suspect that it may not be in the best area for tourism? Can I hijack the thread a little and ask for a couple of restaurant recommendations for Shanghai? I’d like somewhere fancy/trendy etc but also somewhere quite the opposite; good food but more chaotic/lively/fun such as a place with street stalls etc. If someone could throw in a restaurant recommendation for Kathmandu as well that would be superb!
@GillyDee – that’s an excellent review. I’m still wondering whether it might be a gorgeous option for my husband and I, but perhaps not “buzzy” enough for our youngster…I also have an irrational love of massive spacious opulent lobbies! Love to get up very early and hang around there for a bit reading the press while waiting for breakfast.
Incidentally, even though it’s not a hobby of mine, I do enjoy seeing where you go each time for your birding – we’ve at least signed the family up for the Big Garden Birdwatch this month!
Can I hijack the thread a little and ask for a couple of restaurant recommendations for Shanghai? I’d like somewhere fancy/trendy etc but also somewhere quite the opposite; good food but more chaotic/lively/fun such as a place with street stalls etc.
Hijack away! The @JDB Park Hyatt lunch tip already sounds fabulous.
We are heading to Shanghai end of April/early May for 2-3 nights at the end of a stint in Hong Kong and Taiwan, so these are welcome tips on hotels.
Would also love to read some delicious restaurant recommendations!
I have never been to China. I’m off to Shanghai in March for a few nights and have opted for The PuLi because I liked the modern style. I suspect that it may not be in the best area for tourism? Can I hijack the thread a little and ask for a couple of restaurant recommendations for Shanghai? I’d like somewhere fancy/trendy etc but also somewhere quite the opposite; good food but more chaotic/lively/fun such as a place with street stalls etc. If someone could throw in a restaurant recommendation for Kathmandu as well that would be superb!
The Puli is next to the Shangri-La and also next to the Yan’An elevated highway, like staying by the Chiswick flyover. Most hotels in Shanghai are modern! The Puli was I think built for the Expo year in 2010. Personally, I’m not sure Jing’An is a very nice area to stay. People get excited about the temple, but it was built about 30 years ago having been entirely destroyed by fire some years earlier. It does have a very recognisable gold top! It’s surrounded by an upmarket shopping mall and streets. For us, you could be anywhere really whereas so many parts of Shanghai are totally unique settings.
The municipality has been discouraging street food of a type that used to be set up every evening, particularly the very popular shaokao, so much of that type of food is now stands/small stores in malls.
In terms of restaurants, we particularly like yunnanese food, so Hong 0871 is a firm favourite of ours (unusually, it is essential to book). Canton 8 (the Runan Road branch) is probably the cheapest two star Michelin around – we had lunch in October, £70 for two with a bottle of wine, water and tea (expensive – £10+ these days if you like a nice one). You will need to queue as you can’t generally book after 11.30. We liked Chic 1699 in Times Square a lot on our recent visit but it was spookily quiet and Chengdu Accents next door was perhaps even better. We really enjoyed Shi He Yuan – have been three times, very good and always busy. Yong Fu Mini next door is a Ningbo style restaurant with superb seafood, the junior of a famous parent. More casual is Lan Xin on Jinxian Road where you will likely have to queue for a while. Avoid Lost Heaven, very popular, used to be good, now awful! The place is coming down with good restaurants, but it’s a considerably more expensive place to eat than Beijing.
@StillintheSun – for completeness, I should have said the Puli does have the plus of being next to Jing’An park (which the Shangri-La doesn’t). The other thing which bothered us when we looked at the place some years ago is that the place is all rather dark, deliberately trying a bit too hard to be a bit too zen for our taste!
Thanks @JDB. You have done my research for me! Just another thing. Roughly what sort of time do people go to restaurants for lunch and their evening meal? I’m happy to adjust to local preferences so I can eat somewhere with a little atmosphere.
Thanks @JDB. You have done my research for me! Just another thing. Roughly what sort of time do people go to restaurants for lunch and their evening meal? I’m happy to adjust to local preferences so I can eat somewhere with a little atmosphere.
Most local people seem to eat lunch and dinner pretty early, so 11.30-1.00 and up until about 7.15/7.30 are really the peak times. Most places don’t take bookings, so you can expect to queue but it’s never very long as restaurants serve quickly and nobody hangs around; they eat and leave. We don’t like eating too early, but like you don’t want to be alone so if you try to book or pitch up around 12.45 or 7.30 that feels about the right balance.
One restaurant I didn’t mention that we tried in October was Rong by the Andaz in Xintiandi which isn’t really an area to eat simply because it’s expensive and principally aimed at poseurs/instagrammers/tourists but Rong was really excellent, particularly for fish that you can choose as you come in. Xintiandi is a newly built area a bit like Covent Garden and really is worth a walk around; it’s quite an eye popping tribute to capitalism and social media. The French Concession has become similarly instagrammed!
An additional thing, if you like massages or treatments but find hotel prices prohibitively expensive is the Green Massage spa chain (quite a few locations) – full of hotel refugees, very smart comfortable places at reasonable prices. There’s a great one (not in the Green chain) called Bamboo massage by the ferry terminal by the Banyan Tree hotel; my wife says they are the best in town and about RMB150.
I don’t know if you have read anything of life during the period of the French/International concessions but much social life took place in the Astor House hotel, now home to the Securities Museum – well worth a visit. Another place if you have an interest in modern Chinese history is the house of Zhou Enlai a very key and moderating figure in the revolution.
@GillyDee – that’s an excellent review. I’m still wondering whether it might be a gorgeous option for my husband and I, but perhaps not “buzzy” enough for our youngster…I also have an irrational love of massive spacious opulent lobbies! Love to get up very early and hang around there for a bit reading the press while waiting for breakfast.
Incidentally, even though it’s not a hobby of mine, I do enjoy seeing where you go each time for your birding – we’ve at least signed the family up for the Big Garden Birdwatch this month!
On O’ahu at the moment – big lifer yesterday – bristle-thighed curlew! Bit of a downer, however, that the Marriott we’re staying in is on land owned by the Church of LDS, so you can’t buy or consume alcohol in public…
@GillyDee – that’s an excellent review. I’m still wondering whether it might be a gorgeous option for my husband and I, but perhaps not “buzzy” enough for our youngster…I also have an irrational love of massive spacious opulent lobbies! Love to get up very early and hang around there for a bit reading the press while waiting for breakfast.
Incidentally, even though it’s not a hobby of mine, I do enjoy seeing where you go each time for your birding – we’ve at least signed the family up for the Big Garden Birdwatch this month!
On O’ahu at the moment – big lifer yesterday – bristle-thighed curlew! Bit of a downer, however, that the Marriott we’re staying in is on land owned by the Church of LDS, so you can’t buy or consume alcohol in public…
Wow! Stock up on the brown paper bags!
I would like to ask: Which hotel is best for easy access to the airport?
I had planned a two-day stay, but BA reduced the schedule, so now I arrive at 10pm and depart the next morning about 11am.
Suggestions welcome.
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