Four Seasons Hotel

I visited Four Seasons Hotels to meet someone I have known by name for long time. It is the second time I actually visit the hotel. As a local residence, who can I complain for not saying in any of the good hotels in Shanghai?

Till now, I still connect relate the Four Season Hotel with the luxury hotel chain I read in newspaper and investment newsletter. To be more direct, I don’t think it looks to be a good hotel. (BTW, the other hotel that gave me the same feeling is the Le Meridien in People’s Square)

Pictures of the Four Seasons Hotel

Here are some pictures I took today outside the hotel, then I tell you why I don’t think it does not match the luxurious hotel standard.

Image in courtesy of Four Seasons Hotels

Location? Not good

The hotel is not in a good location. As you can see from Google Map, it is not in business district, and not in commercial center. It is just in the middle of a residential area. Maybe it is the modest tradition after the first Four Seasons opened in Toronto in 1961.

Too Many People Smoking

The lobby of the Four Seasons Hotel is the first five star hotel with so many people smoking. There are one table (4 persons) who all smoke right of my table, and one person smoke on the left. There were no table free of smoke…. I don’t like smoke. The waitress apologized for the unavailability of a non-smoking area.

A Late Player?

Maybe because it is a late player in the hotel industry in Shanghai. I still remember when Ritz Carlton was just a so-so brand, before people realize its service quality (or before its service quality really reach its standard). It takes time.

Also, the hotel areas like where the Hilton/Regal, Ritz Carlton, and the Hyatt are, were relatively remote and after 10 years, they became the commercial or business center. I guess it **is also so for late **hotels like Four Seasons.

Google Satellite Map

if (GBrowserIsCompatible()) {var map = new GMap2(document.getElementById(“map”));map.addControl(new GSmallMapControl());map.addControl(new GMapTypeControl()); map.setCenter(new GLatLng(31.22914677020546,121.4572423696518), 18, G_SATELLITE_MAP); }