Shanghai View from Shangri-la

Shangri-la hotel has a nice view. From its 29th floor, you see the whole Puxi area. Let me share some of the photos I took (using my newly bought Sony CX500E). Please note that there is a green glass between the camera and the outside.

Below: the newly built white building on the right hand gives Shanghai the feeling of Hong Kong – there are similar style building in Hong Kong.

Shanghri-la loves twin-towers. This is the image of the other tower from the newly built tower.

The water level of the Huangpu river is higher than most times. Look at this picture:

There are ferries on the river. Worth to give it a try the next time you are here.

Shangri-La vs Four Seasons Hotel

Shangri-la Hotel in Pudong is my favorite hotel in Shanghai. As many Shangri-la hotels in the world, the strong Asia style runs across all the hotel.

The other new hotel, Four Seasons, is maybe one of the latest added new brands to Shanghai. It should be a good hotel brand. According to this Wikipedia article

Four Seasons Hotels, Inc. is a five-star Canadian-based international luxury hotel chain. It is considered among the finest luxury hotels worldwide, according to Travel + Leisure magazine and Zagat Survey

However, I have my clear preference: I like Shangri-la and don’t like Four Seasons at all. Here is the comparison.

Parking

The key difference is maybe the parking. Shangri-la offers free parking to all the guests. If you go there and have a cup of coffee at the hotel lobby, you can go to the front desk, and get a free ticket, and your parking in the underground garage is free. My favorite meeting place in Lujiazui is the Shangri-la Hotel. Only the parking saves a lot of money.

Four Seasons is at the other extreme: they charge everybody for underground parking, including hotel guests who pay 1000+ RMB per night. They charge 20 RMB per hour for parking, much higher than any places in Shanghai, even the busiest district.

Location and View

Shangri-la has much better view at the riverside than the Four Seasons.

Free vs Paid

Many things in Shangri-la is free, like the free wireless Internet. In its lobby, meeting room, and guest room, there are Internet access, for free, and Four Season doesn’t have that, as far as I know.

My Two Cents

Shangri-la showed hospitality by offering many things for free, although Shangri-la is by no means a free place to stay. However, it brings the warmth to guests (both paying and non-paying). Four Seasons, on the other side, is just a money making machine. I don’t like it. I really doubt how munch money they can earn from Internet, or parking per year.

Shangri-La Hotel Pudong Shanghai

Shangri-La hotel is the hotel I visit most often, just because many of my visitors stay in that hotel, and I love to drive there, since it is free parking for its customers, and residents.

There are many five star hotels in Shanghai, but Shangri-la hotel is special to me. It reflects the characteristic of Asia very well.

Due to the restriction of taking photos inside the hotel, I didn’t take photos here, but here are some photos from their website:

Someone took a incredible photo of the hotel from the Puxi side. Obviously it is long time ago, before the World Financial Center started.

Inside the room, pay attention to the views:

I would highly recommend you to the hotel if your budget allows.

Personal Guide to Astor House Hotel, Shanghai

Many of my readers choose to stay in the Astor House Hotel in Shanghai, and asked me about that hotel. Here is my personal guidebook for guests to this hotel. Please note, this entry is special – all of the text content is from my personal experience, while the photos are from Internet – It is a regret for me that every time I visit the hotel, I forget to bring my camera. I hope  I have properly gave credit to the photo owners.

Location of the Hotel

Location of a hotel is maybe the most important factor of a hotel.

The Astor House Hotel is located at the delta of Suzhou Creek, and the Huangpu River. It is in the Bund Area – the heart of the city. If you like a historic tour of the city, it is maybe the best choice. It is within walking distance to the major attractions of Shanghai – to be more exact, it is part of the historical architects.

Location: 15 Huangpu Road, Shanghai

Phone: 021/6324-6388

Website: http://www.pujianghotel.com/

E-mail: sales@pujianghotel.com

It is at the other side of the Waibaidu Bridge – the bridge of exactly 100 years old.

image

History of the Hotel

There is much more to say about the history of the hotel. To be short, it is one of the most historical hotel in Shanghai.

The hotel was built in 1846 in China’s Qing Dynasty. The hotel was named by Richard Hotel at the very beginning after the name of Richard, the sea captain – it is so cool to be a hotel manager and at the same time, be a sea ship captain. 

In 1860, the hotel was sold out to Henry Smith, and was renamed as current Astor House Hotel.

In 1906, the current hotel build was built, as current Ionic and Baroque styles. There is also a youth hotel on the top of the 5-story hotel, which you can hardly see from this image below:

20080213-_DSC6406
Photo credit: Byron

It is the first western modern hotels in Shanghai, and is also the site of the first electronic lamp in Shanghai.

Before 1949, it is also the important place for celebrates in Shanghai. Among them, the most interesting person is Albert Einstein (It is said it is in this hotel room that he receives his nobel price award letter) . Visitors can also choose from four restored "celebrity rooms," once occupied by famous visitors such as U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant in 1879 (Room 410), Scott Joplin in 1931 and 1936 (Room 404), Bertrand Russell in 1920 (Room 310), and Albert Einstein in 1922 (Room 304).

Rooms

As its historically face, the internal design is also pretty — hmm — old style.


Photo Credit: Tofubrain


Photo Credit: relaxedtype

This is my favorite part – the lobby on the third floor and fourth floor.

DSC00156_JPG
Photo credit: Gary

The rooms are by no way modern in the current standard, but the good thing is, most of the rooms are BIG.

20080212-_DSC6358
Photo credit: Byron 

They even have nice Virtual Reality show case of the rooms.

Future of the Hotel

As the oldest hotel in Shanghai does not guarantee a bright future for the hotel. Now, the status of the hotel is not so good. The current service level of the hotel is, in my standard, 3 star at its best. The hotel is like a state-owned enterprise. No wonder the price of the hotel does not match the status of this noble hotel.

One very interesting observation: it only charges 400 RMB per half day for 40 people in its Grand Hall, and its breakfast is only 20 RMB/person (or 3 USD)

My Personal Recommendation

The hotel’s pro and cons are both very clear.

Pro: Historical, and big room, good location, and nice view.

Con: Service is bad, and facility is old.

So, the conclusion is also very clear: If you are a history lover, and enjoy being part of the heart of the city. If you think service and comfort room are more important, choose another five star hotel, which is almost the same price.

Related Link:

Shangri-La Likes Twin Towers

Shangri-La is a great luxurious hotel. There are something in common in its hotel in Beijing and Shanghai: they both has two towers.

Shanghai Shangri-la

Check this photo (not taken by me).

Photograph by Dwaine. Album: China 7 – en route and Shanghai

The new tower is at the background, and it is taller than the old tower.

Beijing Shangri-la

Photograph by henryw88. Album: henryChinaTripMay2007

Look at this Beijing tower. It is side by side.

The Strategy of Shangri-La

Shangri-la wants to be one of the first 5 star hotels in many places, and they reserved enough land for expansion. When the time is ready, they build the second tower. The two towers are at different price – the newer one is more expensive, much more expensive.

Dongjiao State Guest Hotel – The Most Under Valued

Wendy and I found a great hotel, and we firmly believe it is the most under valued hotel in Shanghai – the Dongjiao State Guest Hotel. Let me tell you why we think the Most Under Valued Hotel in Shanghai is the Dongjiao State Guest Hotel.

It is Rarely Known

The construction of the Dongjiao State Guest Hotel started in 1995, and it took more than 10 years to grow the trees – just the trees. From unconfirmed sources, there are 3 trees in the garden that is more than 1000 years in age, and 1000 trees with more than 100 years. They are all moved from other provinces one by one. Everything was done mysteriously. Until it opened in one year ago, not many people really are aware about the existence of such a huge “garden”. Even after the open of the hotel one year ago, it is still under the radar screen. I thought it is a restricted area as many other state guest hotel. It turned out to be not so.

It is a State Guest Hotel

The hotel is actually a garden. It is not proper to say it is a royal garden, but it is built exactly the same way. There are all kinds of huge trees moved from the four nearby provinces and there are big lakes – many of them in the garden. The area is 1200 Mu in size, or 800,000.04 square meters. That is huge isn’t it? 80% of the garden is covered for forest – the newly built forest by moving old trees into it, and there are 100 Mu (66,666.67 m2) of water (lakes). Imagine that! It took a while to drive inside the garden. In such a big area, there are only 4 buildings.

The reason of this arrangement is because it is a state guest hotel. It means it is designed just for Guests of the State – state means the country, or the People’s Republic of China. There are many state guest hotel in Beijing, and many in Shanghai, like the Xijiao State Guest Hotel, or the Hong Qiao State Guest Hotel. The Dongjiao is newly built and by all means the largest and best one. It is the hotel if presidents or government visitors from other country stay.

What is Inside?

The reason why not many people know it is partly because of its position. It is at the interaction of Jinhai Road, and Longdong Ave, some where near Zhangjiang Hi Tech Park. From the Highway, it is covered by huge trees, and the Jinhai Road now is a dead-end road – the entrance of the hotel opens to this dead-end road. Not many people know the road, or discover the hotel.

If you drive a car and get into the hotel, you will completely be amazed. Be sure to have a car to go there. To walk from the entrance to the hotel buildings is just not feasible. The garden is huge.

Entering the entrance, you see a huge lake. Turning right and drive along the road, you winds your road along the lake side and then drive along the other lake on the right. There are many bridges, and you drive at least past 3 bridges before you see a building.

There are only 4 buildings (as I said) in the garden. The buildings are hidden behind the huge trees. Building #1 is the building for the state guests. Its security level is high, and I have no way to go near it. There are rumor that the building has under ground facility 9 meters under the ground to protect the guest from air attack, and some even say that is the reason it took 10 years to build this building. I completely have no idea and don’t think I can get access to this mysterious building. But from outside, its view is very like the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. – with huge lake before it.

The building 2 is just for ceremony. It is good idea to hold wedding there. Their price for wedding package is 4888 RMB per table. Not bad in the current crazy wedding market. The building 3 is the only building that people can check-in.

There are 180 rooms in that building, and it opens to public. I am sure that when this hotel is fully functional, this building will be restricted only to government use, just like many other state guest hotels, but before that, you still have the chance to take a look.

The Architect

I like the architect of the three buildings – traditional Chinese architecture built in a modern way. Again, I suspect that the cost of the building must be extremely high, since the quality of the building seems super high.

The Room

The cheapest room in the hotel is 880 RMB per night if you book via CTRIP or 980 RMB at the reception. August is not the hot season so this is maybe the lowest rate all year round. I know it is by no means a cheap hotel, but it is definitely the best value I have every experienced in Beijing and Shanghai, not to mean other countries.

This is the photo of the room:

Credit: Dongjiao.net

The real feeling is just better than this already very good photo.

The other facility

The most interesting picture on its official website is this one:

Credit: Dongjiao.net

Look at this meeting room? Seems familiar? This is the typical meeting room leaders of the State meets with state guests. It should be somewhere in Building 2 (or maybe building 1).

Image in courtesy of Google Earthc

Above is the satellite image of the garden. You can see there are only three buildings on the north side of the garden, and the rest are all trees and lakes.

Practical Suggestions

If you can choose your hotel, choose this one. Give it a try. But do remember:

1. The location of the hotel is just for relaxing, and not for business. It takes several minutes for taxi to get to your building 3 even from the gate of the hotel. Imagine that. Also, wait for 30 minutes (I guess) for a taxi. It is far from Puxi, so it is best for having a vacation. If your home is in Shanghai, it is also a good idea to spend a weekend there in your special days, like your anniversaries.

2. It works best if you have a car. You have to take the shuttle to get from the building you stay to the gym.

3. The gym (swimming pool) is wonderful. Do spend your afternoon there.

4. Plan enough time just in the hotel – the hotel itself is a garden. It is not as big as the Centuary Park (0.8 million sq. meters v.s 1.4 million sq. meters), but the scenery is much better.

Hope you have a good time in this most under valued hotel in Shanghai.

P.S. Under-valued does mean it is a cheap hotel (let me emphasis it again). It means it is a hotel that its value is not proportional to its price or awareness.

P.S. 2. The question that is always in my mind when I visited the hotel was, where does the money to build this state hotel comes from? It is reported that the hotel (with 180 hotel rooms) was built at cost of 1 billion RMB. That is huge amount of money. I even doubt whether the report cost is the real cost if you really take a look at how luxurious the buildings and the gardens are. Now, the tax payers are more and more aware about where their money goes, aren’t they?

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

Budget Travelers are the Majority

I realized my article Shanghai Hotel Guide and Shanghai Hotel Guide – Part II are not so helpful for the majority of travelers. When I am planning my trip to U.S., I found either Hilton, Ritz Carlton, nor Sheraton hotels are attractive to me. When budget is of higher priority, they are simply filtered out. I realized budget travelers are the much most than those business travelers. Business travelers may not try as hard as backpackers – they just ask their companies to book flights and hotels for them. No questions asked about price.

In Shanghai, there are many good hotels offers 200 RMB – 300 RMB (30 USD?) per night rooms (with two beds). There are some OK hotel at 40 – 100 RMB. I will talk about it when I am back and I believe the hostel information is better than the big names in the hotel industry.

Carroll recommend me to look at GlobalFreeloaders.com. I checked and found it a great website and (more importantly) a great idea to pool the free offering. I believe I share the belief that travel contributes to peace. I registered and hope to find some good match in New York or Chicago, Washington D.C. so we can stay at someone’s home. It may bring more value to my trip other than the cost save. I have the opportunity to get in touch the local people! Lack of local touch is the reason why business trip is boring.

Meanwhile, I also made the commitment to contribute something to other visitors to Shanghai. Remember, I am the GlobalFreeloaders.com member now. Here is my contribution:

1. If anyone needs a bicycle in Shanghai, feel free to find me in GlobalFreeloaders.com website. Here is my bike. It is in very good status. Riding is interesting in Pudong and Xuhui District – may not be as interesting in Huangpu District. It has been spare for quite some time after I bought my car.

2. If anyone needs a mobile phone in Shanghai, feel free to ask for it. I have spare mobile phone that you can use. Please ask for it via GlobalFreeloaders.com.

:-D

JW Marriott in Tomorrow Square Opens

When I am talking about JW Marriott Hotel in Shanghai, most of my friends has never heard of the name. Not to mention the new JW Marriott Hotel in the Tomorrow Square, the name of Marriott is not that famous like Shangri-la or Hilton. Although Marriott is the largest hotel group in the world, the brands are not widely recongnized. Maybe it is because of the translation. Either Hilton and Shangri-la are directly translated as they are pronounced, but Marriott is translated as Wanhao in Chinese. There is absolutely no directly relationships between the English name and the Chinese name.

Anyway, not well-known does not prevent the hotel to be a great hotel. It is at the heart of Shanghai – the People’s Square.

Great View

I happen to visit this hotel days ago and took the following pictures:

shanghai-cafe.38-marriott.jpg

© Jian Shuo Wang

The Cafeteria of JW Marriott is located on the 38th floor with fantastic view. The four directions of the hotels are all wonderful since it is located exactly at the center of Shanghai.

shanghai-buildings.view-marriot.jpg

© Jian Shuo Wang

Looking southward, you can see the high buildings are raising all across the city. The building in the middle is the famous Hongkong Plaza.

Confusing Elevators

Since the building was not designed to be a hotel at the very begining, the elevators and the grand halls on the grand floor were not designed to accommodate a hotel. When I entered the lobby of Tomorrow Square for the first time, I doubt – is this a hotel? There is only about 50 sq. meters in the lobby – the smallest lobby I have ever seen. There is no logo for the hotels either. I asked the bell boy – yes. Only the presence of a bell boy secured me to believe this is a hotel.

From one of the two elevators adjustance to the building entrance, we arrived at the 38th floor, the real lobby of the hotel. To be honest, this lobby is not large also. The elevators are equiped with door lock that only a guest with the room IC card can use the elevators to room levels.

Location

399 Nanjing West Road Shanghai, 200003 China

Phone: 86 21-53594969 Fax: 86 21-63755988

Map

Google Map

Shanghai Hotel Guide – Part II

My friend E took me to some very good hotels in Shanghai. They are not as significant as International Hotel Big Names like Hilton, Marriot, but they are so unique in Shanghai and represent part of the history of the city. I’d to continue my Shanghai Hotel Guide and write the second part – the historical hotels in Shanghai.

It is a pity that the Sony P8 I took with me ran out of battery at the time when I want to take pictures of the hotels, otherwise, I can record the most beautiful scene of them.

Xing Guo Hotel – Radisson Plaza

Just as the State Guest Hotel in Hongqiao, it was the national guest hotel, which was designed to host national level guest. There is very large grass before the nice buildings. See a picture of the old house here

Jin Jiang Hotel

There is a Jin Jiang Tower. It is one of the tallest building in Puxi.

shanghai-jinjiangtower.jpg

Credit: Cintec

I am not talking about this modern architect. The old Jin Jiang building is more delux and beautiful. I remember the interview of IBM was held three years ago which I didn’t attend.

Garden Hotel

This is the second flower ball room in the old house. There is a large tall building (the brown one on the right on the small picture above. It was built based on a very old and nice building.

shanghai-garden.hotel-2f.ball.room.jpg

PVG: Ramada Hotel Opens at Pudong Airport

RAMADA – The four star standard international hotel at Pudong International Airport opens today. It offers 370 rooms and is the first international brand hotel near Pudong Airport.

I have many inquiries from my Pudong Airport webpage that is there any hotel near Pudong Airport? My answer was always, there is one, the Jin Jiang Inn. It is cheap but not good. I suggest you to stay in downtown Shanghai if you not only transit from the airport.

They posted a half-page ugly advertisement on the Shanghai Morning Post.

screen-ramada-newspaper.ad.jpg

Application to Driver’s License

When I come to the stage to get the application form for the driver’s license, I find it is almost as difficult as application for the passport. I don’t see any reason why they require the approval letter from my employer again and the photocopy of the business license of my employer. Why? “If my company doesn’t agree, I cannot get my driver’s license?” I asked. “Sure.” The officer on the other end of the phone line answered.

I will Get My Passport Soon

As I wrote weeks ago, I will be able to replace my passport from today. I am going to go to Entry & Exit Administration next Monday to get my passport reissued. Thank God. The three months are just too long for me to wait…

Map from Satellite

You can zoom out (clicking the “-” sign) to find out how close it is to the Pudong Airport.

Shanghai Hotel Guide

Most visitors come to this site for information about Shanghai. Some of them, like lily asked about hotel suggestions in Shanghai. “Which hotel is good?”, “Which area do you suggest to stay?”, and How can I reserve a hotel in Shanghai?”…..

Well. I believe I am knowledgable on most part of Shanghai after living here so many years – the restranants, the buses, the spot scenes, but there is only one area that I as unfamiliar as anyone else. The area is about hotels. I frequently travel to many cities, but because of my home is here, I have never ever stayed in a hotel in this city.

Let me try to use the message I got from the building of the hotels, the events we held in some hotels and the feedback about my friends to describe the hotels I suggest.

Ritz-Carlton, Simply the Best

If you ask me about which hotel is the best hotel in Shanghai, I will definitely say, the Portman Ritz Carlton Hotel. screen-ritz.carlton-logo.PNG It was selected as the Best Business Hotel in Asia last year and the Best Employer in Asia for the last two years. I have attend training delivered by their service manager about their unique mission statement “We are Ladies and Gentlemen Serving Ladies and Gentlemen.” which is part of their Gold standards. I love this hotel more as a great company than just a hotel. My collegues ever hosted worldwide summit in the hotel and was so impressed by their service, especially the smiles on the face of everyone.

It is a pitty that I have never visited this hotel since they only operates in Shanghai, Hongkong, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Seoul, Bali, and Osaka in Asia. Their guest target is only the top 5% of business travelers. It is also the place where Presidents of U.S. stay when they visit Shanghai. The rate is really hight – at least 170 USD per night. Some rooms are as expensive as 380 USD, according to their reservation system. It is just far too expensive. :-(

The area of Ritz-Carlton is now the heart of Shanghai. In the same building is the Shanghai Centre 1376 NANJING ROAD WEST, SUITE 742, SHANGHAI 200040 CHINA TEL: (8621) 6279-8600 FAX: (8621) 6279-8610. Lots of Amerian companies gathers in that building, such as the United Airlines and American Chamber of Commerce.

Featured Hotel – Tallest

Grant Hyatt Shanghai is just the highest hotel in the world. screen-hyatt-logo.gif I don’t have any comment on the service or the facility of this hotel. What I am thinking is, is it cool to stay on the tallest hotel in the world? It is the 53rd to 87th floor in Jin Mao Tower. See the picture below? It was taken in the west part of Shanghai while Jin Mao Tower is on the east side, but I can still clearly see it since it is the tallest building in the city.

shanghai-hyatt.location-jinmao.jpg

© Jian Shuo Wang

The scene of this hotel is among the best in Shanghai.

Other Five Star Hotels

Hilton Shanghai screen-hilton-logo.gif is at the Jing An Temple Area – very good. I have visited the room there when I picked up my friends – very decent decoration and the staff are very hospitable. BTW, Hilton is my favorite hotel. I was firstly impressed in my stay in Hilton Nanjing then Hilton Dalian. The area is very good with very convinient transportation – the Metro Line #2 is just 100 meters away, although I believe most visitors will prefer taxi if not for sight seeing propose.

Westin Shanghai is a completely new hotel that just opened maybe last year. It is in the Bund Center where I worked in for half an year. I am sure the facility will be the first class.

The problem is, the area is not good since it is in the old town. Although it is just 10 minutes’ walk to Nanjing Road, there is nothing interesting in that whole area. It is located in the heart of the old Shanghai while hotels like Hilton and Ritz-Carlton in the new center. Pudong area is the newest center but the facility like restrauants and bars are not ready in that area.

When we talk about hotels in a large city, we cannot forget the famous brand Marriot screen-marriot-logo.gif. Here is the 6 hotels of Marriot in Shanghai:

  • Renaissance Pudong
  • JW Marriott Hotel Tomorrow Square Shanghai
  • Renaissance Yangtze Shanghai Hotel
  • Tomorrow Square – Marriott Executive Apartments
  • Shanghai Marriott Hotel Hongqiao
  • Courtyard Shanghai Pudong

I have no idea about the two hotels in Pudong. From the location perspective, the JW Marriott Hotel Tomorrow Square Shanghai and the Tomorrow Square – Marriott Executive Apartments are the best, since it is near the People’s Park – the heart of Shanghai and the joint point between line #1 and #2. It is also the highest building in the Puxi area. Please note that they are not open yet, as far as I know.

The Renaissance Yangtze is a relatively old hotel, located in the Hongqiao Area. It is convienient for business in that area. The Shanghai Marriott Hotel Hongqiao is near the Hongqiao Airport, but relatively far from the downtown Shanghai. I attended party there and felt the service was good.

For Intercontinetal hotels, screen-holiday.inn-logo.gif and screen-holiday.inn-logo.gif, they offer cost-effective travel solutions (Is this the America way to express simple things with complicated terms?)

This is the list on their website. Among them, I can tell the Crown Plaza is located in a very silent and peace places and near it is the Shanghai Film Center, the top theater in Shanghai. The Xin Hua road besides it is very romatic with the trees. Don’t choose the Holiday Inn besides the Shanghai Railway Station. The area is too crowded and noise. The crime rate there is high.

Hotels I am Familiar with

Regal East International Asia Hotel – located on the street of Henshan Road, the street of bars. Henshan Hotel and Sports Hotel in Xujiahui area are good and cheap, but don’t expect facility and service like those hotels I mentioned above. They are just somewhere to stay.

Cheap Hotels Without Stars?

There are so many cheap but pretty good hotels. I cannot give a list of all of them. Still remember my Hand-Made Map of Shanghai?

It will give some idea of where to find a good hotel.

Update: Small, Cheap but Nice Hotels in Shanghai June 3, 2004

I have found some cheap, clean and nice hotels in Shanghai. Please read this article and pay attention to the Related Entries of the page since I will add more hotels like that in the future in this section.