4 hours in Pudong airport... what to do?

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Hi all,

I have a four hour layover in Pudong airport coming up in march. At this point, unless my upgrade comes through, I won't have lounge access.

There seems to be some sort of hotel in the terminal which rents rooms by the hour (sounds dodgy!!)

Does anyone have any experience of this hotel, and do you need to clear customs to use it? If so, is this a pain (long lines etc.)

If not the hotel, does the airport have a good selection of bars/ restaurants on airside?

thanks
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Do you mean PVG in Shanghai? If so, Moderaters should move this thread to the China forum, where you will get more-better answers. And see: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=777036.

Are you connecting to a domestic China flight or to a foreign flight? If the latter, I wouldn't risk leaving the airport, since emigration lines are sometimes horrendous. Clearing customs may or may not be horrendous. The airport hotel should be the Ramada--I have never stayed there, but I have the impression it's not in the terminal at all (right? someone?). But by-the-hour could be normal for airport hotels as well as the other kind.
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You sit around and wait. There isn't much to do there, even the airline lounges I have been in are nothing special. I am not aware of any in-airport hotel (and everywhere I've encountered these, they are NOT dodgy but provide a useful service), but have never hung around PVG for long enough to look for one either.

The Ramada or Radisson (I forget which) is at least a few miles from the terminals: taking a taxi into town, you would pass it. There are other hotels nearby to the Ramada -- none of these are reasonably accessible with a four hour layover.

Bring a book.
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Well...for such a short layover, you would not want to stray far from the airport. Your options would be limited by whether you have a valid China visa. If you do, I'd encourage you to rush through customs and take a ride on the MagLev train that runs from the airport to suburbs of Shanghai. The 40 (mile or km) journey is just 8 minutes each way and it costs RMB80 (USD10) roundtrip. If you prefer to remain in the terminal, it is cheaper to relax at a restaurant than pay for the PriorityPass lounge. If you are on a longer journey, you might want to look into buying the NWA 60-day WC membership. Feel free to PM me if you have more questions!
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Great suggestion. Note that some passports don't need a China visa if entering and leaving within 48 hours via Shanghai. It works for U.S. but not for U.K., for example, don't know about N.Z.
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