SkiAdcock

Asia executive lounges are much better than US lounges. It may say continental on the website, but odds are it's a full brekkie.

BTW - we have a sticky for exec lounge info:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/13849211-post1.html

Re: upgrades. You can check your reservation the day before you arrive to see if your room has been upgraded already. Otherwise, ask (politely) at check-in.

Cheers.

dmodemd

I'll re-iterate my recommendation for the Renaissance Zhongshan Park. It is on the same main metro line as the JW / M City Center but the Renaissance is literally on top of the station and part of a huge mall with tons of restaurants and shopping (just not high end stuff but maybe better price).

Also, a must see, is the brand spanking new Global Harbor mall which is 1 metro stop north on Line 3/4 (or take a cheap cab). It has lots of great restaurants with various western styles as well. Tons of high end shopping there too.

The Renaissance will be much cheaper on points (I imagine cheaper with cash too) and has lounge for those with status or want to buy into it. The lounge will have enough food in the evening to make a dinner out of it (and breakfast of course with made to order eggs etc.).

The only down side is it is a few metro stops farther from the Pudong airport (add'l 15 minutes), and that more additional time getting into the central spots of Shanghai.

I have stayed there and JW. JW is nice but I don't feel it is worth the extra cost. I actually didn't like the heavy western presence of the JW. Use the money you save to buy into lounge-access rate at the Renaissance.

SkiAdcock

She's a Gold via the UA partnership. She automatically has lounge access, regardless of property.

Cheers.

kodansha999

I stayed at this property in December, I think it's a good hotel.
Room is nice and modern, the club lounge is great with drinks until 21:30pm.
It's surrounded by malls and eateries and you can take a stroll to the bund.
Or the subway will also take you across the river without changing lines.

I believe you're entitled for the full breakfast downstairs. There's an egg station and the breakfast spreads are pretty big.

The fitness facilities are pretty good too.

I would recommend this hotel over Renaissance.

kodansha999

by the way from Pudong International Airport you can take E-go Shuttle Bus that will drop you directly at the hotel. The journey takes approx 1 hour if i remember correctly.

It costs CNY68 (USD10) per person. http://www.egobus.com/


Taking subway can be quite a horrible experience if you happen to arrive during rush hour.

Kryssa

Regardless of how terrible an idea this is due to cost or time involved, we will be taking the maglev train to the subway. My husband is a transport nerd and has been looking forward to this the entire trip

We arrive around 2:00 pm on a Friday so hopefully it's not too packed.

travelinmanS

It's not a terrible idea at all! This will be the fastest and one of the cheapest options. It will be RMB 44 total (40 for the Maglev plus 4 for the subway to People's Square). It should take 45 minutes or less. You may even get the "fast" Maglev speed at that time. It runs up to 430 KM/H only for a few hours a day while the rest of the day it goes at a more pedestrian 300 KM/H.

weld3z

Shanghai marriott , JW and portman ritz carlton wich one and why ?
They are almost the same price and location any advice ..

Thanks

pinniped

I've taken Maglev and ridden the subway at rush hour.

(1) I'd take the Maglev, even if you have lots of luggage. It won't be insanely crowded.

(2) If it's rush hour and you have a pile of luggage, maybe grab a cab to the hotel from the Maglev station.

Otherwise the subway in Shanghai isn't different than anywhere else. It's a modern system...no reason to avoid it. I recall it being pretty crowded at times, but no different than jumping on the Tube or NYC Subway at busy times of day.

CJKatl

In any forum, including the Marriott Forum, if you look at the top of the thread list you will find "Search This Forum." Click it, a box opens where you could be a search term, such as "Shanghai" and find the threads where this is already being discussed. Such as this one:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/marri...hai-china.html

The irony here is that thread is presently very active. It's one of the top five threads in the forum list. There wasn't even a need to search for it. The thread was already right at the top.

Mods, please delete this thread or collapse it into the existing one. Thanks.

weld3z

Ok Delete it plz ..was looking for fast answer must book today cant read all this no time .. any way Thanks

moondog

I like the Portman because:

1. It's not in or super close to Peoples Square
2. There are good food options in Shanghai Centre itself and close by
3. The pool/lawn area provides a nice escape from the hustle bustle outside

travelinmanS

Listen to the dog on this one, he's 100% correct. Portman is the best Marriott option in Shanghai.

Best value for money is the Ren Zhongshan Park. I would rather stay at either of these two hotels than the City Center or JW. But I'm not a huge fan of being surrounded by 1 million people when I exit my hotel. If you're into that, then Peoples Square is where you want to be.

Kryssa

How is the access to the metro compare between Portman RC and Marriott City Center?

travelinmanS

Basically the same.

The Portman is a 5 minute walk from Jing'An Temple station (lines 2 and 7) and a 7-8 minute walk from Nanjing West Road station (lines 2, 12 and 13).

The City Center is a 5 minute walk from People's Square (lines 1,2 and 8).

Jing'An Temple is the easiest of these 3 stations to navigate.

As I mention above, I find the area of the Portman infinitely more pleasant than the area of the City Center.