ac/elite

I just returned from a 3 night stay at the Westin Shanghai, which is a magnificent hotel with wonderful service.

I had booked a room for single occupancy (twin beds in room), but upon checking in I was told that I had been upgraded to a "suite" as an SPG Gold member. I am still in shock. The "suite" actually turned out to be a beautifully decorated apartment in the Westin Residences Tower!

The apartment had three bedrooms, one with a king size bed, another with a queen and the third with two twins. The king room also had a television, desk and ensuite bathroom with a deep soaker tub and separate heavenly shower. There was a second full bathroom in the apartment as well as large living/dining room, full kitchen with high-end stainless steel appliances and washer/dryer. The apartment had three televisions and seven telephones.

The hotel is in a very good location within close walking distance of the Bund.

Lulu

You must have been extremely lucky, because we stayed there for 5 nights last November - Platinum, and all they would upgrade us to is a "crown deluxe" room which had a sliding door to separate the living room & bedroom. We were told that if we wanted a suite, we had to pay additional. Needless to say, we stayed in the room we were given.

But we agree that the location of this particular Starwood property is better than St. Regis & Sheraton Tai Ping Yang. However we don't agree with the recent category change from 3 to 4 on this property.

ac/elite

While I didn't see any room other than the suite I received, the public spaces, fitness center, restaurants, outstanding service, etc. are all at least equal to the category 4 hotels I've stayed at in the past and are vastly superior to the category 3 hotels I've stayed at. I'd even say that it is at the high end of category 4.

Perhaps things have changed greatly since your stay in November, which I think was very shortly after the hotel opened.

gachen

Just back from a two nights stay. Being SPG gold and get a very tiny room at level 7. I think the room is only half of the size mentioned in my reservation (31-39 sqm, large working place). Should I know this, I might want to say somewhere else.

ponchodiaz

The hotel is regularly sold out.When it is something fluky like this can happen when they are forced to use the residences as an overflow.

I like the hotel.Its a bit ridiculous on the edgy designer front.It should be a W.The Chinese waiters in the Italian restaurant who served me last time were called,according to their name badges,"Versace" and "Estefania" (dont think so!)

Nonetheless the staff are very nice.Stephen Ford,the GM is a superstar,though he is leaving to an Area VP job in Bali,the food is good and the rooms are stylish and comfortable.Im back there on Sunday.

Snoopy

Most local staff in Chinese hotels get to choose a western name. I was told that this was so the expat management can remember their names!

Years ago when I was staying in the Holiday Inn in Chongqing (when it really was the only game in town), there was a small Beer Garden on the 3rd floor. The two attendants, two very slightly built Chinese girls, were called Brunnhilde and Helga! They were quite the opposite of the buxom blondes that such names conjure up! I asked one what her Chinese name was: she translated it into "Flower that blooms only in Spring"... I can understand that her (Austrian) boss may have had difficulties remember that one, but still a pity to lose poetry like that.

Sankaps

Hi -- Can anyone recommed a reliable but inexpensive method of getting from Shanghai? The hotel limo service costs upwards of $60 depending on kind of limo -- kind of steep! Any reliable pre-paud taxis or some such thing? How much would a taxi come on the meter?

Thanks much!

Always Flyin

I flew into the old airport last year and it was pretty cheap to just get a meter taxi from the queue.

I haven't been to the new airport, but the old one had a little quirk about taxis. There were two queue--one for very short range trips and one for all other trips. The Westin was an all other.

I stayed at the St. Regis and the Westin on the same trip (it started on the Westin's opening day). The Westin cost more than the St. Regis at that time, and the St. Regis was a far better hotel on just about every level.

ark1214

I just recently returned from Shanghai. There are airport buses that can take you into the city for 20RMB ($2.50). There are 5 bus lines (labled 1-5), but I don't know if you can figure out which line to take. There should be a bus counter at the arrival hall that can assist you. If you are traveling alone (and don't speak chinese), I wouldn't recommand taking a taxi (~150RMB) from the airport. I've heard too many scary stories, but if you are in a group, it should be fine.

The other option is to take the airport bus into the city and then a short taxi ride to the hotel.

Do a search on the web for airport bus and call Westin to find out which airport bus line to take.

Good luck.

turntheheatdown

Unless you are comfortable in chinese then I think the limo service is good value. The airport is a good 45 - 60 mins away.

Don't think the new floating train has started yet.

FOOLISHRUNNER

I have made this trip three times in the last six months. Take a taxi for about 135RMB (less than $20). When you clear customs and go into the main part of the airport, go to your left. All the big hotels have little booths where there are English speaking attendants. Find the Westin booth and they will go out with you to the taxi line and get you one. They will instruct the driver to take you to your hotel and you pay the driver when you get there. I usually tip the attendant a couple of bucks for his efforts.

It takes about 40-45 minutes depending on traffic and you are dropped off in front of the hotel where there any many others waiting to whisk you to your room. Don't pay for the limo; the taxis are fine and reliable.

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Sankaps

Thank you so much for all the suggestions! Really appreciate it. Look forward to our trip! We thought of the St. Regis, but the Banyan Tree spa at the Westin made us go for the Westin...

gachen

The cheapest way: take airport shuttle bus line to Long Yang Rd metro station (line #3 for Y12), then change to Metro line 2 to He Nan Rd station (Y3-Y4), and walke 2 - 3 blocks south. If you have not tried exciting meglev train, you may subsitute the first shuttle bus line with the maglev train for Y75. In that case, the whole trip will be within 30 minutes.

B Watson

I have read all about why everyone seems to hate the location of the St Regis. I assume this relates mostly to tourists who want to be near the Bund. Shanghai is rather a bit like Tokyo in that if you are doing business on the Bund, that is where you stay and if you are in Pudong, that is where you stay.

I have used the St Regis a couple of times in the last 2 months and like the hotel – I also think the GM is the single best feature of the hotel!

In the past when doing business near the Bund I have always stayed at the Four Seasons, which frankly has rather underwhelmed me (not up to FS standards)

We just closed on the purchase of a company with HQ in Ocean Tower, which is 3 blocks from the Westin so I put my deal team in there for the last two weeks and arrived on Wednesday for the closing.

What a disaster!

I was booked into a Crown Deluxe mini suite, which was confirmed IN PERSON no less than 3 times by my staff staying at hotel. When I arrived I was put in a deluxe room. I complained and was told that it was what we had booked. When I pushed on both what we were told and my Plat status, they offered a deluxe executive floor room. I inquired about whether they had suites available and was told they had several and he would get me a price for one. Back and forth about Plat upgrade and the fact that we were told we were booking a suite anyway and I finally got them to put me in a mini suite (Mini being the operative word!!!!)

NO other plat recognition of any kind.

Design is a personal point of taste, but I can generally say that I find the hotel to be rather tasteless in style – way to fashion forward and it is apparently owned by the same Singaporean who owns the St Regis.

Service was the real issue here. Problem after problem after problem for the whole time. My team (13 people there for a total of 107 collective room nights) said that they had constant issues the entire time. In my case, it was things like calling at 4, 4:30 and 5:15 to have my room service lunch trolley removed and having it still in the room when I returned from dinner. Laundry marked for overnight that took 2 FULL days. Missed turn down, missed wakeup calls, sheets no changed (even using the silly card on the bed) and an HVAC running crazy (room at over 26 degrees and entire stay – same in my staff’s rooms – engineering saying that it was between weather cycles and nothing they could do – taking 1 whole day to get someone who could open the windows!)

All in all, back to the Four Seasons for business in this area. Very sad in light of all the nice things said here about the hotel.

Let me once again however, add my endorsement of the St Regis - still a bit odd in decor, but very well run!.

Sankaps

While I did not have quite as many of problems you faced at the Westin Shanghai, I can confirm the AC problem. We were there in December with another couple, and both of our rooms were too warm to be comfortable. We had housekeeping open the windows so that the rooms could get cooler. It appears they turn off the AC and turn on the heat in winter, so those who find it too warm and want the AC on have no choice but to open the windows! Same problem at the otherwise excellent Spa -- treatment rooms too warm, they had to turn off the heat in that part of the hotel to cool the spa down!

The Crown Delux suites appear to come in at least two sizes. Ours was noticeably larger than our friends'.