Originally Posted by
tncjoey
Different take that I posted in another thread as a non-tourist:
Also, it's just not a practical business hotel because of it's location. Yes, it is in the middle of People's Square (the "cultural center" of Shanghai) but the area is also heavily congested and impractical if you are doing a lot of traveling out to Western Shanghai, Zhejiang, or Jiangsu.
I am not sure that this is not a practical business hotel. There is no a single CBD in Shanghai. There are 3 or 5 major business clusters, depending on what you call a CBD. And Royal Meridien sits strategically in the middle of the top three business clusters.
Yes, the traffic can be congested during rush hours. But if you take the Subway (People Square is a major subway stop with connections to three subway lines:1, 2 and 8) , it's very easy to reach most part of Shanghai very easily. Subways can be very crowded. But it's faster during rush hours, especially if you are going through the tunnel to Pudong.
The top three business clusters are: Lujiazhui financial district (which is one subway stop away east on Metro Line 2: Lujiazhui Stop), Huaihai Middle Road area (which is one subway stop away west on Metro Line 1: Huangpi Nan Road Stop), and the Nanjing Road West area (which is one subway stop away west on Metro Line 2).
The other two less important business clusters are Hongqiao area and Xujiahui area(5 subway stops away on Metro Line 1: Xujiahui Stop).
Originally Posted by
tncjoey
Having lived and worked in Shanghai I am not interested in seeing the "sites". The better restaurants, bars, and general area are in Xu hui, Jing An, and Hongqiao. It amazes me that there are no *Woods (except the Sheraton Hongqiao - which has horrible management and a terrible hotel) in these areas. Most of the new Shanghai *Woods are again on the flippin' Bund (yeah, novel the first time but again - not a practical location. Good for tourists, bad for business). You've already got the Westin and the LRM in this area, why do you need more within walking distance. Put one in the CBD.
Yes, the better things in life are generally in Xu Hui, Jing An and Hongqiao. Maybe it's because these areas are relatively well developed and there is a lack of land. There are no real good Starwood, or Marriott, or InterContinental, or Hyatt hotels in these areas, except the Four Seasons and Ritz Carlton. Too bad, the W is going to be in Pudong.
I just passed by a construction site on Hengshan Road two weeks ago and were told it's gonna to be "a 6 star hotel." Hope this one works out.
Originally Posted by
tncjoey
Lucky for me, there are great *woods for me in the other areas I travel to - BKK, BOM, DBX.
True.