Stayed here twice in the last 12 months. Both times only 2 nights on business. My takeaways:

Plat upgraded both times to very large, cool, suites. Huge bathrooms, nice views (though not of the sea). Overall couldn't have been more happy w/ the rooms I was given.

Excellent gym and pool, though a/c was not turned up as high as I would have liked, and could not find anyone to make adjustments.

Exec lounge had an OK spread (by China standards) both in morning and evening. Full breakfast in restaurant was a very big spread. Lounge (as I recall) was quite spacious and not overcrowded.

Check-in/Check-out was slow, and attempt to check in at lounge was rebuffed. Non-status colleague felt he was being nickled and dimed on a few things, and didn't have a great interaction w/ FD.

As to restaurants, I was traveling out of town so did not have a chance to explore the neighborhood too extensively. I'm pretty familiar with the Wanda malls, and they would typically have a good array of Chinese options, and western fast food (KFC and Starbucks most likely). It did seem fairly quiet in immediate area, and getting cabs seemed to be a bit of an issue.

Have not stayed at the Shangri-La, so don't have a comparison point. I think there used to be a Sheraton under development next to Shangri-La... wonder if that's coming along. Certainly a better location.