Novotel Shanghai Atlantis
 

Hi,
I plan to stay in Shanghai for 2 or 3 day in June. I found this hotel has an attractive rate and close to the metro. Could anyone share your experience while staying in this hotel? Thanks in advance!

It's a nice "Business" hotel with all you expect from it, even though the Sofitel Jin Jiang is better. I recommend as high a floor as possible.

However if you are going to Shanghai as a tourist you don't want to stay in Pudong but in Pu 'Xi.

There I recommend the Hilton nearby the french concession. Nice spot.

There is also a new Pullman if you want to stay with accor, but it's a little far off. Never stayed there.

+1

I've stayed in The Pullman and it was fine, but I'd agree if you can get the Hilton for a good price I'd go there. However, it can get quite busy on weekends and service suffers a bit.

Thanks for the opinions!

I am reviving this thread. I am considering a trip to Shangai as a tourist. The plan is to experience the large metropolis, the Bund, the French concession and probably more. This hotel is quite cheap compared to all hotels in Pudong and the reviews are good.
What about the location ? Is it OK for a leisure stay, considering I do not mind walking and taking public transports. Also is there a fitness room and is it good if yes ?

I've stayed at this hotel a few times over this year.

The location is on the Pudong side of the river, and so you will need to take public transport to get anywhere. Metro Line 4 stop (Pudong Avenue) is a 5 minute walk from the hotel. They are currently building a new Metro line in the area, which will interchange at Pudong Avenue station, and so there is a bit of construction going on. This construction hasn't bothered us in our stays at the hotel. You can walk to the Lujiazui area, though it is about 2.5km away, so it'll take you maybe 25-30 minutes. There are also various bus stops nearby.

There is also not much close to the hotel. There is a Starbucks in the adjacent office building and a couple of convenience shops close by. The shopping malls near the Century Avenue metro station are about a 20 minute walk from the hotel (one Metro stop away from Pudong Avenue station).

To get to Nanjing Road, the Bund, French Concession etc, you will be taking public transport, all of which will take between 20-30 minutes, due to interchanges. The interchanges in Shanghai metro stations does take some time, too, as the stations are large and it takes time to walk to the other line. It honestly makes me appreciate the Hong Kong MTR more. Also keep in mind that the metro in Shanghai closes earlier in comparison to other major cities in the world. I would recommend an app called "Explore Shanghai", which lists the first and final train times for each stop. I would also recommend downloading an app called "Didi", which is like Chinese Uber. In the evening, it can be very hard to flag down a taxi, as they are all booked by Chinese people through the various apps. Didi has an English version, though I'm not sure on your Chinese proficiency for if trying to describe your location for a pickup.

The hotel itself is great, which is why I keep returning. The staff are great. The rooms are a little small - typical Novotel kind of style. Rooms are 100% non-smoking, as per Shanghai government law, though I'm not sure about enforcement. We've never had a smokey room before when staying here. The bed is quite comfortable. Bathroom amentities are the standard Novotel ones. In the height of Summer, we noticed the room was quite "damp", due to the humid weather. This was a one-time occurance, and assuming you're not traveling in the height of Summer, this shouldn't be an issue. If you can, ask for a Lujiazui view room.

I have always received loyalty benefits without prompt at this hotel. I've always received a room upgrade. I always receive my drink vouchers. Early check-in or late check-out have always been fine, though I have only taken advantage of this once or twice. Also be aware that if you are departing on a Sunday, Novotel brand standard is a complimentary 5pm late checkout, subject to availability (unless this has changed in the last couple years since I last worked at a Novotel). Welcome amenity in the room is usually a fruit plate and a small plate of cookies.

The swimming pool is a bit small, and not very deep; it might just do the job for lap swimming. I'm afraid I can't comment on the quality of the fitness room equipment, as I haven't used it, but walking past it, it seems decent enough.

The buffet breakfast has a decent spread, and is decently priced (I think around RMB 85 per person). They also do a Brazillian BBQ buffet in the evening in the Square Restaurant on level 2, which is not too bad at all. I haven't dined in either the Chinese restaurant or revolving restaurant they have on site.

All in all, I do recommend this hotel and find it more than appropriate for a leisure stay. However, if you're looking to mostly be seeing the sights on the other side of the river, it might be worth considering some of the properties there, such as the Pullman Skyway, which I've stayed at once and had a great stay.

The Sofitel Hyland (which is on Nanjing E Road) and Swissotel Grand (in Jing'An) are both also very well located, but usually a little more expensive than the Pullman Skyway, and much more expensive than the Novotel Atlantis.

The Asia Pacific Sale will have China on sale in December, if you can wait that long.

https://www.accorplus.com/en/malaysia/apac-sales-2018

Round Three 11th December
Greater China, (China, Hong Kong, Taiwan) South Korea and Japan

In light of your objectives, you will be kicking yourself if you choose to stay there.

Thanks for finding the sales date.
I will be able to wait until this sale, my trip is during Easter.

It seems to be, I am now focusing on the west side of the river.

I wouldn't really bother. The location of the Sofitel Hyland is better suited (in my opinion). My stay at the Swissotel was comfortable and I had no complaints about the hotel itself, but loyalty recognition left quite a bit to be desired. I only booked there because they had a Private Sale on for the night I needed a hotel, and so I decided to give it a try for my first Swissotel experience.

Furthermore, Swissotel has a reduced rebate on Quidco, compared to Sofitel or Pullman, which is just the 'icing on the cake', so to speak. I would always first consider the Sofitel Hyland or either of the centrally located Pullmans (Skyway and JingAn) over the Swissotel.

I avoid NJ E (Sofitel) almost as much as I avoid LJZ (Novotel Atlantis). The Swiss definitely has a hospital type feel to it, but at least it's in JA.

Response to your rewview
 

Hi Maelstrom,

Thanks for this great review with our members.
I wish everyone a very pleasant stay !

Best regards,
Amy

Novotel Shanghai Atlantis: a review
 

Introduction I’ll preface by saying this is my fifth (or so) stay at this hotel in the last year. Each stay has been very comfortable and enjoyable, without any major issues. We have received full Le Club recognition and benefits for each stay we have had here without prompt.This review is solely for my most recent stay at the hotel. Location The hotel is located on the Pudong side of the river, with the Century Avenue metro station (line 4) a 10-minute walk away. There are some banks nearby and a Starbucks in the adjacent office building, but very little in the way of other nearby restaurants. The location is also not too convenient for seeing the sites, as being on Line 4 requires a few interchanges to get anywhere else. That said, the price point for this hotel reflects this, and is almost always priced very competitively.The hotel as seen from the entrance of the Century Avenue metro station Check In We arrived late in the evening and there were no other guests checking in, so we were processed quickly and sent on our way. Drink vouchers were given without prompt. We were informed we had received an upgrade. Room We received a three category upgrade from a Standard Room to a Junior Suite. The suite had a fantastic corner location, with views of both the Lujiazui financial district and the river. The welcome gift was already in the room when we arrived. The room featured the usual comfortable Novotel bed, a small couch, a working desk, small dining table with two chairs, coffee table and sofa. Bedside power points are easily accessible. The bedside lighting, while convenient, is difficult to use because the labelling was pretty much worn away. There are also power points on the working desk and on the wall next to the dining table. The bathroom was large with the usual Novotel amenities. The shower had a bad drain smell, but simply closing the shower door mitigated this somewhat. A Handy Phone is also provided for all rooms. Dining The hotel was a new, much more generous, welcome drinks list: The breakfast in the lounge was not offered for our stay, so our platinum-inclusive breakfast was transferred to the restaurant, which is always decent.Happy Hour has a decent section (8) of hot foods, plus plenty of cold options. The hot foods were quite good and it is easily to fill up as dinner here. The standard sort of selection of spirits and wines are offered (I forgot to take photos). We dined for an early dinner, which was OK. I ordered a Medium steak, which was actually two bacon-wrapped eye fillets. One was cooked perfectly, the other was rare. I asked them to cook the rare steak a ‘bit longer’ and it came back well done, which was disappointing. I forgot to get photos of the dinner, but the meals were decent, aside from half of my steak being turned to a lump of charcoal. Overall The location is not great for seeing the sites, but the pricing for the hotel is almost always very competitive. We find it works for our needs when we are in Shanghai, as we do not need to rush around seeing the sites. We always receive excellent Le Club recognition at this hotel, the service is good and the food is yummy.