Location

The hotel is located on the river side about a 20-30 minute walk from the Bund and nearby Nanjing East Road, so the “on the Bund” name is a bit misleading. A metro station (line 12) is about 5 minute walk away and there is also a ferry terminal adjacent to the hotel, offering a ferry across to Lujiazui every 10 minutes for CNY 2 per person. If you are looking to get to the Lujiazui district, the ferry is the fastest method, as the metro requires two interchanges to get to Lujiazui metro station.

• The view of the hotel from onboard the ferry

Prior to Check In

Email communication with the hotel in the days prior to arrival was responsive, but the replies did not adequately answer all questions in initial correspondence, so some follow up was required.

We arranged to drop some suitcases into the hotel four days prior to the date of arrival, which was handled without question by the concierge team.

Check In

The check in process itself was quite fast and efficient, however we had to wait about half an hour for our room to be ‘checked’ by the housekeeping management. There is a small lounge area in the foyer, so we waited comfortably. Tea, biscuits and hot towels are provided for all check ins.

I had booked a Junior Suite and was told that I had received a “Bund View Room,” as per my request in my emails to the hotel (more on this later). Drink vouchers had to be requested.

Room

It turned out that we went from booking a Junior Suite to receiving a Bund Retreat King Room. They do charge more for this room, compared to the Junior Suite, however it was very disappointing to not receive an upgrade to the next category suite and to receive a smaller room. We opted not to complain and ask for a room move, as the view was fantastic.

The room features a large working desk, with two chairs and a long bench with tea and coffee facilities. As with my other stays at Angsana and Banyan Tree properties, they are not shy about providing waters, and a total of eight bottles are initially provided. Soft drinks from the mini bar are complimentary. An incense stick and oil are provided with a different fragrance each day.

The bed is very comfortable. Available power points in the room (in convenient locations) are few. A pillow menu is provided.

The room has a large sofa against the window, which featured stunning views. We would often find ourselves just sitting/lying on this couch staring at the skyline.

The bathroom is large, with two sinks, electronic toilet in a cubicle, shower and large soaking tub. The toilet comes with magazines. The shower has very good pressure and hot water comes quickly. There is a Banyan Tree bath menu, we ordered the cheapest one just to see what it was like (baths need to be ordered at least 2 hours in advance). The bath menu here is much cheaper than the Banyan Tree Tianjin’s, but is much simpler. Tianjin’s offered teas and snacks, while Shanghai’s was just the bath preparation.

The closet has a large number of hangers. Unlike Banyan Tree Tianjin Riverside, no Japanese-style kimonos are provided.

The welcome gift was delivered about 15 minutes after arriving in the room. A small plate of fruits is provided with evening service.

Dining

Welcome drinks are valid at the Tops bar on the roof top. Small heaters and blankets are provided, though we had to request the blankets. Given it was about 3 degrees outside, these should be immediately provided.

• Blankies!

There is no onsite club lounge facility, so complimentary breakfast is provided in the restaurant. Breakfast is a continental buffet with hot foods cooked and juices juiced to order. Service was excellent. Soft drinks, champagne and coconuts are also provided. The cooked meals were excellent. The scrambled eggs were probably the best I had in my time in China.

• Tagine

• American style

• French Toast

• Eggs benedict

• Healthy set

Afternoon tea was decent and the Accor Plus discount was applied (prior to taxes). There was a lot of sweet choices and not much in the way of sandwiches/savoury.

Service

Concierge can arrange printing, which was complimentary for my printing of 11 pages. I’m not sure what the ‘limit’ would be for complimentary printing. I could not find any information about an onsite business centre.

Service from staff was fantastic across all departments.

Check Out

Fast and efficient. A choice of currencies was offered for the option of the DCC charge (a first for me in China!!!)

Overall

This hotel does not come cheap, but it has a truly relaxing vibe in the middle of busy Shanghai. The upgrade policy was disappointing, but other than this, we had a fantastic and relaxing stay and would absolutely return. I believe that the hotel offers one-way hotel transfers in their London-style taxis for CNY 400 one-way, which is a decent price (though still double the price of a taxi ride). For comparison, my trip from the airport to the Sofitel Shanghai Hyland was CNY 700 one-way.