Hotels on the Bund with view of Financial District
 

I have Google-mapped my request, and it seems like the hotel chain hotel on the bund that looks at the Shanghai financial district + Oriental Tower is Hyatt on the Bund? I looked at some other small hotels on the Bund, but TripAdvisor always seems to have some picture of moldy bathroom or something disgusting. Are there any other good hotels on the bund that has the same view?

Here's TA page on the Hyatt: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev...-Shanghai.html

Fairmont and Peninsula are right on the Bund , just on the other side of Suzhou Creek from the Hyatt.

waldorf astoria is there on the Bund as well.

budget wise, the Astor House Hotel is a little off the Bund (and probably not with the views you are after) but the trade-off is cheap rates for lots of history (around the USD100 mark)

My friends and I used to stay there in the mid 90s (before it was an "Astor House") and the rates were around y100 per night. Even in those days the Bund really wasn't especially interesting apart from scenic value.

From what I hear on the news about the air pollution, you can barely see across the river. Or is that just media hype?

there are good days and bad days for pollution. But on a bad day at a bad time the reports are close enough to being true.

According to my colleagues, SH had only 8 "good" days of air in December. Nanjing and other cities also had days where you couldn't see buildings across the way. Hopefully it gets better.

SH had its good and bad days, let's please just leave it at that.

How are the odds of landing a good view from the Waldorf versus the Hyatt?

The Hyatt isn't actually on the Bund (I researched this a few months back; north of Suzhou Creek doesn't make the cut), while the Waldorf is. The views aren't much different. That having been said, if you really want to see Shanghai, use the Bund as a dinner venue, and stay in town.

From the photos on TA, it seems like W.A. is a few buildings behind the river? Hyatt is right next to the water though, so I think I will stay there.

What dining options would you recommend?

the WA is right on the bund. It is composed of two buildings, the old original which is on the Bund road, and a new tower joined to it. The WA is ideally located for the restaurants and bars you might be interested in (Peace hotel jazz bar, Long Room at the WA, Mr Mrs Bund, Glamour Bar, Lost Heaven on the Bund etc). The WA gives you Shanghai history on a plate.

The Hyatt is a fair walk away from the Bund in terms of what all the tourists go to see.

IMO the ultimate Bund experience would be the Fairmont Peace hotel with a high floor bund view room, ideally their concierge lounge level (Gold?). However, people have criticized the the hotel's sevice and it seems expensive for what it is.

I'd prefer a Bund view room at Le Royal Meridian. Alternatively, for the Fairmont Peace hotel prices and Bund location, I'd spend a bit more and stay at the Peninsula, which is also right on the Biund.

Before Fairmont flagged the Peace, it was a $80/night hotel. Of course it's nicer now (Jinjiang was the previous management company), but it's still not in the same league as the Penn or the WA (can't change the size of the rooms, for example).

My basic ideas about Beijing and Shanghai real estate remain stubbornly unchanged during my years on FT; while it's important to visit the iconic places, residing near them is kind of pointless.

It depends. Sometimes it's nice to see something at different times of day, like the Bund, or to visit several times for dinner, etc. I agree with you for the one visit and done museums, etc.

TA has some pictures from atop the Fairmont hotel. Is the roof access available to all guests or only those in suites?