Was a member sometime ago but with the change of company and not travelling so much anymore I couldn't remember my password!

I have a couple of questions.

I am flying with AA to Shanghai PVG in J class (I like this travel policy!) and they have booked me into the Ramada Inns, Ramada Plaza Pu Dong.

I don't really care where I stay in terms of it being a status symbol. I sleep there, nothing else. However, I do care about it's location.

I had a quick look on Google earth and the Pu Dong area seems MILES from Shanghai.

Has anyone with experience got any suggestions on alternative hotels?

I can give more info if needed!

Thanks

Im not sure about the Ramada Plaza in PuDong - but the Ramada Plaza on Nanjing Road is an excellent location and top value for money hotel.

Pudong is on the other side of the river from Shanghai. It's an easy taxi ride (Except during rush hours; taxis aren't allowed in the main tunnel.) It's also an easy subway trip. If you could stay in the Grand Hyatt Jin Mao it would be the experience of a lifetime. ^ The restaurant "On 57" in the Jin Mao tower is my favorite restaurant in the world. Enjoy your trip.

ill move to our Travel forum on China for further discussion. Ocn Vw 1K, Co-Mod TravelBuzz

I'm not exactly sure where the Ramada Pudong is. Having said that, I find Pudong boring and inconvenient. Yes, there are taxis and the subway, but given no reason to be in Pudong, why have to bother (and Shanghai isn't exactly Convenient City to get around)? Since there are decent hotels just about everywhere, go with Location.

Do you have the address? Is it on Nanjing Rd or just off it? Their website doesn't show it.
Btw. The hotel I'm in confirmed at $100 night. What else is added tax etc? Looking for an approx number!

Thanks!

before offering my opinion, i'd like to clear up this misconception (i'm by no means casting blame on you because lots of people make the same mistake):

pudong is part of shanghai. moreover, the huangpu river is only ~300 m wide so parts of pudong (e.g. the binjiang starbucks) are less than 500m from parts of puxi (e.g. bund 18).

that said, imo: 1) crossing the river is a drag; and 2) the most enjoyable places in shanghai are several kilometers west of the river.

the ramada plaza is located in the jinqiao epz, which --together with waigaoqiao to the north -- is home to thousands of logistics companies and freight forwarders.

i would have to guess that the reason your company stuck you there is that they have visions of you working in the area during the day.

if not, i suggest you pick a different hotel, if possible (and if you tell us where you want to be, recommendations will be forthcoming).

MrZhu begs respectfully to differ. While he things the Hyatt is nice enough he isn't so impressed. He much prefers the garden, the Portman, the four seasons, or interestingly lao jin jiang.

As for restaurants at the Hyatt. The resteraunt on top (87 I think) is much much better. That said Mr Zhu feels compelled to point out that there are much much much much much much better places to eat in Shanghai.

I'm with Mr. Zhu on this one. Although my pockets aren't deep enough to stay at places like the Four Seasons, I think that the Lao Jin Jiang is a great historic hotel in a nice area for both walking and restaurants. Also, there is no shortage of good restaurants in Shanghai, but Gu Yi Hunan, Ye Shanghai, and Din Tai Fung (all far from the Jin Jiang) are three of my very favorite restaurants in China.

Thankyou Mr Zhu!

I am open to all suggestions. I have spoken to the company I am visiting and the hotel I am currently booked into is 15min from their facilities, whilst Shanghai "proper" is 40min away.

They mentioned that they can get cheaper rates than me and my company so I have asked them to look into the hotels you mentioned below.

Do you have suggestions on where to eat?

Thankyou again all!

Mr Zhu thinks given the Ramada's proximty to the work site he would stay there.

Mr zhu thinks that :-: gbjd1205:-: named some great places. Mr zhu thinks that gbjd1205 meant [not] far from lao jin jiang.

For dining Mr Zhu adores:
Summer Garden (ritz) for its simple dependale fare (try the double boiled fish maw soup);
Sichuan Court (Hilton) for great Sichuan food in shanghai that does not take the burn you aproach of most places -- esp. great when they rotate in the hilton chefs from chengdu and chongning) also great views;
hai yi (gubei) for the best seafood in Shanghai;
nan xiang xiao long bao (old city) for xiao long bao;
cocochina for french-viet fusion;
crystal jade for light dimsum;
zen for cantonese;
ye shanghai at lao jin jiang for solid shanghainese;
xin ji shi for solid shanghai food;
xiao nan guo for...uh....er...xiao nan guo;
cun for homestyle "aunty" style shanghai cooking;
the ritz for japanese;
the sheraton tai ping yang for japnese;
the shangrila for japanese (also great views);
various street sellers for tasty treats (Mr Zhu thinks the toxic lard helped here...);
and most of all Mr Zhu adores KFC for spicy chicken sandwich.

edit: Mr Zhu apologizes if your client/coworkers in china get any crazy ideas about you because you asked about lao jin jiang -- it would be an unusal choice for most people; its more old china. Avoid NEW jin jiang tower at all costs. Also interesting is Moller Villa but Mr Zhu has heard that is under "renovation". Mr Zhu never knew that accountants from Beijing were so talented at renovating hotels....

suntory (in hsbc building)
(fenyang rd) paulaner on mondays
海之幸 (an old favorite for group events)

to the op: if your job site is close to the ramada, or perhaps even further out, i suggest you suck it up and stay somewhere in pudong... lujiazui would be a nice compromise though you'd probably go over budget (on the other hand, since your company is shelling out mucho bucks for your plane ticket, i'd be surprised if they came down too hard on such a request). both the shangri-la and the hyatt are nice hotels. what's more, getting to various parts of puxi is pretty easy at night because the tunnel works wonders. however, if you were to stay in the portman, 4s, okura, or jinjiang (btw, i don't share mr. zhu's assessment of this property), you'd find that getting to jinqiao in the morning to be needlessly painful.

MrZhu and/or Moondog..... you seem to know Shanghai well .... I will have one free night to enjoy a romantic evening with a lady friend ..... I was thinking of drinks somewhere on the Bund (suggestion?) and then dinner at Fu 1039 (Lane 1039 Yu Yuan Road .. 021-5237-1878) ... any further suggestions? I am staying at the New World Mayfair in the ChangNing district. Thank you

my apartment (changping lu / xikang lu) and your hotel are pretty much equidistant from the bund and i would never dream of going there during rush hour.

but, if you can plan your day so that you end up in that neck of the woods, then rouge would be a good happy hour choice. that said, i think the jw marriott is better (though you might never make it to the dinner phase) for the implied purpose.

but again, if your lady has dreams of refreshing herself before the evening commences, then i suggest you refocus your sites on venues that are reasonably close to your hotel.... and i'd probably even scrap the pre-dinnner drinks.

if you go this route, good restaurants would include: bali laguna, toro and crab, mesa, shintori... just look at the map in conjunction with your magazines (very few places require reservations, but feel free to reserve if you get nervous).

once dinner is over, you can move about the city more freely (gettng to the bund at 9 is 10-fold easier than doing so at 6), but i still advise against floating too far because shanghai is awash with interesting places.

Hmmm. If MrZhu is familiar with your hotel than Moondog (or Yue Gou)as Mr Zhu prefers to fondly call him, has a good point -- traffic in Shanghai has grown pretty bad. But there are solutions! First, there used to be a decent (for Shanghai) Italian restaurant on top of the Sheraton Grand Tai Ping Yan near your hotel (although it was a westin(?) the last time MrZhu ate on top --- so you may want to research that on  ).

MrZhu thinks if you aren't from China you should still head for the Bund: "Damn the traffic [sic] full speed ahead!" its too romantic for lao wai! MrZhu's Solutions: 1) gamble on traffic. Try to head out of your place by 4.30 at the latest -- you might just make it. You might also spend two hours in a cab, but se la vi 2) head for the subway (no 2 line gets you pretty close). But note that it is VERY (as in MrZhu gets crushed and can not move his arms) crowded during rush hour. The No. 2 also puts you out right close to Jin Mao which has an excellent restaurant for your purpose on the 86th floor (the food is great (but not the best) and the view is awesome). For drinks Mr Zhu like M � although the patio may not be open in winter.

A good dinner in Hongqiao followed by drinks on the bund or from Cloud 9 at Jin Mao (the Hyatt across the river) might work well � as Yue Gou notes traffic eases up later in the eve. Mr Zhu does like the Japanese and Chinese resteraunts on the second floor of the Shearton in Hongqiao and has been there recently.