No. 9 - Shanghai
 

Anyone familiar w/ the No. 9 B&B in Shanghai. Was recently written up in the NY Times travel section. Considering it for a stay this coming summer. Rates are pretty low, but the location looks to be fairly out of the way on Jinguo West Road, Ln 355?

Other choices would be one of 3 SPG properties, the Westin, St. Regis or new Le Meridien, each of which appear to have their strengths/weaknesses.

I am not familiar with the No.9. But I have stayed at the St Regis Shanghai and found it to be wonderful. It does get some traffic from junk peddlers just outside but inside it is serene and well appointed.

If you have not been to Shanghai in Summer- be aware that it can be oppressively humid and hot. Smog is really bad as well. The St Regis is near the river and the Bund. The restaurant around the side called Jade Garden does a brisk business and serves all the Shanghai specialties.

well...

I have found it's hard to go wrong with LeMeridien properties. Enjoy Shanghai...it's a spectacular city!!!!! :D

Thanks for the replies...know that it will be hot/humid, but such is life. We've done HK and Penang in the summer, and survived. Living in the Midwestern US, we're pretty used to it, too...

Will probably do the Pen in Beijing, and are thinking that it might be fun/different to stay in a small B&B in Shanghai. If not, any of the 3 Starwood properties look fine. St. Regis is a Virtuoso hotel with bigger rooms, the other 2 are newer and are closer to the Bund...We'll do the tourist sights, but in general, we also like wandering around neighborhoods and seeing a city at ground level, and eating a lot of street vendor food.

No 9 is in an old French Concession neighborhood. It is close to the XuJiaHui shopping center & Hengshan Rd. It will definitely be a different experience than the deluxe business hotels. You can enjoy walking around the neighborhood and there are plenty of interesting local spots to grab a bite to eat. It is easy to get a taxi if you don't want to walk to the Metro, just make sure to get the address written in Chinese to show the driver so you can get back home.

I am very familiar with the Summer heat and humidity in the Midwest. HK, too. As well as Shanghai, Bangkok, Bali and even NYC and Boston.

Beijing and Shanghai are unbelievably worse in Summer. I don't know how the Chinese survive the Summers. I don't know how I did, last Summer. And the pollution ...

I would never go back in Summer unless I were paid a huge sum. Why go on vacation to suffer?

Again, it is FAR worse than anything you could imagine before going. Try Spring or Fall. It is certainly worth a visit. But, not in Summer.

if i were in your shoes, i'd pick some place with a nice outdoor pool, such as the portman. shanghai is like a big urban swamp in the summer. think dc, but with much dirtier air and interesting smells, to boot

Even better - a nice INDOOR pool :cool:

Unfortunately, due to the vagaries of work/school schedules and frequent flyer mile redemption, summer works the best for us.

I very strongly second this. I spent quite a lot of time in Shanghai this past summer and it was truly, absolutley, without question, miserable. There were days when I could not venture outside.

Really do think long and hard about trying to be a tourist in Shanghai in the summer.

I actually like Beijing in the summer. Sure it gets hot, but not especially humid. More importantly, the city really comes alive during the summer months. Evenings are especially nice (lots of rooftop patioes, parks, and outdoor dining).

Like the rest of you, I'm no fan of SH in the summer. At the same time, it appears that the OP's mind is set so we should help him make the best of the situation. I'm going to stand by my Portman recommendation for now because of the pool (I wish I could think of a quaint place that measures up to the Portman in the "comfort" category).

Glad to hear about Beijing...very much looking forward to it. Have been to Taiwan and HK, but never mainland China. I speak passable Mandarin, which may make things a little easier.

We've made reservations at #9, but could always change them. I guess my thought on SH is that I'm having a hard time conceiving of a 1st trip to China that didn't include that city. I suppose one possibility is to cut down on the # of days in SH, and add a 3rd city. Something like 4 nights BJ, 2 nights Xi'an, 2 nights SH instead of 4 and 4. Of course, Xi'an wouldn't exactly be cool in summer either...

Moondog is certainly very knowing about China, so I hate to disagree, but, IMHO (and experience) Beijing in Summer is even worse than Shanghai. And Shanghai is plenty bad, weather wise.

In the end, looks as though the OP is going in Summer, so I look forward to an update on what OP thinks of the weather, after the trip.

Well, I spent most of my summer (apart from two weeks in Europe in July) in Shanghai and environs. While there were rather sweaty days to be experienced, it was all bearable even with a dress code.

Some basic things I'd recommend also based on many, many summers in similar climates in Japan and Korea:

- Sleep on bamboo mats instead of linen

- Wake up between 5 and 6 am and do some brisk excercise, at least a walk around your quarters. It will be too hot and humid for that later in the day. A shower and a breakfast later there is still time for some morning sightseeing before the noon heat hits you.

- Wear sandals instead of shoes like the Chinese do. And ask your hotel concierge to recommend special summertime dishes that help you regain your energy and balance.

- There is not much point to go out between noon and maybe 5-6 pm. Good places to linger before or after lunch are the all day tea houses with comfy booths or day spas, massage included.

- As mentioned, the evenings are "alive" also in the Shanghai area. Take full advantage of them, you''ll have time for sleep in the lazy afternoons

And don't forget the Hangzhou, Nanjing, Suzhou trio that is nothing short of amazing in summertime.