Choice of hotels in PVG and PEK
 

On a 100 % leisure trip with family in August, we will be visiting PVG and PEK.

Which hotel would you recommend (location, quality, access to main places, etc)?:

* PVG: Park Hyatt OR Le royal Meridien
* PEK: Hilton Wangfujing OR Westin Chaoyang

Thank you

Haven't stayed at the Westin in BJ so can't compare and will only comment on PVG:

Best option:
Location: Le Meridien
Quality: Park Hyatt
Access to main places: Le Meridien

Both are good hotels, though Meridien is in Puxi, thus giving easier access to puxi attractions and possible trips to surrounding cities (SZ, HZ, etc.). It's ideally located at Peoples Square, thus in walking distance from Nanjing Lu and the bund.

Personally was never really impressed with the Meridien though. I prefer Shangri-La (pudong) and the Westin (puxi).

Second the Shangri-La. The front desk hinted upgrades to the Horizon Club should not be that hard to attain.

Between PH and Meridien I would def go for the PH , but you are saying you are traveling with family. With kids? How old?

Le Meridien, as said by others as well, is very convenient location wise. If you have the money to spend for the PH why don`t go for JW Marriot? It`s near the Meridien. Otherwise go for a boutique hotel JIA. Very nice!!!

Beijing: Westin is great ...but I prefer the GH in Wangfujing ...its got a great pool (bit Vegas style ...but thats kinda cool for Asians:)) I stayed last time in the Opposite House ...very very nice trendy hotel in the bar area of Beijing.

We are travelling with our daughter, almost 6 years old in August. Would you say PH PVG is too "business oriented" ?

The Park Hyatt is smack in the middle of the Lujiazui high-rise financial district.

Why do you want to stay in Shanghai at all? Hangzhou and Suzhou are a short hop away with more resort-type accomodations.

Well just because we will be staying 10 days in Bali later during our trip so we also need some strong "city" feeling before staying in resort-like accomodations :D

Would Suzhou with eight milllion people or Hangzhou with six milliion be too cozy then? ;)

I would suggest checking out the PH on the Hyatt forum. My first experience, just after opening, was terrible, but recent visitors say it is much improved. I won't know until I try it next in July.

The PH is about a 10 minute walk from the subway station due to construction and (more obscure) about the same length walk to an RMB 1 ferry that takes you right to the middle of the Bund. There's also the "tourist tunnel" ride which I have never taken. Shangri-La is a bit closer to these. The Superbrand mall about a ten minute walk away has a zillion restaurants.

Can't comment on your PEK hotels but the Grand Hyatt is also very close to Wangfujing (which also makes it close to Tienanmen Square and the Forbidden City), on top of a shopping mall with fast food places, and has an incredible swimming pool that kids will love.

Shanghai is a great business city, but as noted above, not so hot for tourism -- two nights should be enough IMO. Eight million residents is the Chinese equivalent of a rural village, isn't it? :) :)

Absolutely. However, a first chinese experience without 48 hours in PVG is like a US experience without having seen NYC. Am I wrong ?

The hotels I mentioned in my short list are also meant to be someting "very special" for us, like the PH. I cannot remember having slept somewhere on the 80th floor, have you ???;)

I think the analogy is poor. Shanghai is nothing in comparison to NYC. It may now have a great deal of modernity but with a few exceptions its recent architecture is second-rate and ersatz, although there's interest in the decaying or overly-restored remains of the colonial era. It has about 10% as much to do as NYC, and Beijing offers a great deal more in terms of culture and history.

Shanghai really represents Shanghai, rather than China. Around 70% of China is still down on the farm, and a rural location would be far more representative of the country as a whole. Beijing is also individual, but despite being founded and run for centuries by alien invaders is still the city that should be chosen if a single city is all there's time for.

The Hyatt Wangfu Jing has large, well-equipped rooms (it began life as an apartment building), and a superior location for visitors, being within walking distance (20-30 minutes or so) of the Forbidden City and Tian'an Men Square, closer still to various lesser sites, its between extensive glitzy and more localised shopping, and is three minutes' walk from a metro station. There are two Westins in Beijing, but I've only stayed at the Financial Street one (which is good). The Hilton's location is better than the Chaoyang Westin's, however. I'd recommend you eat various versions of Chinese while in Beijing, but if you're up for a little deluxe foreign eating, then the tasting menu consisting of mixed samples from the Japanese and Portuguese restaurants, taken with wine pairings (the sommelier is a very imaginative fellow) in one of the two glass-walled wine cellars, is something worth doing at the Hilton.

And if you like Park Hyatts, then the Beijing one, which reminds me very much of its famous Tokyo cousin, and which is equally way up in the top of a tower and (for now) Beijing's highest hotel, is definitely worth considering. The views alone would be worth it but the rooms, which are divided up with sliding screens, feel like small suites. And right at the foot of the tower is a metro station that puts you on two lines at once.

Peter N-H
China

Having just stayed at the PH Beijing last week, I'd say that the service leaves a lot to be desired still. Again, check the Hyatt forum for discussion on this.

The club level in the GH next door to the PH Shanghai is very nice, and everyone agrees that they have their service act together. The club looks DOWN on the TV tower!

Mrs. Sniles had a girls night out with a gf of hers last weekend and they spent the night at the Shanghai PH. Their overall experience was good. The gf booked online, there were some major issues at check-in with the credit card from PH's side, but was all resolved within 30 mins, and with a complimentary bottle of champagne and a bottle of wine. The rest of the experience was great, she said staff was superb and when they had dinner the chef came out and presented them with a complimentary platter of lobster and seafood.
According to Mrs. Sniles the rooms are nice, decent size, clean. Whats scary is taking a bath in the morning above the clouds, the bathtub is right up to the window and so it basically feels like you're bathing in the clouds....

Unfortunately, that isn't usually clouds, it's smog!

PVG: HYATT GH PH they are all on the wrong side of the tracks (river).

NYC... that's a great place. When you have a friend that has a penthouse
on the west-side!