Put me down as a "maybe" for this. :)

Shanghai is one of the places I've yet to visit but would love to (must see). Unfortunately mid Feb is shaping up as a very bad time for me.

Better put me down as "Wish I could" :(

Will see if things change

Please put me down as a definite Maybe.
 

Just came across this thread. As someone who's born and raised there, I really appreciated all the nice things you're saying about Shanghai. I'd like to join you guys there if work permits.

- There're a lot of hype about Shanghai nowadays, but personally I felt that it's really not that nice comparing to Hong Kong (location, food, people). I can understand that people there are very optimistic and forward-looking.

- I can't believe the hotels are so expensive. moondog is on the money with these old guest houses. They are very charming and well located. Also, there're many empty appartments there nowadays. So for those who do not want to stay in hotels, we might be able to set them up in private appartment for couple days, think Real World - Shanghai?

- IMO Shanghai is more a place to hang out rather than a tourist destination. I'd recommend a field trip to SuZhou (50 miles NW) or HangZhou (100 miles SE) if you're there for sightseeing.

-Spiff, you can use AA/OW miles on JAL. I heard that their new business class seats are very nice.
-Visa, I remeber they have a program to give you visa after you land. What happened to the program?
-Lensmen, it's been a while since we met at Nobu Next Door last time, how're you doing? Let's have a drink together some day.

the strange thing about shanghai real estate is, in spite of the fact the broad market has been growing like wild-fire for the past 20 years (almost certainly a bubble), high-end hotel supply has remained relatively stagnent. in fact, the st regis, westin, hyatt, pudong shangri-la, and jw marriott are the only semi-recent arrivals that come to mind. fortunately, if you drop down a notch or two, there are lots of options and chances are you'll probably get a better feel for the city to boot.

Don't underestimate the interest that a Westerner would find in Shanghai. I spent a few days there two years ago and there was plenty to do and see in Shanghai itself.

I also took a day tour to Suzhou and Zhouzhuang (another canal town). Suzhou (besides having canals, which were NOT a highlight of the tour) has some magnificent gardens. I believe the one we visited was called the Humble Administrator's Garden; an ironic name, since the garden is huge and elaborate. Zhouzhuang was quite picturesque but EXTREMELY touristy -- hawkers were constantly bugging you to buy their wares -- which took away a lot of the charm. I think there was also a silk factory visit included in the tour; the factory was interesting but I didn't find much I wanted to buy in the shop.

Anyhow, the point is, most first-time Western visitors will probably enjoy a visit of a few days in Shanghai.

I have some photos of that China trip on the web; if anyone wants to see them, I'll post a link.

I'm now committed to something else that weekend. I hope to see many of you in SIN in January if not elsewhere sooner.

Reserving hotels
 

Looks like award nights are available at Westin for 10,000 per night, Hyatt for 12000 to 15,000 per night and Hilton (says it's near the French Concession) at 25,000 per night. The Westin came up for US$320/nt so award would be a better idea, I suppose.

My older son, Steven, is due for another vacation around that time and he is considering joining me. Looks like I'm doing AA to NRT and a brief stay in Tokyo, (Steven is excited about this prospect, as he wants to find his coat and "girlfriend" lost there from last trip, or maybe just retrace his steps,) with *A award NRT-PVG. I would like to work in a visit to Beijing after Shanghai, too. Anyone know of some low fare options and/or a way to avoid 2 *A awards to do NRT-PVG-PEK-NRT?

Techgirl is hosting (hostessing??) Asia Do first week of September. I was thinking about doing the visa at that time. Looking over the visa rules, it looks like it will be easier and cheaper to do the visa in SF than HK, or am I missing something here?

Travel & Leisure has an article this month re Shanghai. Looks good, sounds good. Great choice, Graeme. Can't wait.

hk is cheaper and probably easier as well, but you do need to go there. since the date in question is 7 months away, you might want to just go to sf when you have time. parking is pretty easy and if you pick your times right, the lines aren't too bad either.

Day 25 of THIS Shanghai Trip
 

Looks like lots of activity here. Just to add my two cents on several Shanghai topics.

Hotels: Westin. I'm here now, My Fifth stay here this year. EXCELLENT hotel, convenient to the BUND, Nanjing Road, (walking distance) cheap cab ride (less than 2:50 USD) to Ju Lu Lu (Bars and Clubs) and Xintiandi (restaraunt area) and Xiang Yang MArket ( for all you Pirated Copy MArket Hagglers) Room Prices can change daily on the SPG site and I have seen it recently online at 180 USD per night. Just keep checking. Rooms are modern and outstanding. I dont think there is a bad room in this place. The restraunts are fantastic, club services outstanding with fine Breakfast and excellent evening snacks. Enough to fill you up and skip dinner altogether. My highest Recommendation!

Sheraton Grand: Was just there for 5 days. Excellent Facilitites, rooms also recently updated. Not convenient to anything, nor is it walking distance to anything. Prepare for traffice jams to go to popular spots but occasionally you will get lucky and get somewhere in under 20 minutes. This hotel is greatly OVERstaffed. Can't take five steps without another bored employee is Saying "HELLO SIR!" Very intimidating. Club room though beautifully decorated in old english style, not at all comfortable for eating breakfast or evening snacks. Breakfast is continental with only very runny Scrambled eggs as your only (luke) warm offering. Juices, cheese, sliced cold meats, cereal and pastries round out the breakfast. Evening Snacks fair better with three warm dishes and several other offerings, but be advised again that you will be eating on your lap. Only three or four standard height tables which are occupied always by the earliest arrivals. The rest are coffee table arrangements. There is one small bar, english pub style, DEAD! No music except the gratuitous piano player in the lobby. Fresh fruit plate in the room was NEVER replaced nor replenished, had a room Quality Check at 7:45pm one night (the only night I had to relax). Not recommended.

Pudong Hotels:

St. Regis. Beautifully appointed hotel. rooms and conveniences galore. Highly recommended and voted the number 1 business hotel in Shanghai ( I dont know who voted). I've experienced only the lobby and friends have stayed there. All loved the hotel but were put off by the Travel to the DOWNTOWN side, Both the tunnel and bridges can be a 40 to 60 minute journey to the other side, (Bund, Shopping, restaraunts).

Intercontintal: Same as St. Regis with not as much luxury and refinement. Very hard for cab drivers to find taking you back to the hotel.

Anyone seeking info on Shanghai can try this link for great info on where to go and what to do.

http://www.thatsmagazines.com/home/i...sp?location=sh

Good luck all,

We really wanted to do this, but just learned that we have to be in Dusseldorf that weekend. Sooooooooooooo sorry.

Have fun!

Update...
 

Glad to see that plans are coming together for this event. I know it is quite a few months away yet. Sorry that P&J have DUS commitments.. but fair enough. I'll post again once I've been to Shanghai in a few weeks with some more suggestions.

Great to see an offer of local rates for hotels.. I suggest we all post here if we are looking to use one of those deals.

Graeme

Westin is expensive!
 

I was rereading posts, and see that the Westin is well regarded. I decided to walk on over to the Starwood site, and see what I could book. Well, the rate is $320 and the AAA rate is $270. Oh, my. Has anyone tried booking with a SPG50 coupon?

Also, how is the Hilton location? It is over $200 as well - too rich for my pocketbook, but if rates come down, is it an acceptable choice?

What about Priceline?
 

Another thought - I see that Shanghai hotels are on Priceline. There are 3 areas:

1. Changning
2. Huangpu
3. Pudong

Mind you, Bidding for Travel doesn't show many hotels as being available. Still, if I decided to bid, what area should I bid?

The Hilton location is great IMO. Furthermore, you should be able to get in there for less than 150 during those dates. However, there are several other Chinese hotels within walking distance of the Hilton that are much better values (also IMO). These are the Shanghai Hotel, the Jing an Hotel, and the Yan'an Hotel. All have rooms in the $40 to 70 range.

As for Priceline, while I'm a devout user in the US, it's a complete bust in China. You'll do MUCH better on your own, guaranteed.

for those of you that want to stay in a top hotel..l
 

I can offer two bits of advice:

1) reference an ad from one of the prominent English papers. I see them all the time for arond 100 per night, inclusive of things like breakfast. Even if you don't see the ad, you can still call them on it (because there's almost no chance that the guy on the phone is aware of the ad in question + customer is always right). As long as you speak with a manager of some sort, you'll do ok.

2) get a corporate rate. the only one I can think of off hand is Mearsk at the Portman and Sofitel, but every major company has corp rates at around 150 per night.