aircmdr

Wow, nothing on this hotel since 2013...

Anyone stay here recently?

We have a conference in October at the Hongqiao State Guest Hotel, but don't have any desire to sleep on their hard beds. The Hilton Shanghai Hongqiao looks to be within walking distance, so we're considering it a potentially better option.

We've only passed through the Hongqiao area and never spent any time on the ground. Is the Hilton within a reasonable walking distance to subway or will we be stuck with taxis? Wives will be with us so they will want to get downtown easily - they have experience with the subway.

Would other hotels/chains be a better option in this neighborhood?

Thanks!

Prospero

Having stayed at this property several times during the past year, my experience has been very positive. Arriving straight from Pu Dong at 10:30am, the check in staff have been most accommodating by offering me such an early check-in. As an HHonors Gold, I have been allocated a Junior Suite on each occasion. Its a pretty spacious room with an adjoining office and second shower room.

My only negative experience is the hotel wifi. It blocks a great deal more western sites than is the norm for Shanghai. Facebook works surprisingly but I could not access FT, BA.com or AA.com while I was there. By way of contrast, the Hilton Shanghai suffers very little in terms of performance or access restrictions.

While the Executive Lounge offers a decent breakfast, the restaurant offering is significantly more varied.

Wexflyer

As I am unfamiliar with the area, I am having a hard time figuring out if any of the bus routes from PVG airport go anywhere near or even to the Hilton, Hongqiao, in Shanghai. Any comments/suggestions welcome,
Thanks

moondog

#1 goes to Hongqiao airport, and #2 goes to JA Temple. I'd probably go with #2, but it's a toss up.

Wexflyer

Thanks, can you give any indication of how far from those locations to the hotel?

moondog

Without traffic, about 20 minutes. With traffic, about 30 minutes. I'm now leaning more in favor of #2 in your case because getting a taxi in JA, while not always easy, is much less of an ordeal than dealing with the mayhem at the airport.

Wexflyer

Thanks, much appreciated!

iflyuaaa

take a taxi or uber. they are so cheap in china.

stevie

Save yourself the hassle and get a taxi. Just fasten your seat belt as I have had some lunatic drivers.

moondog

Sure, $45 is pretty reasonable for a 40 km journey, but $5 for bus + taxi is more appealing to some of us. FYI, I already responded to the OP in his other thread on the same topic in the China forum; my opinion is that bus 2 is a better option than bus 1 in this case.

jerry a. laska

Wouldn't subway and taxi be an reasonably priced option too?

etna

If you feel the need for speed, try the MagLev. It runs from PVG to LongYang Road, with a connection to the extremely well marked (and voiced) subway system. Unfortunately, the H HongQiao is in between a few subway lines, and would require a walk from your final stop.

HowieG

Hilton HQ is at an odd location for bus. Is ther particular reason you want a bus over a taxi?

moondog

I sort of agree. When spending $200/night on a hotel, saving $40 on ground transportation might not make the most sense in this particular case. (The jing'an Hilton is an entirely different ball of wax because it is really close to jing'an Temple.)

That having been said, some people go out of their way to use mass transit, and others find value in the "-$40 = extra 40 minutes" proposition. I respect both of these goals, and am happy to advise on the logistics.

In the OP's other thread on this topic in the Hilton forum, some people suggested subway and maglev/subway. These are both terrible ideas IMO, due to the long travel times on the subway. The maglev/taxi option has yet to be suggested, but is possibly even worse in this case because PVG to Gubei typically requires the same amount of time as Longyang Road to Gubei.

timfountain

$5 on the bus, then $150 in the hotel. Hmm....