bebop bonnie

We stayed at the GH Shanghai in late December. When you clear customs/immigrations at the airport, there is an area with booths representing several hotels. We went over to the Grand Hyatt booth, spoke with a representative and she walked us out to the very short taxi line, spoke to the driver and we were on our way. I think it was about ten US dollars to the hotel. Hotel was wonderful and club room was lovely!

TheAirman

If you take a cab, don't pay more than 50 Yuan, which is still a good price for the driver. Usually there are only red cabs (which are the only private ones and are the "mean" ones). When going back to the maglev station by cab, you will be charged by meter at about 35 yuan.

RichardInSF

Taxi fare from Pudong to the hotel is about 150 Yuan, which is about $18, not $10 as an earlier poster said. Still not so bad. The Hyatt pre-booked transfer is much, much more expensive and not really any faster. Just avoid all the touts in the airport and go to the taxi line, with the name of the hotel written on a piece of paper in Chinese.

Raffles

Having just returned from Shanghai, let me complete my own thread about rooms and views.

I ended up with a Grand Suite (used 6k points to upgrade) which was an excellent choice. I did not have a bund view but did have a river view looking north (bund is to the south). Now, let me be quite frank here. Whether or not you get a bund view is pretty immaterial. Why? Because the bund is full of 3-4 storey buildings and you are between 59 and 86 storeys off the ground! Nothing looks so great when seen from that sort of height.

You do get a bund view from the Club (access with a Grand Suite automatically). So, if you want my room recommendation - take a Grand Suite which will get you club access anyway. Don't worry too much about a bund view.

HOWEVER .... here is one important point to note. After years of delay, construction on the World Financial Centre next door - which will be the tallest building in the world when finished - is now moving on quickly. They are up to 30 storeys already, and within 3-4 months the building will begin to block out the view from the Hyatt from certain rooms. Going forward, I strongly recommend that you ask for a room that does NOT overlook the WFC building site.

When the WFC is completed it will be even worse. The building is very, very close to the Hyatt and you will be able to look into the windows (and vice versa) of the WFC. Occupancy will still be at least 2 years away, though, at a guess.

bhd87

Im going to be booking 2 rooms at the Hyatt Shanghai. I see they have a diplomatic suite and wanted to know if anyone had stayed in it. They told me they will connect it to a club twin which would be perfect for what we need.

Also, what can I expect as a Diamond member, since they cant really upgrade me, as to different services or breakfest or something?

Thanks

MIABarry

I've just returned. As a Diamond, I reserved and stayed in a club level, river/Bund room. The club was very nice with a good choice for breakfast and an excellent cocktail hour (actually several hrs). The staff on the club floor was execeptionally attentive.

The room amenity was a fruit platter and a couple of truffles.

So, I got what I paid for. Nothing more. The staff was attentive and the club was in the excellent category. I'm not sure that being a Diamond got me anything special or additional. You might want to discuss and negotiate what you're actually going to get.

thesilb

For a first trip to Shanghai which is totally pleasure, I am kind of conflicted. I really want to stay at Hyatt and am ready to pull the trigger on exactly what Raffles did, i.e. regular room prevailing rate up into the grand suite for 6,000 points...however I am concerned that the location fo the Westin might be far superior for a pleasure visit (note: kid in stroller along). I could grab a suite at the Westin with SPG points.

I feel guilty already, but, should I defect in this one case?

Wilbur

Silb, if you plan to take that stroller and walk anywhere from the hotel, I think that the Westin may be better than the Hyatt. The city tore down the shops that were across the street to build the WFC, so I can't remember anything within easy walking distance from the GH. OTOH, I have never used the Westin, so it may be a similar situation.

sfpaul900

My partner and I just got back from our second visit to the GH Shanghai and both of us agreed that next time we will stay at the JW Marriott Tomorrow Square. The Hyatt is just too far away from everything. The subway is a hike and taxis are slow (and a bit harrowing, even for two New Yorkers). After a bit of discussion with the receptionist, we got a Bund view, but it was so hazy most days, the view didn't really matter.

Wish I'd read the postings about the hard v soft bed as I had trouble sleeping on the hard mattress. Partner is Chinese which may explain why it didn't bother him.

We went to the all-you-can-eat-order-off-the-menu-NOT-a-buffet Dim Sum at the JWM and thought the hotel was dazzling. And it's right in the middle of everything, so that's where we're staying next time.

We took a cab to the Maglev station and then the Maglev to the airport. It's great! Worth the slight schlep.

Skip the Whampoa Club (on the Bund) for dinner. Sloppily dressed white tourists, less-than-average food, and stupidly-high prices.

porsche911

Will stay at this hotel for 5 nights in September and would like to know any information - What are the bars . restaurants / night club like

stimpy

I'm at the GH now in the Club which is indeed very nice. No eggs for breakfast like the GH Beijing which is annoying, but great service. The staff at the desk are changing my CA flight for me now. ^

I agree that the location is not the best, but I didn't have a problem taking the subway to Ninjing road where all the shops, etc are.

I used the free one hour boardroom benefit to impress the heck out of some clients who have never seen their city from up here before.

Aircoco

The Club Room is definitely the better choice. The access to the lounge is wonderful.

Echelon

I stayed at the GH Shanghai in August. It is one of the best hotels in the chain. I'm not sure which type of room I had. I'm a Diamond so I got an upgrade, but it wasn't a suite. Didn't matter as it was enormous, had huge windows on 2 sides, and a big one over the bathtub. Faced East and North along the river, but could also see the Pearl tower which was West. Totally nuclear sunrise from up there. Had club access, but I wasn't on the same floor as the club. But agree it is a very nice club. View of the Bund is unimportant; but you can see it from the club.

The _Banking_Scot

Hi,

A stay report ( apologies for the delay)

I arrived at PVG and went to the Hyatt desk in the terminal. the agent walked me to the taxi rank and got me into a taxi for RMB 130.

Upon arriving at the GH ( about 40mins from PVG) I left my luggage with the staff at the ground floor of the tower ( the Hyatt has its own entrance at the Jin Mao tower).
I took the lift up to the check in on the 54th floor.
Upon check in I was told that as I was on the club floor, I was to go up to the RC floor (83) in a separate lift to the lift that takes you from the ground floor.
Upon check in on the 83rd floor I was welcomed by name and showen a couple of suites including the Diplomatic suite ( but this was going to be another $200 per night) so I just stayed in 7802.
The room is very nicely equipped ( if a little short of draw storage space) and the tv had a number of english tv channels also. The mattress was a little hard but I slept well.
The bathroom was very nice with a separate bath and shower and the wc in its own room. The cupboard has doors both in the bathroom and the hall.
A good amenity kit is provided and water is provided both during the day and at the nightly turndown.
As it was New Years Eve there was a net on the 77th floor atrium ( the atrium is from the 56th floor going to the 87th floor and if you suffer from vertigo, DO NOT look down from the balcony) and the staff spend the afternoon putting 10,000 balloons into the net to be released at mid night.

The fitness centre and pool are on the 57 floor and is very good.

The Grand Cafe ( reasonable value) is on the 54th floor and the patio bar and other restaurants are on the 56th floor.

The Grand Club had a very good breakfast ( coffee is brought to your table) and very good evening snacks ( coffee/ soft drinks are brought to your table during the day with snacks ( ie banana crisps and dried apricots are available)

A small englsih paper is delivered to your door on a daily basis.

All GP members could request a freshly brewed coffee/tea to be delivered to your room.

There is a metro stop about 5-10mins walk from the hotel ( there is another entrance that takes you down an escaltor to take you to the 88th floor viewing desk of the Jin Mao tower and you can look down the atrium.) The metro takes you to the Maglev station in one direction and below the river to Nanjin Road/Peoples Sq ( for the Museum) and the Jin An temple ( for the hilton).
The World Financial Centre is about 90 floors high now and will block the view from the Hyatt for some rooms ( for the days I was there it was raininf with low clouds so I could not see the WFC ( nor the ground).

A taxi back to the Maglev station was about 27 RMB.

Overall a very nice hotel and an interesting experience.

Regards

TBS

rbAA

If you don't like hard, Chinese style, mattresses, ask for a "soft" bed. They bring a thick mattress pad for the bed. The first time I stayed there, my shoulder and back were a bit sore from the hard mattresss. Second time, soft bed made it very nice.

And the view from Cloud 9 is spectacular, assuming it is clear. Feb 05 Shanghai DO it was snowing below and foggy. I thought it wasn't too bad, considering how much we all had to drink and eat.