moondog

You think the Penn, the Puli, or the JA Shangri-La have "poor service levels"? How about the 4 Seasons Beijing? Which hotels in Seattle are better?

Incidentally, I never got the impression that the Andaz XTD considered itself to be a luxury hotel. I would say the PH is a luxury hotel though. Which Park Hyatts are so much better than Beijing/Shanghai that you'd advocate stripping the Beijing and Shanghai properties of the flag?

Yaoyao

I made a guest of honor booking for my parents for 12/30 and 12/31. 12/30 is my mom's 78th birthday. Currently, it is a city-view park king room. I'd like to email hotel for an upgrade to a view room. Which email do you guys use to contact the hotel for such request? Thanks.

Aventine

Might be a good idea to book what you can live with for the New Year period. Upgrades may not be forthcoming at that busy time.

scented

A paid (!) upgrade should be no problem, should availability allow.

Yaoyao

I emailed the hotel and the front desk manager replied and agreed to upgrade my parents to bund-view room.

supermintyfresh

Anyone have any idea if triple occupancy can be accommodated? It seems like a rollaway bed is not available unless you are confirmed in a suite? How big are the double beds and is there a pull-out sofa?

How about Diamond breakfast benefits -- will it extend to 3 people?

Thanks in advance!

AlwaysSunnyInORD

I've never tired 3 to a room here so I can only comment on the room.

Beds seemed bigger than twins but I would say smaller than doubles. No pull-out sofa. Just a chaise lounge.

Insomnia4u

As long as they stay in the same room as you, yes.

peteropny

And your reservation is for 3.

Thunderroad

I'm thinking about staying at the PH next October with my wife for about four nights. I've skimmed through this thread, but still have a few questions about getting around. (FWIW, I've been to China several times over the years on business, but mainly to just Beijing and Wuhan, with short trip more than a decade ago to Shanghai.)

1. Using the Bund Sightseeing Tunnel, and including the time walking to there from the PH, about how long does it take to get to the Bund from the hotel?
2. Same question for the ferry (which I know nothing about so far, except I've seen mention of it)...and is it worth taking at all?
3. About how long does a taxi take to the Bund?
4. I realize that Pudong is not at all interesting to walk through, but if we wanted to do so about how long would a walk over to the Bund take and is it an easy walk (e.g., in terms of not hassling with crowded streets, whatever)?
5. How well situated is the hotel in getting to train station(s) for a day trip to nearby cities such as Suzhou or for a potential stay near Ningbo (at the Park Hyatt there)?
6. How well situated is the hotel (whether in terms of travel time or convenience) for getting to whatever parts of Shanghai folks recommend visiting, whether by public transit or taxis?

Thanks for any help!

moondog

It takes less than 10 minutes to get from the PH to the tunnel entrance, and then 5 minutes to cross the river.
20 minute walk from the hotel, 5 minutes to cross the river, and then 10 minutes walk up to the Bund. It is worth taking because the walk on the Pudong side is pleasant, and it's a Y2 "river cruise".
20 minutes
Not possible (to the best of my knowledge)
It's about 40 minutes from Hongqiao Stn (with Line 2 being a reasonably acceptable option), and 30 minutes from Shanghai Stn (subway not advisable in this case).
Poorly (questions 1-5 ALL entail crossing the river.)

gum

Dear moondog,

just a disagree to the comment to the inconvenient location of the hotel.

http://shanghai.park.hyatt.com/en/ho...pMapDirections

It is amidst the Pudong district and not far away from public transport.

Gabrca

Alas, I will also agree with Moondog (our FT China expert) on this one. Having lived in Shanghai for 2.5 years, and frequenting PH Shanghai's bar semi-regularly when guests are in town.

1. The walk to the subway gets tedious after a while (though there is that new overhead pedestrian walkway). And the subway closes relatively early (2310-ish) which means any later-night activities would need to be done by taxi.

2. The tunnel to Puxi can get congested and requires a bit of looping around to get into.

3. The wait for taxis from the hotel, depending on the time of day and weather, can be a while.


All that being said, I love PH Shanghai (hotel/rooms/view are stunning)., but I normally always recommend visitors stay in Puxi when they come to Shanghai. Especially since the Shanghai skyline looks so awesome from the Puxi side. Then you can pop over for a nice meal/drinks either at the PH Shanghai or the Ritz Carlton Pudong rooftop and still enjoy the view from the other direction. I've even had a couple of friends split the stay to do 1/2 nights at PH Shanghai and the rest in Puxi.

I would only recommend staying in Pudong if a) you have business there or b) you like shopping malls.


IMHO the Bund-View rooms at the Waldorf Astoria Shanghai are some of the best.

Thunderroad

Thanks very much for the quick and useful replies, folks. We might in fact end up splitting our stay, as Gabrca mentioned, perhaps by a couple of days up-front at the PH upon arrival in China and then a couple of days (maybe at Hyatt on the Bund??) upon return from some other location such as the PH Ningbo.

Of course, any other advice is always appreciated. Happy holidays!

benji2227

PH Shanghai is a real pleasure, I wouldn't miss an opportunity!