BrightlyBob

I noticed the Shanghai City Centre going down. I'm planning a family holiday to China and we are staying there for 5 nights so booked 2 rooms at CNY850prpn, with taxes about $150prpn making a total cost of $1,500. I was debating redeeming when it was a Cat4 as at 160k it's close to my minimum 1UScent value. But once these changes bite on 7th March it will be 120k which I think is very good value for the points.

I've also booked the Beijing Ren Wangfujing at Cat3 which also changes, this one goes up from a Cat3 to 4. For my Beijing stay the Ren represents good value even as a 4, particularly as cash rates have risen so I'm definitely hanging onto my ressie for that!

dburns

Thank you for the heads up! I'm planning on being there starting Sunday March 11 - will have to see if I can re-book for fewer points

SkiAdcock

You can, although they might have to do it after March 7th.

Cheers.

SkyTeam777

In terms of proximity to airport and better offerings in the club lounge:

Marriott Pudong East or Renaissance Pudong?

moondog

Neither property is appreciably closer to PVG than hotels in town (I.e. we're talking about 40 v 45 minutes).

tropikey

I'm also looking at Renaissance Pudong as according to map, it seems that getting there from the airport might be considerably quicker than to other Marriott properties. However it's common situation that impressions on basis of map have nothing to do with reality :-D
How is road traffic in this area in the afternoon and how long can it take to get by taxi to this hotel from Longyang station? According to google map it's 11 minutes.

SkyTeam777

They're also just 10k points, a big reason why I am choosing between them. Any ideas on one being better than another?

moondog

I've never been to the pudong east property, but would cross it off the list because of the piss poor location. Century Park isn't especially desirable either, but is a big improvement. Is the courtyard in zhabei also 10k points (I assume so based on the lower ADR)? A friend of mine stays there 10 nights/month, and is pretty happy with it (the area is getting nice quickly, and subway access is quite good).

tropikey

Hi,

I'm trying to make final decision regarding accommodation for 2 nights in Shanghai in late October. I limited my choice to Ren Yu Garden and Ren Zhongshan. The first one is a little cheaper.
Which one would you recommend, considering the following things which are important for me:
1) good base for exploration of Shanghai's most interesting places (I won't have much time, so would like to avoid long subway/bus trips),
2) reasonable transfer time from/to PVG airport,
3) flexible policy regarding lounge access for non-gold guest sharing room with me (I'm MR gold),
4) general quality of hotel, breakfast and service in lounge.

Thanks in advance :-)

moondog

1. Zhongshan Park, hands down
2. Taxi/car is the most convenient in both cases, and public transit sort of works for Zhongshan Park (explained up thread)
3. I can't opine
4. This is a close call, but I give a slight edge to Zhongshan Park

tropikey

thanks for advice :-)

Do you know, where can I find email addresses of both hotels? Marriott's website does not provide such information. I'd like to contact them and ask about point 3.

GoSh4rks

Lounge access is always for member+guest. The member is never required to be present from all my interactions across Marriott.

unitedhandcuffs

I just stayed at the Renaissance in pudong on Ying Chun road. Due to semicon china they were totally booked so I got bumped to the presidential suite! Nice.

I'm now over at the Portman Ritz Carlton in a lowly club room 😀

Kryssa

Hello,

This is my first time using any status with Marriott - I'm gold through their partnership with United.

My husband and I are booked for 3 nights at Shanghai Marriott City Center. I booked before thinking about posting here so I guess my first questions is whether that was a good choice - we picked it because we wanted to be near shops, restaurants, and a metro station. The JW would have also been fine but it's further from the metro - any reason to cancel and book there (or elsewhere) instead?

Does anyone know how the breakfast benefit works and what we can expect as far as choices? I read that it's continental only - can we pay for an upgrade to full breakfast if we want eggs? Or is it full cost and does anyone know what the price might be?

And finally any general tips? We booked the basic room, which is fine for us but of course would love an upgrade, especially to a room with a nice bathtub - do we ask at check in or will they give us the best room they can?

Thanks!

moondog

I'm not sure if you like swimming (I do during the hotter months). If so, the JW's pool is much better. So is the Portman's. Both are indoor/outdoor.

With respect to the metro, it's worth noting that Peoples Square station is enormous, to the extent that being near an exit doesn't mean a whole lot. In fact, the JW actually is closer to an exit than City Centre, but in both cases, a substantial amount of walking is required. I tend to avoid Peoples Square station whenever possible because the crowds can be maddening, and I've been pickpocketed several times there (this shouldn't be a major cause for concern, but I haven't experienced the same anywhere else).