DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Shanghai - Pudong

We stayed over New Year, and the hotel didn’t feel like the 5 star experience we expected. The glass feature at the top of the hotel was closed to visitors, and the rooms were very warm and wouldn’t cool down. The decor throughout felt outdated. Breakfast cost extra, but we had to queue a long time for a table. They offered fruit, though whenever it was put out, people took it all and we had to wait for more. There are newer and much better value hotels in the neighbourhood, even 4 stars.

Getting around was fairly easy. The nearest metro station was about a 10-minute walk, taxis were easy to find, and a taxi into downtown Shanghai usually took around 20-30 minutes depending on traffic. The rooms were a little small and old-fashioned, but clean and pleasant. Our air conditioning didn’t work properly, since it kept running instead of stopping automatically when we changed the temperature. Breakfast was decent, although the dining room often felt too crowded for the number of guests and some mornings we had to wait for a table. The spacious lobby had a small welcome treat, which was nice, but there weren’t enough seats for all the guests.

For Pudong, this is easily the best value 5 star hotel with good facilities. It’s grand and upmarket, and despite its age the hotel is very well maintained, almost like new. Credit to the team for that. Service was attentive and helpful, especially at the front desk and concierge. I got an unbeatable package with a 70m2 suite, extensive buffet breakfast, simple afternoon tea, and early dinner with wine.

We just wanted a comfortable rest after arriving at night, but check-in was a mess. We’d paid for 4 nights and were told we’d only reserved 2. Once that was sorted, the key card had the wrong room number, so we had to go down and get it changed. Nobody apologized. After 2 nights, the card stopped opening our room because the front desk trainee had only set it up for 2 nights. We had to go back downstairs after a tiring day, and again there was no apology. The next day at breakfast, we were held up because they said breakfast wasn’t included, even though we’d paid for 2 days. We only wanted to enjoy our time in Shanghai, but the hotel spoiled the mood. This isn’t the 4 star service we paid for.