Fairfield By Marriott Shanghai Pudong South

The room was spacious, very clean, and good value. Staff were friendly and tried to communicate through Google Translate, though they speak only a little English. There’s no bidet in the room. For getting around, the train station is an 8-10 minute walk, with more local shops and restaurants along the way. There aren’t many malls nearby, but there’s a plaza with Starbucks and McDo. Wi-Fi was pretty fast, though apps like Facebook and Tiktok weren’t accessible.

The housekeeping staff were warm and friendly, while the front desk team didn’t seem very happy or welcoming, with no smiles or hellos. The room was comfortable and well equipped, though some of the finishing was rough, like sealant hanging off the bathroom edges.

I paid RMB 400 including taxes for a room without breakfast. The rooms are compact, so that price feels quite high. It’s on Hunan Road, and getting to Pudong airport by car can be expensive, around 130 yuan in peak time.

Marriott is still one of the brands we prefer. There was a small checkout mix-up: we left our keys at the counter, and the staff thanked us and said goodbye, but a few hours later at the airport they asked us to come back because they hadn’t swiped our Visa. They tried to get us to pay through other platforms, which we weren’t comfortable using for online payment. I told them I’d pay only by Visa. It’s their job, not mine, to make sure guests have paid when they check out.