Holiday Inn Express SHANGHAI GONGKANG by IHG Hotel

At about 7:50 PM on January 18, 2026, I went to the front desk because my room card wouldn't work and I couldn't get to my floor by elevator. The employee, a good-looking young man, took my card and handed over a replacement, but did it rudely, roughly tossing it back without a word. His behavior was extremely disrespectful and completely at odds with his appearance. The hotel is excellent in every other way, but this one person is ruining it. I want the manager to reprimand him.

The breakfast buffet on the first floor starts at 6:30, and it's usually crowded. Western guests won't find much choice. Rooms are adequate, though cleanliness can be inconsistent, and the front desk staff aren't friendly or helpful. The hotel is far from the center, but the metro is within walking distance, at Line 2, Exit 3. There's a supermarket and a few local restaurants to the left. In the second block, try the skewer place with an outdoor terrace and Xinjiang beer. To the right, there are some more upscale restaurants.

The new room had fresh air and working AC right away, but getting there was awful. The service from reception, especially “Lucky Li,” was the worst I've experienced at a hotel. We'd booked a room with an extra bed, but the air conditioner wasn't working properly. After an hour in the hot room, we called reception. A man offered a fan and asked us to wait for the air to cool. A technician checked the AC settings and found no problem, but the fan didn't help and we felt suffocated. When we called again, the man agreed to move us. We called to confirm the replacement room would have an extra bed. “Lucky Li” answered, refused to give us a new room, and offered another fan instead. When I asked again, she sighed in annoyance. We went downstairs to speak to reception in person. She called someone, I don't know whether the technician or housekeeping, and joked that we should carry the extra bed ourselves. She seemed to think we couldn't understand her language. We were offended that she treated us like a joke. I confronted her, but she denied what we'd clearly heard. She eventually told us to go upstairs and wait outside the new room. We packed and waited, but nobody came. We went back down to ask for the key card, and a man helped us get it. After we walked away, she was still talking badly about us behind our backs. We told her to shut up and said she didn't appreciate guests and had no manners.

Breakfast was delicious, and the hostel was really good, cheap, and very clean.