Novotel Shanghai Atlantis

We loved the free self-service laundry, and breakfast had a great range of Western and Asian options. Rainbow Zhao is the manager. It’s a lovely hotel for families in a quiet area. ALDI, a Subway, and a small, newly built modern mall are right nearby. The metro is close, and it’s easy for a didi (online taxi) to drop you off.

We had a family room with two big beds and lots of room to spread out our luggage while still having space to walk around. The hotel connects to a small mall, so coffee and food were easy to find during the day. Breakfast was free on the 50th floor in a revolving restaurant with great views. There’s a drop-off and pick-up area, and a bellboy can help with bags. A couple of things were less convenient: anyone could take the lifts to the hotel rooms because they didn’t require a hotel card. Our corner room’s windows wouldn’t open, and with it being winter there was no air conditioning.

The rooms were spacious but dated. There was only one USB port, tucked beside the TV, and it didn’t charge phones properly. The bathroom was a good size but needs an update. The pool had a nice size and a beautiful view, but the temperature outside felt like a refrigerator. Breakfast was decent, though poorly laid out. You had to walk around the restaurant each time you wanted something. It’s on the 50th floor in a revolving restaurant, reached by two or three elevators depending on the route. On the 48th floor there’s a mandatory lift change, with a walk through a desolate area. The pool and breakfast were the least of my concerns, though. I’ve traveled around the world, and this was the first, and hopefully last, time I got such a rude welcome at a Novotel (4 stars). The reception didn’t greet us and seemed completely unprepared for 24 people in 15 rooms. They asked how many rooms I’d booked at least three times, despite having had the rooming list for a long time, and apparently couldn’t count the printed list. Three staff copied my passports quickly enough that I had to collect them the next day. The most offensive part was that I was speaking English, but the receptionist replied to my guide in Chinese. I said I only spoke English, and she kept talking in Chinese. At least half the rooms smelled of smoke despite all of ours being non-smoking. We managed to change three rooms. At checkout, they said goodbye without thanking us for staying. I asked to speak with the hotel manager, who of course made sure not to show up.

The main problem was the bathroom. After using the tub, dirty water backed up through the pipes and flooded the floor. Maintenance unclogged the drain, but came in wearing shoes and left dirty footprints. I had to call again for someone to clean up. Another staff member brought towels to dry the floor and wipe away the prints, but used no cleaning liquid or detergent, which left me questioning the hygiene. The same thing happened in a second room the next night, this time after a shower. Breakfast was another bad experience. As an Accor Gold member I got it free, but had to pay for my wife because our room booking didn’t include it. Staff had described the 50th-floor revolving restaurant as nice, but it was overcrowded, with nobody clearing tables. We found our own place, ended up sharing a table with another family, and had to clean our side and fetch cutlery ourselves. The food was okay, nothing special, and the restaurant stopped revolving after a while. We also saw staff offering families with children stuffed toys in exchange for five-star reviews on Google and other booking sites. They asked guests to mention the manager, Rainbow, who was nowhere to be seen while we were there. The location is good, fairly close to attractions like IFC mall and the Oriental Pearl Tower, and there’s a small mall next door with Aldi and a food court. Service was decent in some areas: the concierge team helped with our luggage, and a senior front desk staff member was helpful at check-in. But one night receptionist in particular needed better knowledge of her job. Our flight was cancelled and delayed by a night, so we tried to change our accommodation. The Accor app said to contact the hotel, but she kept saying she couldn’t help and that I had to make the changes in the app, even after I explained I couldn’t. We ended up making a separate booking, checking out, then checking into two different rooms later instead of extending our family room. The beds were comfortable, but the room quality was mediocre overall.