Waldorf Astoria Shanghai on the Bund

As a Hilton Gold member, we got complimentary breakfast during our stay. The service was attentive and polished throughout, and my room was clean, spacious, and had the amenities you'd expect at a luxury hotel. Waldorf Astoria Shanghai on the Bund combines classic elegance with modern comfort. Its location right on the Bund made a great base for exploring the area. We had a great stay, and it's a solid choice if you're after a refined stay in Shanghai.

I wanted to share this feedback while I'm still at the property, in the hope it helps improve things. The room had a cake, a magazine, and children's slippers that looked like they had been left by the previous guests. If the cake was meant as a welcome amenity, there wasn't any note saying so, which was confusing and suggested housekeeping had missed a check. At 11:35 pm, a hotel attendant came to verify a charge to my room because someone else had requested it. Being disturbed close to midnight over this was unusual and disruptive. I've traveled frequently for over two decades and haven't run into this before. At check-in I asked specifically whether a Bund-view room was available, including the possibility of an upgrade. I was told they were all booked until the New Year. Later, another receptionist said Bund-view rooms were available for an extra 400-1,000 yuan per night. That inconsistency was disappointing. If paid upgrades were possible, I wish that had been explained upfront instead of having the request dismissed. I'm sharing this sincerely because consistency of service and attention to detail matter for a property of this standing. I hope the comments are useful for future improvement.

Breakfast and dinner were both excellent. We also found the location good, and the whole stay went very smoothly. At check-in we were warmly welcomed and given an upgrade, which made us feel the hotel values loyalty status. We chose to stay in the new, modern building and declined an offer to move to the older section. Our room was clean and nicely presented, and the hotel was spotless. Staff were very helpful throughout. We'd happily come back and recommend it.

The first room, 815, had an extremely loud noise behind one of the walls, like large electrical or ventilation equipment. We arrived at 7 pm and went to bed at 11, then woke just after midnight. Reception sent someone from technical, who didn't seem surprised. After another 20 minutes and several calls, a second staff member brought keys for room 2001. We had to pack, move, and unpack again, and only got back to bed at 1:20 am. Our sleep was ruined, and we got under three hours before a full-day tour. Room 2001 had a smaller bathroom and dressing room, and the fruit platter was left behind in 815. The bedside lamp switch didn't work, the shower drain was poor and dirty water flooded over our feet, and my wife could barely move the nearly stuck temperature tap. I spoke to reception in the morning to ask for a manager, but was told one wasn't available and would call me. Nobody did, and only the lamp switch was fixed. When I raised the shower again, they told me to use the bathtub. The deposit for two nights was 3087.8 CNY (445 USD), which surprised me because it hadn't been mentioned on booking.com. It was returned when I checked out, but only reached my account three days later. Since the hotel charged the full amount instead of placing a pre-authorization, the costs came to 10.2% overall: 6% Alipay tax (3% when paying and 3% on the refund), 2% exchange commission (1% each way), and 2.2% from the exchange-rate difference when buying and later selling CNY. That was 315 CNY, about 45$, just because of how their payment system handles the deposit.