nonstop

I am going to Shanghai in May for a Father/Daughter trip and trying to decide on the best choice/value for hotels located in the middle of the shopping district. I seem to have come down to three. Ramada Plaza, Renaissance New World or the Central Hotel. Problem is that trying to select through the various hotel booking sites for a room with 2 beds seems to be difficult or adds about $50 per night per room. We want a fairly nice place but don't want to spend more than $150 per night. Some include breakfast, some don't, seems to depend on booking sites as well. Priceline seems to maybe have the better prices but even there some prices include taxes, some don't.

Any advice for someone who is weary of pouring through hotel and booking sites for 3 days?

Also, do the hotels usually have shuttles or do you need to take a cab or do they have buses that run from PVG airport to downtown hotels? thanks

mochao

We stayed at a great place. New Harbour Service Apartments. It's 5 minute walk from YuYuan (soup dumplings) and 10 minute walk from Nanjing Dong Lu (shopping) and 5 mintues from Huai Hai Zhong Lu (shopping). Also 5 minutes from subway and People's Park.

We spent about $120 for a two-bedroom apartment with free high-speed Internet. It also comes with a fantastic western/eastern breakfast buffet.

Highly recommended.

One slight negative. It is on a small street off a larger street; so bring a map to show the taxi where you want to go. I brought my Michelin map of SHanghai and the hotel phone number which the taxi called.

We went through expedia.

Lia

You might want to try the Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel on Jin Jiang:
www.hojoshanghai.com

There are several Hojo's in Shanghai, but this one is centrally located overlooking Renmin (People's) Park and very close to Nanjing Road shopping.

I prefer using the hotel website directly just in case there's any problem with the booking - and always take a printout of your confirmation.

You should be able to get a twin-bedded room including breakfast for less than US$150/nt unless you are going during Golden Week. My only complaint about this hotel is that their beds tend to be rather firm.

I recommend taking a taxi from/to PVG. They are cheap in Shanghai and more convenient (esp. with luggage) than the train or subway. I haven't seen many hotels offer shuttle buses unless they are close to the airport. Drivers usually don't speak much English so, again, print out the hotel name and address in Chinese from their website.

nagiffag

I also recommend getting a taxi, but specifically from the taxi queue. You can arrange a pick up by the hotel but it will cost maybe 400rmb whereas a taxi will be less than 150-200 to go to New World, for example. To get a taxi, exit the terminal and turn right to the taxi queue. The man directing travelers to their taxi will tell the taxi where you are going. For extra assurance, bring the hotel name and address printed in Mandarin characters as well as the phone number. (Driver will have a mobile phone.)

Under no circumstances should you take a taxi that is not in the queue. They prey on foreigners - try to negotiate prices vs using meter, put multiple travelers in the same taxi, etc. Turquoise and green taxis are best, white is decent, dark blue and burgundy are what I call "gypsy taxis" because they're independent and/or not well controlled.

FYI there's a Citibank ATM when you exit customs (before the escalator) so you can just withdraw rmb from there.

If you want you could compare hotel prices with elong.com (Expedia's Chinese partner) and c-trip.com as I think that's where you'll find the lowest prices for Chinese hotels. Of course you'll use c-trip's "foreigner" rates which are a little higher than the "chinese" rates listed. Unfortunately you can't book too far in advance via those sites but it will give you an idea of what the prices could be.

JohnFitz

Taxi to the city is fastest but if you have a little time and do not mind some toing and froing there is a super fast train from the airport to Pudong . It is new and moves up to some silly speed like 280 kilometres an hour , is whisper quiet and smooth .But at its terminus you need to get a cab over the river to your hotel . We did it last year but I have to admit it was a bit of a song and dance after a long flight from Europe . The other place to see if there is accomodation to your liking is in the Xintiandi area which is smart , well serviced with restaurants , shops etc .I was not prepared for the fact that Shanghai ain't nothin' like Hong Kong in terms of sohistication and convenience . If wanting to shop buy Susie Gershmans book on shopping in China .Also great hotel recommendations in it .

Neil_Oz

The Maglev train hit 432 km/hr when we took it, but smooth as silk. Yes, it finishes at Long Yang station, which althoiugh 32 km (I think) from the airport is still in the Pudong area.

I read recently that a Shanghai-Hangzhou maglev service is being planned, to cut the present 3-4 hour run to 30 minutes. The Chinese authorities are at odds with the German designers over technology transfer issues though. Meanwhile a team of Chinese engineers in Dalian (Liaoning Province) claim to have develop a superior "lift" technology train and plan to install a test bed in that city.

watakeet

I stayed once at the Howard Johnson hotel mentioned above. A pleasant stay and convenient. Taking a cab within Shanghai is the best and easiest. We didn't even bother to take the subway.