I will be travelling to Shanghai with my husband and son ( in his 20's) the third week of March. Would appreciate advice on the following:

1) Best 4* hotels or service apartments near to metro and tourist areas. It would be great to get a 2-room service apartment. Would USD 100-150 be a reasonable rate to expect?

2) We would like to do a side trip to Suzhou and a watertown perhaps Tongli or Nanxun or Zhouzhuang. Would it be better to take the express train to Suzhou and then do a sidetrip to the watertown from Suzhou, or hire a car and driver and do a round-trip from Shanghai? Would appreciate advice on choice of watertown, and contact details for recommended car/ driver and estimated cost involved. I thought we would take 3 days/ 2 nights to do this side trip. Any recommendations on hotel for Suzhou? I have read that taxis are difficult to hire in Suzhou?

3) The weather forecasts for this region, based on historical records is 3- 13 degrees Celsius. Is the current winter storms in China affecting Shanghai and Suzhou as well?

Thanks for your comments

Sandlady, in the event that you don't get a response here, can I suggest using the search facility on this forum to pull up past threads, which may help with your accommodation. We stayed in a 3* hotel a short taxi ride from the city centre (just north of Suzhou Creek, if you have a city map), so I can't help much there. It wasn't far from the Holiday Inn Downtown, though, if you want. They have something called a "junior suite", which might be worth checking out, and it looks to be well within your price range.

You might like to check out the famous old Peace Hotel on Nanjing Road, an unbeatable location near the corner of Nanjing Road and The Bund. It would make for a much more memorable experience of Shanghai. (It was affordable when we were in Shanghai in 2004, but I think it's been refurbished since and the price may now be a bit hard to swallow.)

You could also check past threads for the water towns and transport options.

We took buses Shanghai-Hangzhou-Suzhou and hired a car from there to Zhouzhuang, but as we were accompanied by our daughters, who had some Mandarin, that process was easier for us than it may be for you. Zhouzhang was touristy but pleasant, but I wouldn't care to overnight there again. There are probably better options than Zhouzhuang.

We had no problems with cabs in Suzhou. We stayed at the 4* Bamboo Grove, which was conveniently located - current rates are advertised at US$64-99 (www.sinohotelguide.com/suzhou/
bamboo/index.html), so 2 standard rooms should also fall into your price bracket.

Thank you so much for your kind suggestions, Neil_Oz. I will look further at your suggestions for hotels. BTW, how did you find the bus rides? Were they comfortable, and convenient? We can manage some Mandarin.

Hi Sandlady,
We were in Shanghai in early February.
We stayed in Astor House Hotel which is just off the Bund next to Suzhou Creek. It was very nice and close to tourist areas, though the nearest metro stop was a 10 minute walk away. We walked to the French Concession, Yuyuan Gardens, Fuxing Park, the Bund and some other sights from our hotel (the furthest was no more than 30 minutes).

It is more an historic hotel (not a flashy Hilton or anything) with lots of character. Our room, which was very spacious, clean and comfortably furnished, cost 70USD a night. Here is the trip advisor review page of the hotel: http://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Rev..._Shanghai.html

Re the weather, we did not find Shanghai to be affected by the winter storms. The weather was as we expected and the days were sunny and beautiful. It probably did not get as hot as it usually is at that time of year, (I think the maximum we had was about 6 degrees Celsius), but it was certainly no colder (minimum was probably -1 Celsius) than what is usually expected in February.

If you click my name you can read my trip report which has some detailed Shanghai notes.

The Sheraton in Suzhou is not what you think of when you think of a US chain in China - it's a beautiful resort in the style of a Chinese walled city, built around multiple courtyards. Not expensive at all by western standards and very very comfortable. We had a great time there about 5 years ago - had no trouble with taxis.

CookiesCompanion, your trip report was very helpful, and has given me a lot of ideas for restaurants etc. Thanks a million.

Chazas, I will look at the Sheraton. TQ, it sounds very interesting!

Be aware that the Peace Hotel is closing soon to be converted into a Fairmont re-opening in 2009. Its location is very good, but it can use the update, no doubt.

We stayed at the Westin near the Bund and found it a very good alternative for traveling to areas in Shanghai that you'll want to visit.

Best, Dave