Going to Shanghai in November, would like to use Marriott points for my stay. Which is the best location, Marriott City Center or the J.W. Marriott? This is my first time there and would like the “tourist” area for walking and site seeing. Thank you for your suggestions.

We stayed at the JW, and the location was perfect. We were within a short walk of the Shanghai Circus (a must see), the main museum that houses the fabulous jade collection, lots of restaurants, the Bund, and a local massage place that one of my son's Shanghai-born friend recommended. We did have to take a taxi to Yu Gardens, and we wanted to see a couple of old synagogues that were far away as well. (Interestly, China let in a fair amount of German refugees during WWII.)

The hotel was just ok, not marvelous. I have mentioned this here before, but you have to go up two sets of elevators to get to the main desk. Even then, the elevators are a walk from each other. It's a pain if you forget, say, your umbrella in the room. However, if the points deal is good, then I would go for it.

I stayed at the JW on my first few trips in Shanghai. Great view. Try to get a room looking in the direction of Nanjing road. As is the case of a few others in Shanghai, the hotel part of the building in on the top floors, the bottom part being condos. So the view will be good on all sides of the building in any case.

Now that Marriott and Starwood programs are combining, you might want to consider the Westin Bund Center. It is very well located and a nice hotel. Walking distance to the Bund, Yu Gardens and very close to a metro station. You can transfer your Marriott points to Starwood points to make the booking.