Hi... we are finishing our trip in Shanghai, getting the train from Hong Kong, have taken on board about leaving hotels to the last minutefor good value but as only in town for 2 days do u think this is still feasible ?.. would like to stay near or within walking distance of the 'old city'/ river..money will be tight.... also getting out to Pudong airport is the fast train a good idea? Any suggestions would be helpful and gratefully received.
Kelpie..

What time is your flight and how much luggage do you have?

The maglev train has limited hours of operation, something like 8am to 5pm. You'll need to take metro line 2 (or a taxi) to Longyang station in Pudong and switch to the maglev train which departs about every 15 min or so during its hours of operation. The maglev portion of the ride takes 8 min to Pudong airport. You get out of the maglev station, take an escalator and walk across a pedestrian bridge to the airport terminal.

I'm not convinced that the whole process takes less time than a taxi directly to the airport and it doesn't cost much less if you have 2 or more people, but it's worth doing once. You get a slight discount for the maglev by showing a same day airline ticket.

The Peace Hotel is right in the Bund area and the Sofitel Hyland is in the pedestrian section of Nanjing Rd, a short walk to the riverfront. I don't know if these fall within your budget.

We stayed at the 3* Liang An, 922 Chang An Lu, which isn't really walking distance from the city centre but no more than a US$3 cab ride and online rates start at US$48 - you should be able to do better on the spot. The Peace Hotel has a great location, on Nanjing Dong Lu very near the Bund, but the best rate I saw was US$88. The Liang An is also a short walk from a metro station. If you have a map of Shanghai, it backs onto Suzhou Creek. Rooms and service were fine.

We stayed at the Rui Jin Guest house in the French Concession last week for five days..not long enough. Only two stories high, windows open , breakfasts great, a wonderful bar in the grounds. We paid about $100US a night after discount. Make sure you have the name of the hotel in Chinese characters before you arrive. The taxi was cheaper to airport than train.

Thanks very much for your help and advice, realise its only a flying visit to Shanghai but fancied a bit of luxury after a 3 week trek !!.. heard about Rui Jin guest house, how difficult is it to book . at the time or do we need to book ahead ??
Kelpie

If you want luxury near the Bund, stay at the Westin Shanghai. It is about three blocks from the Bund and one of the nicest hotels that I have stayed in--in China and elsewhere.

I don't know the availibility of rooms right now. Their number is: (86)(21) 6335 1888 or you can go to the Westin.com site.

I was there for five nights this time last fall and paid $180/night for a beautiful one bedroom suite. (relatively small suite, but perfectly appointed)

We booked at Ruijin on their web site. It was a booking site actually but worked fine. You could possibly just bowl up and ask for a discount. We got one even tho we did not ask for it. Perhaps it is the time of year. Price includes breakfast.