5 Best Hotels in Former French Concession, Shanghai

Although conveniently situated two blocks from the Hengshan Road nightlife district, the Anting Villa Hotel is a surprisingly quiet, side-street retreat with cedar-shaded grounds and basic rooms. Superior rooms in the 10-story tower are comfortable, although the decor could use some sprucing up, and the beds, in traditional Chinese style, are on the hard side. It's worth it to pay a little extra for a garden-view room overlooking the namesake 1932 Spanish-style villa. Although their English is quite limited, the hotel's staffers seem eager to please.

Just off the frenzied shopping street of Huaihai Lu is one of Shanghai's best-preserved hotels from the city's 1920s heyday, with grand rooms in the older guesthouse annex and newer but plainer (and more geared to business travelers) main-building rooms. The location is unbeatable, putting you right in the middle of the Former French Concession, so you have easy access to lots of restaurants and boutiques. Beds throughout the hotel are on the hard side.

Although this property has two newer buildings, the beautifully restored Morris Estate villas showcase how opulently Shanghai's tai-pan (expatriate millionaire businessmen) once lived; rooms here have plush beds, cozy reading areas, and art deco–inspired decor. And the history at this hotel didn't stop in the 1920s and '30s: after 1949, when it was a government-owned guesthouse, Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping, and Richard Nixon all slept here. Large, safely fenced-in grounds and an indoor pool make this a good option for families.

A parklike setting in the heart of the Former French Concession makes this 33-story tower set on the grounds of the old French Club a favorite retreat, especially among Japanese travelers familiar with the Okura name. The first three floors, which were once old Shanghai's French Club, have been restored, with cascading chandeliers, colorful frescoes, and period-perfect details at every turn. The romantic third-floor terrace bar overlooks the 2-acre garden, and the Japanese and French restaurants serve decent high-priced food. From the large windows on the 33rd floor, take in the sweeping views of downtown Shanghai. The standard rooms are simply furnished with silk wallpaper and European-style furniture, but overall feel dated. Wi-Fi is available but, as with many older hotels, it's rather slow.