For a first stay in Shanghai, the choice of the hotel was quite difficult as there is a huge competition between five-star places and all of them look very nice. We decided to start our Shanghai tour with the Pudong Shangri-La located close to the Huangpu river in the Financial district, staying at the Grand Tower for two nights.
This Asian brand based in Hong-Kong has a great reputation worldwide – they opened recently an amazing flagship in Paris – and we were curious to see what it has to offer in China, particularly in Shanghai, a very vibrant hosted by a young, cultivated and “westernized” population ; should I add more and more chic ?
Living
Pudong Shangri-La is quite impressive, first because of its size – imagine, 952 rooms and suites ! – but also because of its opulence. Two main buildings with two large lobbies with very high ceiling, marble everywhere, luxury wooden and silk furnitures, plenty of restaurants… You will not be disappointed if you like awesome properties ! Then when you look in detail, each building has its own atmosphere: River Wing is very family oriented while Grand Tower is definitely more business, with its modern and epurate design ; also, it’s the only one offering executive lounge access to all guests, whatever the room but of course, rates are a bit higher. Good news: both buildings host a superb indoor pool while the Chi Spa is located in Grand Tower (available for all guests). By the way regarding the Chi Spa, I highly recommend to try the Jade journey, it’s a must do !!
Then location is just perfect, straight on the Huangpu river, facing the bund, with all common facilities close by. Direct access to the river shore, a 5-min walk from the nearest luxury shopping center IFC or the Oriental Pearl, and a 10-min walk from the next tube station. Very convenient !
Room
Premier Bund View rooms from the Grand Tower are very large, with floor-to-ceiling windows over looking the Huangpu river and of course, the famous Bund. This is clearly the main attractive point of Pudong Shangri-La: such a view is stunning and only a few Shanghai five-star hotels offer it. The room itself is well furnished – classical style – with a bed facing the river, personalized pillows and a nice bathroom with L’Occitane amenities ; as I said the size is very large, probably more than some suites in Europe or US. TV hardware could be upgraded but still fine.
Dining
There is plenty of restaurant at Pudong Shangri-La ; we experimented the Yi Café for breakfast and the famous Jade on 36 for dinner. Yi Café is really astonishing, it’s a buffet restaurant with a supermarket design : each units (appetizers, cold meal, hot meal, desserts, etc.) are like some shelves where you can pick what you want, the overall in a very colorful atmosphere. Food is good, fresh and cookers are available for requests of custom dishes. Then for the Jade on 36, the mood is completely different, much more exclusive and luxurious: this fine-dining french restaurant – kitchen is owned by Franck-Elie Laloum – is very chic, modern and definitely THE place to be for a romantic dinner. Cuisine is a delicious mix between classical french and modern asian – I remember we enjoyed some gorgeous frog legs, miam – while the restaurant overlooks the whole Shanghai city from the 36th floor of the Grand Tower. Perfect ambiance !
Level of exigency
Pudong Shangri-La service was very pleasant and efficient. In all areas you can find plenty of staff waiting for helping customers and globally, it really worth five stars ; just be careful with doormen, most of them speak only a basic english so you have to be clear with them about your destination, when you are ordering a taxi. Then everything was fine, I particularly appreciated the cleanup and turndown services which were very fast, effictive and fautless.
Stay from 11th to 13th May 2014
The Pudong Shangri-La opened its River Wing in 1998 and its Grand Tower in 2005 ; the two buildings are composed of 952 guest rooms and suites. We stayed in a 50sqm Horizon Club Premier Bund View room (Grand Tower) ; public rate 300 EUR/night.
