Holiday Inn Shanghai-Downtown: One Customer's Review

I stayed at the Holiday Inn Shanghai-Downtown in June, and was very much satisfied with my stay. The Holiday Inn Shanghai-Downtown is accessible by metro (at the Shanghai Railway Station Stop). You can travel from the Pu Dong International Airport to the hotel by using the Maglev to get to the metro. You can also take a taxi, or you can take one of the various lines of airport hotel shuttles.

Front Desk:

I arrived by taxi from Hong Qiao Airport. Despite taking care to get a taxi from the official taxi line (traveling tip: in China, do not talk to anyone who approaches you and asks if you need transportation services), I found out that I was still being overcharged by the driver by around 30 RMB (it costs around 50 RMB for the trip, the drive charged me over 80 RMB).

I managed to obtain a receipt, and explained my situation to a person at the front desk. The person was extremely helpful, and managed to help me contact the Taxi Service company and refund me the 30 RMB. Please note that being ripped off by taxis is not a common occurrence in China. I have been traveling to China for many years in various cities (both tourist and non-tourist cities), and this is the first time that such a thing has occurred.

Concierge:

The concierge service is very helpful. I needed to find directions and was provided with a map and a detailed guide as to how to travel the Shanghai subway system. The weather in Shanghai is quite unpredictable. It is very muggy and hot, but sometimes there will be a sudden downpour of rain. The concierge does provide complimentary umbrellas.

Interior: The main hall is very clean, and there is a bar and sitting area. Services that the hotel has includes a free gym (which is rather small, but it has a few treadmills and weightlifting machines), gift shop, sauna, beauty salon... your typical 4-star hotel amenities. As someone who has been to China relatively often, I encourage you to actually skip buying things at the hotel, as they are vastly overpriced.

The free buffet-style breakfast provided is extremely nice. There is western cuisine, such as cereal, beans, salad, omelets, and fresh fruit. There is also Chinese cuisine, such as fried rice, steamed buns, and congee.

Surroundings:

The railway station nearby has a few interesting shops, including a "Real Kung Fu" restaurant chain that serves steamed Chinese food. It's worth a visit if you are interested in having some healthy, non-Westernized food. The menu provided comes with pictures, so don't be afraid if you can't read Chinese.

Rooms:

I stayed in a standard room and was very satisfied with the cleanliness of the rooms. The bathroom was spotless, and it is a hotel very much so designed for foreigners. For example, Chinese hotels usually come with miniature rolls of toilet paper that can barely last a day. The Holiday Inn had normal-sized rolls. This is very important if you are traveling in China, as most foreigners will find the public bathrooms available in China to be unacceptable. They are extremely dirty, smelly, and most of them require you to squat. If you can, I would avoid them as much as possible.