Swissôtel Grand Shanghai 5 estrelas

I booked this hotel for 3 nights for our trip at Shanghai in June with Accor Staff discount last night. However I have received an phone call with this hotel telling me that I can not book this hotel with this price because it was too low for them. They disregard the staff price online which I booked successfully and telling me I could not stay with them with that price. So I had to cancel. I have never had such bad experience with any other hotel and this is not right as part of the Accor. I choose the time I go as April as I could not choose the later time.

Mr Chen at conceirge was very helpful. Apart from this, I will never stay her again because: 1) The wifi never works despite the staff trying to fix it. I was not able to use wifi to check my office emails. 2) Gave up trying to call the front desk from my room. Nobody ever picks up.

Having not stayed in this area for the past 10 years, I decided to stay closer to the city center in my first visit to Shanghai after the pandemic. The hotel is indeed well located within the vicinity of the city center. However, I think other than the location, most of my observations and experiences did not make the mark as a reputable 5 stars hotel. On arriving at the hotel in a taxi, there was no one outside the hotel to help with unloading of the luggages and there are 2 counters available for a 5 stars hotel for check in. The hotel is old in general and have seen better days. Upon entering the room, I can smell still a faint lingering cigarette smoke despite being a non smoking room. The room is spacious but most furniture are rather old school. What I like about the hotel is the size of the pool which is big enough for lap swim. Breakfast is below expectations for a 5 stars international hotel and on one day, most of the items are served cold such as the hash browns and sausages.

Location is brilliant. Rooms were really good (excellent pillows and mattresses; decent bathroom), service level overall is very good (staff is super friendly). If there are two points of criticism they are: - breakfast: fairly standard and unimaginative: staying 5 nights after 2 days you see thd same limited offerings again and again; - opening hours bar/lounge: had access to 27th floor, but this is a fairly useless option as the place closes at 8 PM! The plan B (lobby bar on ground floor) closes right after. Never come across this! Clearly the area is lively so you’re sure to find something, but if you want to get some work done on your laptop with Wifi while enjoying a beer, you are condemned to your room. But this won’t stop me from coming back!!

Location is brilliant and the rooms are very nice - it’s always reliable. Good service. Coffee machine in room, staff respect the DND sign when it’s on - room is clean. I asked for ear plugs late one night and they were quickly sent to the room using a robot - great!