Guang Dong

On first glance, the Guang Dong Hotel in Shanghai looks quite glamorous. The foyer was large and impressive and my room was also spacious and attractive. However, several advertised features of the hotel do not exist. It is advertised as having a Western restaurant (it does not), it states that it has a steam room and sauna (these do not exist) and that rooms have a mini bar (not there). I feel that this is false advertising and I don't mind if the hotel doesn't have these things but I do mind if they lie and say that they do. I did however find the doorman to be helpful as he took in a parcel for me and made sure that I got it. The hotel is also near to a metro station. So, it looks glitzy and nice but it's more smoke and mirrors.

We stayed with our sporting team for a competition near the hotel so this hotel was convenient for us. Great breakfast buffet with a variety of food. For dinner we found that a place across the road from the hotel had amazing food and we went there a few times despite the lack of English. There were very slow lifts because of so many people staying at Guang Dong and some floors were quite smokey but apart from that Guang Dong is an amazing hotel!

Stayed in the hotel for 4 nights during my last visit to Shanghai. The location was a bit far from tourist attractions, but was close to the light rail station (line 3). It's about 5 mins walk to the station as well as several bus stops, so still easy to get to the city center. The hotel located next the the ramp towards the elevated express road, which is convenient if you were taking taxi to/from the airport or other part of the city. Hotel guest receive free parking. There were super market and restaurants nearby, but not much to see or shopping for. Room was spacious. Mattress was hard as all Chinese hotel (though I like it). Also has a pillow menu with wide range of pillow to choose from. 2 bottles of complimentary water were provided daily. The cleanliness wasn't to the standard of a 4/5 star hotel. Found ink mark on the sheet and old stain on the chair. Interiors of the room was a bit dated as well. There could be some traffic noise but my sleeping quality wasn't too bad. Free Wifi was available both in room and in the lobby/restaurant. Buffet breakfast offered a decent range of food choice from both Chinese and western cuisine. Though the refill of food sometimes could be slow. I was told the ground floor restaurant also provide good Yum Cha lunch and the other restaurant at level 1 (or 2?) is famous for it's cantonese cuisine. Didn't get the opportunity to try though... Service-wise not much to comment. Western traveller might experience some language barrier. General speaking the staff are nice and friendly. Paid RMB518 per night for a deluxe king room with 2 breakfast. Won't say it's a bargain but did worth the price I paid. Overall 3.5 out of 5.