Renaissance Yu Garden

We went to Shanghai to celebrate my wife’s upcoming birthday and also provide a memorable experience for my son. We chose to stay at Renaissance Shanghai Yu Garden as it conveniently located near Yu Garden and is also part of the Marriott Hotel Group. Our family of four wanted to stay in one room and one of the key strength of Renaissance Shanghai Yu Garden is that it provides different types of family rooms. I would like to thank everybody in the guest service team (Selin, Steven, Thomas, Daniel and Ellen) for all their excellent efforts to make our stay memorable. I say this because everybody contributed. Their shifts and working hours enabled everybody to contribute to make our stay memorable. When I first called the hotel I was kindly provided an email address by Daniel to send in my requests. It seems the staff don’t have their own corporate email address but a shared corporate email address. I waited a few days but strangely there was no reply. That’s why I called again to check if Daniel received my email. This time I was directed to Steven. Steven managed to track my email. He noted my requests. He provided an alternative communication method, which provides a faster response. I really thank Steven for this because through this alternative communication method I was able to get a faster response and also get to know Selin and Thomas as well. I would like to provide special thanks to Steven and Selin first. As two of them really coordinated well together to show excellent teamwork to confirm, which floor my room (City View Three Beds Room, Family room, 2 Double, City view, 1 Extra bed) will be on and my early check in and late check out times. We were happy a small cake, two San Pellegrino sparkling water, hotels special snacks and the bed was decorated to celebrate the special occasions. I also like to thank Thomas for also proactively interacting with the housekeeping to make sure that the extra bed is in good condition, number of hangers we requested are there and the necessary glass cups are delivered to my room. I would like to thank Daniel for taking the initiative to liaise with a pest control company for cleaning our room when there was an incident and providing wine and hotel snacks as an apology for the incident. Daniel also recommended an external driving company for our trip to Shanghai Pudong International Airport and helped put back the wine glasses after it disappeared. It was also great to meet Ellen who provided a smooth checkout experience and gave us two souvenirs upon checkout. She even came down with us to the first floor to make sure we were able to find our driver. Biggest praise goes to Selin. This is because as we bought the largest room a family can stay in and upgrading our room was not possible. Therefore, it was great to hear from Selin that our family could access the club lounge during our stay. Selin also alerted me that our room was ready by email when we arrived at Shanghai Pudong International Airport. I asked how to pronounce the hotel name in pinyin. Selin not only provided the hotel name in pinyin but also the Chinese address of the hotel. We were able to show it to the taxi driver to take us to the hotel. Once we were in our room Selin sent housekeeping to make sure that we had extra towels and the right number of bathrobes and slippers in our room. It was an exceptional high class tailor made service for guest provided by Selin. We took the Maglev from Shanghai Pudong International Airport to Longyang Road Station as its new and we wanted to check it out. To take the Maglev from Shanghai Pudong International Airport from the arrival area you just take one escalator up a floor and follow the signs of Maglev. Original price of the Maglev is RMB 50. But as we showed our same day boarding pass we got RMB 10 discount on it. Once we arrived at Longyan Road Station there is a taxi stand and we took the taxi to the hotel and it cost us RMB 138. Once our taxi arrived at the hotel. Our luggage was kindly taken out by Hao Chen. Then Hao Chen passed the luggage to Gary at the entrance of the hotel and Gary gave us our luggage ticket. He pressed the elevator and kindly informed us to go to 4th Floor/L Floor, which is the lobby of the hotel for check in. Once we arrived at the L Floor we went to check in counter. We were greeted by Marry who handled our check in. She was professional in handling our check in and our check in process was smooth. She even asked us how many room cards we needed before we asked for it. Once I passed the luggage ticket to her she informed us that our luggage was already delivered to our room. She gave us a sheet (see the attached photo), which has the overview and summary of the hotels opening hours for each venue/service. She also kindly informed us that the afternoon tea time at the club lounge has started. We were kindly guided to the elevator by Marry. The hotel has a total of 21 floors. On the 21st floor is the swimming pool and gym. The club lounge is located on the 17th floor. L Floor has the hotel lobby, Yu Garden Café, Yu Gourmet, Yu Bar and E Shop. The hotel rooms are located from the 5th floor to 20th floor. The hotel has two big family rooms that can cater for four people, which are the Superior Family Twin Room, Family Room, 2 Double (For Four People) and City View Three Beds Room, Family Room, 2 Double, City view, 1 Extra bed (For Five People). City View Three Beds Room Family Room only have one room per floor and is facing the city. While Superior Family Twin Room had two rooms per floor and was facing the Bund and Yu Garden. After comparing both rooms we chose the City View Three Beds Room Family room over the Superior Family Twin Room because it guarantees a larger, fixed size of 45 sqm (compared to 39–41 sqm) and includes an extra bed. Although the Superior room features king beds and a premium view of the Bund and Yu Garden, we prioritized the guaranteed extra space since we will spend most of our time touring Shanghai. We were assigned room 2026. Once we arrived at the 20th floor we went to room 2026. Gary was waiting for us outside our room. Once we opened the door Gary kindly put all our luggage into our room. He was kind enough to take a picture of us in our room. Once you enter the room to your left you will see some switches (please clean up, do not disturb and lighting switch). Also the key card for the electricity/power to the room is already inserted when we entered the room. Once you pass that to the right of the room there are two doors. If you open it there are hangers, bathrobes, slippers, safety deposit box, one umbrella, ironing board and several shelves where there is a plastic bag to put your clothes in if you want them to do some laundry at the hotel. As you walk further towards the room you will see three beds (two double beds and one extra bed). Before you move further on the wall next to the toilet entrance is the exhaust fan, light switch to the toilet and the air conditioner temperature control area. From there to the left the first thing you see next to the wall is a large wooden area where you put your luggage on. If you open the draw underneath its empty for you to put your clothes in. Next to it is a large TV on the TV stand. If you open the draws under the TV stand its empty for you to put your clothes in. Next to the TV stand is a large wooden luggage rack where you can put your luggage on as well. Next to this luggage rack there is a wooden cupboard. On top of it there is the complimentary water bottles from the hotel, coffee maker, electric kettle, three coffee cups and three glass cups. There are also a separate Evian water and large size San Pellegrino sparkling water, which are both chargeable if you drink it. Behind them is the minibar menu. If you open this cupboard there is the empty minifridge, a shelf with tea bags (two jasmine green tea bags, two English breakfast tea bags, two instant coffee (Douwe Egberts) bags, two freeze dry decaf instant coffee (Douwe Egberts) bags, two brown sugar, two white sugar, two non-diary creamer, two equal sugar and two Nescafe coffee capsules) and ice bucket. Next to the cupboard there is a large glass working table and a comfortable chair. On this table there is a phone, note pad and an electric light stand. To the right of this glass working table are two electronic sockets where you can put in the international adaptors for you to charge your phone or put in the charger of your notebook. When sitting on the chair to the left there are two large sofas. Between the two large sofas is a small table and a light stand. Behind the glass working table is the view of the room, which is the city view. In between the two double beds there is a table with a phone and clock. Also, in between the two double beds on the wall there is another electric socket where you can put your international adaptor. There are switches to the lighting of the room there as well. The switches are for the large long light between the two double beds and the two electronic lights pointing to each double bed. Once you enter the toilet to the right there is a toilet seat. Next to the toilet seat there are two toilet tissue rolls, which are from Hearttex 4Ply Toilet Tissue Roll-Tea Classical (100 grams and 101 mm x 140 mm). On top of that there is an emergency button and a telephone. Near the toilet seat there is a rubbish bin. Next to the toilet seat there is standing shower area, which is concealed with a glass. You have a choice of the water coming from the shower head or hand shower. You can control the water temperature easily from cold to hot. For the shampoo, conditioner and body wash the hotel uses the Argus by Margot Elena brand (360 ml). Inside the shower area to the right there is an area where you put your own toiletries. Next to the shower area is the water basin where you wash your hand. On top of the water basin is the mirror. To the right there is also a small circle mirror, which you can adjust and pull out. On the bottom right of the mirror there is an electric socket for you to put in the hair dryer and shaver. To the right of the water basin there are four cups to wash your mouth, tissues from Kleenex and soap. To the left of the water basin there are hand wash and body lotion from Argus by Margot Elena brand (360 ml). Below the water basin there are draws. If you pull out the one on the top left hand side you will find the hair dryer there. If you pull out the one on the right hand side you will find the amenities area where there is toothbrush, cotton buds, sanitary bags, razor, shower cap, comb, 5 grams toothpaste from signal and a 10 grams shaving cream from Dove. The club lounge is located on the 17th floor of the hotel. We went there on the first day at 4:30 pm for afternoon tea. During afternoon tea they provided juice, soft drinks, coffee machine, sandwiches, biscuits, onion ring, hashbrown, pork floss bread, croissant. fruits, desert (see the attached photos). It’s the only hotel that I have stayed in that has grape juice, which tasted great. I really liked the hashbrown as it was small circle sized. From 5:00 pm the staff were preparing the happy hour food and drinks, which starts at 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm. We originally planned to stay for afternoon tea only but we decided to stay for the happy hour food and drinks as what was prepared is the most extensive I have seen and was very impressive. It was more like food served for dinner than happy hour food and drinks. See the attached photos for the food and drink offering during happy hour food and drinks. My favorite dish during the happy hour food and drinks was the fried beef as it melted in my mouth. The club lounge was facing the Yu Garden. It had a great view of the Yu Garden from the 17th floor. During the afternoon tea and happy hour food and drinks there was Johansson, Charlie, Coco and Cammy. We were welcomed by Johansson and Charlie at the entrance of the club lounge and were taken to our seats. All of them worked very hard to prepare for the transition from afternoon tea to happy hour food and drinks. They were all very polite and nice. But one point of improvement was that once we finished our dishes they don’t take it away for a long time. That’s why the finished dishes kept on being piled up on our table. We had to ask someone to take it away or we had to give it to the staff. We also had breakfast once at the club lounge. Club lounge provides a more quieter option than the breakfast at Yu Garden Café, which had a slightly more extensive offering. But it basically had most of the things you need for breakfast. See the attached photos for the food and drink offering for breakfast at club lounge. Once we entered the club lounge for breakfast we were greeted by Charlie and taken to our seats. He asked if we needed coffee. We all went for iced coffee. Eggs were perfectly prepared by Jensen. But again the finished dishes weren’t promptly being taken away. We had breakfast at Yu Garden Café three times. Once you reach the entrance we met Halcyon. He would ask for your room card. He will beep it on a card reader. I was taken to our table by Eric one day and by Alex twice. On the first day I met Alex she guided me to a table in the inner side of the restaurant. Once a table near the window became available I asked Alex if I could change and she promptly helped me change the table. That’s why on the second day I met Alex she knew that I liked the window table so she took me there and arranged it together with Rainbow. See the attached photos for the food and drink offering for breakfast at Yu Garden Café. Breakfast at Yu Garden Café generally tasted great and I really liked the wonton, which is made by the machine once you input the order in the iPad. The only issue was that the fried noodle was cold. I think it’s better you put the fried noodle on a heating plate. During breakfast Ethan, Rainbow and Tony were all on top of things. When we asked for something they would promptly deliver with a smile. We thank Shawn for taking picture of our family. Eric and David promptly took away the finished dishes. Chanlder made one of the finest eggs at the egg station. Victor kindly informed us through the translation app that breakfast was up to 10:30 am. I used the 24-hour gym and the pool (open 8 am–10 pm) on the 21st floor every day. Staff is on duty at reception during swimming pool opening hours. To get a locker key and towels, you simply write your room number at reception and scan your room card to enter the changing rooms. Male changing room is on the right of the reception. Female changing room is on the left of the reception. Each changing room features multiple lockers, three showers, and a steam room. Since the steam room takes 10 minutes to heat up, I recommend turning it on before your workout so it is ready when you finish. I managed to meet Ellie and Michael at the reception on the 21st floor on different dates. Both were very nice and polite when I met them. But sometimes I couldn’t find them. It would be good if they spent more time at the reception. If they need to go other areas then it would be good to ask other colleagues to come and stay at the reception to handle customer inquiries when they are away. To get to the swimming pool and the gym you just need to climb up one stairs. In the morning time before 9 am the gym is more busy than the swimming pool. While after breakfast the swimming pool is more busy than the gym. The gym has five running machines, two cycling machines, three elliptical cross-trainer machines, various gym workout machines, dumbbells and gym floor mats. The swimming pool was 14 meters long, 6.5 meters wide and 1.2 meters deep. It was good to do the laps. For each lap I was able to do about 15 freestyle strokes. Right next to the swimming pool was a small jacuzzi, where the water was warm. I thank Choong Tien for taking picture of our family at the swimming pool. The hotel has an excellent location. 1) First, right across the street from the hotel is the Yu Garden station, which serves lines 10 and 14. From the hotel entrance to Yu Garden station is 1 minute 30 seconds by walk. It’s only one station away by line 10 to East Nanjing Road Station, which is where there are many department stores, international brands and street food stalls. 2.1.) The entrance to Yu Garden is only about 5 to 6 minutes away from the hotel. To get to Yu Garden from the entrance of the hotel on the first floor you turn left and then left. When you walk down the slope you turn right and walk straight and cross two pedestrian crossing. Then to your right you walk past chj jewellery and then you will see an entrance. On top of the entrance on either side there is a clock and a number 2, which is door number 2. This is the entrance to Yu Garden. 2.2) From the Yu Garden entrance to Yu Garden, walk straight past Heytea and Chagee on your left, and Bosideng on your right, until you reach Shake Shack. Turn left into the narrow walkway past the red "Golden Square" sign. Near the end, you will see Dahuchuan Shengjian (Since 1932). From here you can either go left (2 minute by walk) or right (1 minute by walk) as both directions will take you to Yu Garden. But if you want to buy ticket to go inside a specific area of Yu Garden then you can turn left here. Most visitors start from the left and loop around to the right. 3) The walk from the hotel to the Bund takes 15–16 minutes. From Yu Garden Entrance (door number 2), walk 2 minutes toward Gucheng Park, passing Li Ning and the blue sign which states ‘’Individual Visitor Entrance of Yu Garden.’’ Opposite it across the road is wonton noodles rice shop and fried chicken barbecue shop. In front of it is the entrance to Gucheng Park. Enter Gucheng Park and walk straight toward the Citi building, which is where the bund is. Exit the park, go down the stairs, cross the pedestrian crossing, and walk straight to arrive at the Bund. Incidents at Hotel 1) On Saturday, 25th July, we found a cockroach in our bathroom. Selin immediately sent housekeeping to spray the room and kindly offered an upgraded room to sleep, though we declined as it was past midnight. The next day, Daniel coordinated a deep cleaning and a professional pest control inspection, replacing all bedding and amenities. He also apologized with wine and hotel special snacks. While the snacks required a quick follow-up with Thomas due to a miscommunication, the overall response from this Marriott property was exceptional and turned a disappointing situation into a positive experience. 2) On Monday, 27th July, we requested room cleaning before heading out. Upon returning, a bedside light was mysteriously left on, and our used wine glasses had been removed despite the wine being unfinished. I went to the lobby and met Daniel in person. He quickly had replacement wine cups delivered to our room and provided helpful recommendation for an airport transfer company for our departure to the airport the next day. These issues could have been avoided with more thorough housekeeping inspections for pests during room preparation. Moving forward, closer communication between housekeeping and the front office is recommended to ensure guest amenities, like active glassware, are not prematurely removed. About 20%-30% of guest are foreigners (American, European (British, French, etc.), Asian (Korean, Indian, etc.) while the remaining 80%-70% of guest were Chinese. Despite the hiccups I will give it a 4 star rating due to the exceptional service provided by every member of the hotel especially the guest service team. When we visit Shanghai again we will definitely consider coming back to stay at Renaissance Shanghai Yu Garden.

If you are in Shanghai, and in Puxi, stay at this hotel. I am a 25 year Mariott Veteran, currently Titanium Elite, some years, Ambassador, and I write a review when I encounter exceptional service at hotels that I stay at. This hotel is one - I have stayed here several times over the years, and I must stay, the service offered by all staff at this hotel - whether room service, housekeeping, front desk - everyone, including the entrance - is exceptional!! The staff go well above and beyond what is required, outlined by policy, or is necessary, to take care of the customer. This is what the service industry is all about. Breakfast is exceptional. The hotel facilities (while old and dated) are maintained and exceptional. I will stay here again when I am in the area. I highly recommend you do too. I value service above everything in the service industry, and the hotel and its staff must be highly recognized for what it does. PS. Dont stay at a Hilton please. I stayed at one in Shanghai and found the service objectionable.

Perfect hotel! I stayed at this hotel and had a great time. The breakfast is truly incredible, with a wide selection of high-quality products. The location is excellent: it is located just 50 meters from the Yuyuan Garden subway stop, very convenient for reaching the city's main attractions (one stop from East Nanjing Road). The reception is located on the first floor. The rooms are very spacious, clean, and well-furnished. Mine was equipped with both a shower and a bathtub, a truly appreciated comfort. Furthermore, there were numerous complimentary amenities, including slippers, a bathrobe, and everything necessary for a pleasant stay. The old part of the city with small restaurants and street food is 200 meters away! Highly recommended