First Hotel: The St. Regis Shanghai (上海瑞吉紅塔大酒店)
Location:
It is situated in Pudong area.
Room & amenities:
The room is huge! I think St. Regis has one of the largest standard room in Shanghai. It is 48 sqm. My room has a city view. The bed is huge too and comfortable. But I dun like the pillow. It is too flat and soft. I need to pile up two pillows to sleep. You get not 1 or 2 complimentary bottle waters but 6 at anytime. This is handy as August weather is a killer! You have a large LCD TV, Bose CD player, a nice day bed, a nice couch, a working desk with Herman Miller Aeron Chair. Fresh fruits (4 pieces) everyday. Complimentary English newspaper. The only downside is no complimentary internet in the room. But you can go to the lobby to use the complimentary wireless internet.
Bathroom & amenities:
The bathroom is also very big. Standard items are provided. Toothbrush, comb to name a few. But I like one item that is not so standard. They provide washing powder! This is handy as I can wash my used socks etc.. to make them smell nicer when I pack them. The towel is huge and good. Bathing toiletries are from Ashford & Hall. Rain shower is good.
Service:
St. Regis is said to be the only hotel that has 24 hours butler service. I have asked them to make me a pot of chinese tea and run some errands. Their butler service is fast, prompt and friendly. Many of their staffs are rather friendly. Even the chef of their famous Danieli's Italian Restaurant greeted me when I happened to run into him in the lift. This hotel provides down service which I like. When I come back hotel every night, the room is prepared for sleeping. They even leave a small chocolate on the pillow for you.
Facilities:They have swimming pool, jacuzzi, a 24 hours Gym and game room for your to play pool. It is pretty quiet and so it is really enjoyable. The lobby has free wifi and it is always very quiet. So you can access the internet with peace. There is also a small counter in the lobby that attend to your enquires regarding anything about Expo.
Surrounding:
I particularly like it cos it is rather quiet. There are some nice local eateries and a 24 hour Family Mart convenience store just across the street. If you do not take breakfast in hotel, you can go opposite the hotel and try the Yonghe soybean breakfast. It costs about RMB15. Nearest metro station is Pudian Road Station which is about a 5 to 10 mins walk.
Overall, this hotel is good. Though I did not experience any very out of this world treatment, the overall experience is a positive one. However, one negative thing about this hotel is that every night (around 11pm+) I walk back to the hotel, at the car porch area of the hotel, I will always be pestered by pimps asking me if I wanted massage. But if you take a cab back to hotel, you will not encounter such thing. This is rather annoying. So if the hotel can do something about this, this hotel will be perfect!
