Bright Lights and Luxury Hotels: A Glimpse of Shanghai
Welcome to Shanghai, economic capital of China and the Eastern world. Start playing “All of the Lights” by Kanye. Here’s a visual: [video width="1280" height="720" mp4="http://gucaravel.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Shanghai-All-of-the-lights.mp4"][/video]
In a city with an exploding population of over 24 million, Shanghai has a lot to offer – including five star amenities.
Owing my love of travel to five star hotels is somewhat of a joke, but let’s be real – amenities are nice! My expectations were blown out of Shanghai's Huangpu River at The Mandarin Oriental Shanghai Pudong.
Our stay started with a lovely airport transfer in a roomy minivan. The driver had water bottles, cool towels, and a bevy of phone chargers.
The luxury continued upon our arrival to the property when we were whisked away to our room for a discrete check in. The check-in was complete with fresh orange juice and a tour of our room.
Our room was some type of suite with a king bedroom and good sized living room. We had a view of the river from our bathtub, which also came equipped with a small TV.
Thus far, the luxury had been nice, but what tops the cake is their club level lounge selection and service. The club level, located on the second floor, offers great views of surrounding skyscrapers and city streets. Every day, the club level serves a complete breakfast, lunch, tea, dinner, and cocktail hour. I think I gained 10 pounds in 3 days.
More amazing than my rapid weight gain, was the attentive service of every staff member in the club lounge.
By the end of the first evening, they thought they knew my drink order. However, later they would find out I was striving to try every drink on their menu. The club lounge food was set up as a buffet, but I barely needed to get out of my seat to get food. Every time I started to stand up, I would hear, “Ms. Everett, can I help you with something?”
If you check out any of the reviews on TripAdvisor, some vacationers will say the service is overbearing and pushy. But just like when my fame drove other tourists to take my picture, I embraced the local culture. (I know what you’re thinking, “wow how does she do it?! She is so brave!”).
Hannah’s Major Keys for Shanghai: 1. Revisit my major keys for Beijing. Most of the keys still apply; however, Shanghai has more western style toilets. Overall, in Shanghai you will find more western amenities because of the larger expat population. Check out the French Concession for cool, English speaking restaurants and an English movie theater. 2. Do a nighttime boat cruise. It’s a great way to see the city lights at night, without trying to find a spot on the crowded Bund. Boat tours last about an hour and leave from either side of the river. We took a ride that left at 9:30pm from the Pudong side for around $30 a person. 3. If you are visiting Disney in Shanghai, be ready to wait in line – my family and I went a few days after it opened and most of the lines were over 2.5 hours. This is not uncommon for some of the Disney locations in Asia. Get to the park early in the morning and fast pass the one ride you are looking forward to (see Tron). Often times Disney will give out the max number of fast passes before 10:30am due to the high demand!