Although Pudong Shangri-La, East Shanghai is enormous, with nearly 1,000 rooms spread across two buildings, you won’t feel lost in the Four-Star hotel. That’s because the staff does little things to make you feel at home, from the welcome amenity — a steaming pot of Chinese tea — to the turndown touches — a bowl of fruit and a piece of creamy chocolate. The staff at the Shanghai hotel is warm, knowledgeable and always available, whether you need help booking a tour or can’t find the subway station.
Plus, there’s no need to leave the grounds for excellent eats, since the hotel houses six restaurants: Sleek Japanese spot Nadaman and its more casual sibling Sushi by Nadaman; Chinese-focused Gui Hua Lou and Fook Lam Moon; and French fine-dining option Jade on 36. Families will want to head to all-day dining restaurant Yi Café, which has an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink breakfast buffet with stations for dim sum, eggs, smoothies (try the coconut), waffles and two tables full of desserts.
Plus, there’s no need to leave the grounds for excellent eats, since the hotel houses six restaurants: Sleek Japanese spot Nadaman and its more casual sibling Sushi by Nadaman; Chinese-focused Gui Hua Lou and Fook Lam Moon; and French fine-dining option Jade on 36. Families will want to head to all-day dining restaurant Yi Café, which has an everything-but-the-kitchen-sink breakfast buffet with stations for dim sum, eggs, smoothies (try the coconut), waffles and two tables full of desserts.
Our Inspector's Highlights
- Pudong Shangri-La, East Shanghai is located in the middle of Lujiazui, the city’s busy central business district. It’s also just a short walk to the Oriental Pearl Tower, Shanghai World Financial Center and Shanghai Ocean Aquarium.
- Hotels are as commonplace in Shanghai as delicious dumplings, but what sets Pudong Shangri-La, East Shanghai apart from the rest is its in-house restaurants. There are six to choose from at the Forbes Travel Guide Four-Star hotel, and each one serves unique, top-rate cuisine.
- After eating your fill, Shangri-La’s 24-hour gym makes wokring out easy with Life Fitness treadmills, ellipticals, upright and recumbent bikes and stair-climbers, as well as free weights and Hammer Strength weight-training equipment. The gym also has a fully loaded locker room with its own relaxation area.
Things to Know
- The luxury hotel has two main bars: Jade on 36 Bar (an extension of the 36th-floor upscale French restaurant) and the Lobby Lounge. In addition to champagne, wine, bottled beer, whiskey, Scotch and all the classic cocktails, the dimly lit Jade on 36 offers a selection of signature drinks under the Bar Couture and For Him/For Her sections of the menu.
- On the For Him side, there are masculine cocktails like the Grasstini (vodka, sugar syrup, fresh lemongrass); and on the For Her side, the Coco Pink is a sweet mix of vodka, coconut liqueur and pineapple juice.
- The hotel is much better for business travelers and couples without children than it is for families. While the hotel will do its best to accommodate the little ones, you’re likely to see more briefcases than bottles here.
- If you do have kids, the all-day dining venue Yi Café is your best bet. The restaurant’s enormous buffet offers a huge array of entrées — pizzas, pastas, a grill station, salad bar, dim sum, Malaysian hawker stalls and Indian food — plus an out-of-this-world dessert station, where you can make your own sundae bar.
The Rooms
- The guest rooms at Pudong Shangri La, East Shanghai offer you a place to unwind after a long day in meetings or out sightseeing.
- Grab a seat in the ergonomic chair at the desk (it’s topped with marble in the River View rooms; desks are longer and covered with a leather-like material in the business-traveler-friendly Grand Tower rooms) and check your e-mail.
- Plop down on the bed — complete with crisp white sheets, two bolsters and four plush pillows — and channel-surf on the Philips LCD television.
- The room is outfitted with an East-meets-West style. On each side of the bed is a dark wood table with Chinese lamps. River View rooms have a more subdued palette, with creams and grays. Above the bed, a fabric headboard depicts cherry blossoms in bloom.
- Grand Tower rooms at the Forbes Travel Guide Four-Star hotel go for a bolder look, with pale gold, orange and red décor and wood-paneled walls. The headboards here have two tan leather panels resting up against a shimmery gold wall with a framed triptych with Chinese lettering in the middle.
The Restaurants
- Jade on 36 is the hotel’s Western fine-dining restaurant, and its 36th-floor location offers sweeping views of the skyline. Be sure to try the steamed sea bass cooked with Lapsang Souchong tea and served in a red radish and cauliflower lemon emulsion.
- The hotel’s Cantonese restaurant, Fook Lam Moon, also offers views of the Bund, alongside contemporary food from Southern China, like baked lobster in soup and fried rice with diced chicken and octopus in an abalone sauce.
- Gui Hua Lou, the luxury hotel’s other Chinese restaurant, serves Huaiyang, Cantonese, Shanghainese and Sichuanese cuisines in an upscale setting. Look for its braised pork belly in Shanghai sweet sauce, braised bean curd with ham and vegetables, and sweet and sour prawns.
- Nadaman and the 32-seat spot Sushi by Nadaman offer you a wide selection of traditional Japanese cuisine, including barbecued eel, tempura and, of course, sushi and sashimi.
Getting There
