Hi Shanghai!
Another early morning in order to travel. But with the duffel bag with wheels, it was much easier. Same trip to the Shuangjing subway station, taking the Line 10 to SanYuanQiao, then to the airport. But at SYQ, I realized I forgot to make sure I had the hotel's address... so I checked. And... nope, didn't have it! Don't panic! But uh-oh, Spaghetti-O's. Nothing I could do there, so I continued to the airport. I saw Katherine as I was checking in (I knew she was going to be there with her mom around the time I was there, and on a freakier note- Mike went to Shanghai earlier in the morning). Turns out me and Katherine were on the same flight, but she was in Business class, and I was in economy. After check-in, time for BK! The only Burger King in Beijing is at the airport's Terminal 3.
The only comment I'm going to make about the flight- don't plan on using this airline again. Don't care for it. I'm going to review the airline after I get back to Beijing in order to give them another chance to impress me (no, I wasn't flying Air China).
Shanghai's Hongqiao airport was a typical airport, nothing special that I could see.
So after I was settled, it was time to explore. My hotel is near The Bund area of Shanghai, near the Huangpu River. I walked down the street my hotel is on (Guangdong Lu) until I reached the road that runs parallel to the river (later figured out it was Zhongshan Dong Lu). Stopped at a bridge where I took pictures and got annoyed with people. One thing I've noticed in Shanghai- large amounts of people selling these jelly-like things that smoosh almost flat when thrown on the ground, then come back to shape.
I continued walking for a little while until I got to the corner of Nanjing Dong Lu. I didn't want to face that yet as I was tired and it would take some time to cover. So I turned back, picked a random road to walk up, and turned when I found Sichuan Zhong Lu. Heading south, I walked only a couple blocks until I saw a great big sign that said The Bund Brewery. You know I have to check out anything with the word brewery in it. So I went in, saw it was almost eerily empty, and sat down. I didn't order a beer as I knew it wouldn't be a good idea, so I went with a ginger ale (Watson's), onion soup (good) and German sausage assortment (great). I wanted to take the sweet mustard to go! So thick and flavorful, it was a shame to waste it. The sausage was good, my favorite was the one with the carroway seeds in it. I'm going to review the restaurant later.
From there, back to the super-comfy hotel and a good night's rest. I was going to need it.
Correct on all points.
My initial impression of the hotel wasn’t that good. When the car pulled up to the entrance, I was disconcerted because the exterior was bland and there was no sign. Then the concierge came out to take my bags, and I immediately felt better. Inside, I knew I was getting the stars that had been advertised. The women at the front desk were friendly, helpful and spoke good English. After checking in, the concierge brought my bags up to the room, showed me the keycard slot for electricity by the door, then turned the TV on for me.
The suite was fabulous. It was spacious, well-decorated (not kitschy or crowded, but tasteful and warm). The sitting area had a mini-bar, a TV with mini-fridge underneath, a desk with desktop computer (with Windows options in English and Chinese) and a sofa. The bedroom held a king-size bed, another TV and general light control switch. The bathroom was normal, except for the separated triangle tub and shower. Very comfortable for my 3-night stay in Shanghai.
There are three restaurants in the hotel- Chinese, Japanese, and Western. The Chinese restaurant is situated on the 3rd floor, serving Shanghai/Cantonese food. The menu was large, the food was great, and since I’d gone on Dragon Boat Festival day, I got a free zong zi. An extra special touch that went on the Why this place is getting 5 stars list. I didn’t try the Japanese restaurant, but the Western one was less than stellar. The French Onion soup was plain, the melon and Iberica ham was delectable though, and the tiramisu was obviously frozen. Too much money for too mediocre food.
Checking out was a breeze since I hadn’t taken anything from the mini-bar. Swift, efficient, and they asked the concierge to arrange a taxi to the airport for me. No problems there.
When in Shanghai, I do recommend this hotel. For the price, you get a lot of comfort and convenience. Located on Guangdong Dong Lu, it’s only 10 minutes to The Bund, 20 to Pudong and 10-15 to Nanjing Lu.
