Courtyard Shanghai Xujiahui — Attraction in Shanghai

I'll start off with the CONS.||I came during Spring which is a very hot time of year around 32-35+ degrees was assigned a room where the air conditioning did not work. The commands are all in Chinese characters.|The staff that brought my luggage to the room barely spoke English I asked him about how to use the aircon as after 5 mins it was still very hot even though I had turned it down the temp. After pressing a few of the buttons, he misinformed me and said it will take 15 minutes for it to fully cool down! That did not sound right at first but I trusted that he knew what he was talking about.|After about 5-10 mins the heat was unbearable! I called room service and and another staff then said he will call a techo to check as it was faulty. So that gave me the impression the first staff was either lazy and/or ignorant but instead fubbed me off.|By then I was already half unpacked and half naked. when the techo and the receptionist that assigned me the room came up. The techo brought a ladder to try to fix the issue but could not so the other staff said he will go back down to arrange another room for me!|After another 10 minutes or so he came back up and offered to help me bring my luggage across, I had to repack all the stuff I unpacked and took off my top.|Walking across half naked in my pyjama shorts along the hallway to my new room carrying one of my bags and the staff helping me with my large luggage.|Initially he flipped it upside down crushing one of my umbrellas which was in the top slot of my bag in an attempt to lay it upright so he could use the handle and pull it along with the wheels.|In my new room....he then misinformed me again saying the Aircon can only go down maximum to 22 degrees as it was SET in place by the system even if I was to make it go further down it would not work, I thought this was very strange. However I later found out on my own that it went down to 20 anyway LOL!|Frustrated, annoyed and confused I explained to him I had sensitive skin that could get inflammation from the heat as I had a skin condition, he then said I could have someone bring up a fan for you. Which they did.|I asked about the fridge how it did not seem cold which he then misinformed me again saying the fridge does not cool your drink but merely used as a storage. This was quite baffling in a high ended luxury hotel.|I realize I forgot the power adaptor they had given me and called reception (at least one of the receptionist that picks up initially does not speak English and had to pass it on to her work colleague), the same guy that bought my luggage rang my doorbell as I was in the shower and then told me he could not find a power adaptor in the other room when I had given them clear instructions on where I plugged it.|Later on I had not returned one out of two of the cards for my old room so I used it to go back into my old room (yes it had not been deactivated yet, luckily for me but disorganized on the part of the hotel) and found the power adaptor still there plugged into the same place in the bathroom LOL! |I can only conclude that the same luggage staff guy was lazy, or not careful and thorough enough in looking for it or he simply lied.|This whole debacle could have been avoided if they had double checked that everything in the room I was assigned to was already in working order, what thorough preparation and inspection could have avoided then mark on your system to not be assigned. This was a terrible experience!||OK so now the PROS.|A grand luxurious looking hotel.|The room was spacious and comfortable, with a remote on/off curtain and screen.|The view was amazing!|The buffet breakfast dining area was vast and prestigious, high class, very delicious and was one of the largest I have ever seen. It caters for foreigners.|Interesting thing is they don't allow you to take plates or cups from the dining area up to your room but gave me a paper cup or bag for the food.|The room service meals were very expensive, tasty but very small proportions. |A very good gym with a lot of equipment for different exercises, I was also impressed with the overall cleanliness.||The customer service let them down a bit here otherwise I would have definitely given...

Elevator Stay!

I returned to this hotel after my first stay way back in 2010. On the positive side, it is good to note that the hotel has not degraded too much since then. But on the negative side, they have also not improved on the service levels - especially when it comes to welcoming and managing foreign guests who don't speak Mandarin. This was a big sore point during my stay. And the other big issue was their broken elevators. I spent more time(along with so many other guests) waiting for elevators than spending time in my room! And there was clearly no remorse or apology from the management or staff about this, which was more annoying.

LOCATION: Not the best location as it is big away from most key points of interest. But close to Henghan Lu and Jing - an if you are looking to hang around the more tranquil and characterful French Concession area.

DINE + DRINK: The 2nd-floor Momo cafe that serves breakfast hasn't changed one bit in the last 13 years! The same boring buffet for breakfast is still running! The lobby-level cafe is an ok palace to have a coffee or a late-night drink

ROOM: I stayed in Room 1707, so this review is based on that; VIEW: Random view of the cityscape from a Tiny window; SIZE: Spacious enough for 2 adults and simple baggage; AIR-CON: Perfectly functioning cooler that helped in setting the perfect room temperature; BED: Comfortable bed that played the expected part of putting me to sleep; BATHROOM: Stand-in shower; TOILETRIES: Good quality toiletries

FACILITIES: Very good Gym with a good range of weights and Cardio machines perfect for a full-on workout. One of the highlights of the hotel!

SERVICE: Friendly staff that took care of my needs with a smile. But they certainly need to be trained more and should be mandated to pick up the English language if they were to welcome foreign guests!

HOW WIRED YOU WILL BE: Free high-speed Wi-Fi that works well all over the property. Big Plasma TV screen dishing out a wide variety of channels spanning sports, news, music, movies, - Pretty much in CHINESE...

||I returned to this hotel after my first stay way back in 2010. On the positive side, it is good to note that the hotel has not degraded too much since then. But on the negative side, they have also not improved on the service levels - especially when it comes to welcoming and managing foreign guests who don't speak Mandarin. This was a big sore point during my stay. And the other big issue was their broken elevators. I spent more time(along with so many other guests) waiting for elevators than spending time in my room! And there was clearly no remorse or apology from the management or staff about this, which was more annoying.||LOCATION: Not the best location as it is big away from most key points of interest. But close to Henghan Lu and Jing - an if you are looking to hang around the more tranquil and characterful French Concession area.||DINE + DRINK: The 2nd-floor Momo cafe that serves breakfast hasn't changed one bit in the last 13 years! The same boring buffet for breakfast is still running! The lobby-level cafe is an ok palace to have a coffee or a late-night drink||ROOM: I stayed in Room 1707, so this review is based on that; VIEW: Random view of the cityscape from a Tiny window; SIZE: Spacious enough for 2 adults and simple baggage; AIR-CON: Perfectly functioning cooler that helped in setting the perfect room temperature; BED: Comfortable bed that played the expected part of putting me to sleep; BATHROOM: Stand-in shower; TOILETRIES: Good quality toiletries||FACILITIES: Very good Gym with a good range of weights and Cardio machines perfect for a full-on workout. One of the highlights of the hotel!||SERVICE: Friendly staff that took care of my needs with a smile. But they certainly need to be trained more and should be mandated to pick up the English language if they were to welcome foreign guests!||HOW WIRED YOU WILL BE: Free high-speed Wi-Fi that works well all over the property. Big Plasma TV screen dishing out a wide variety of channels spanning sports, news, music, movies, - Pretty much in CHINESE...