联艺凯文 — Hotel in Shanghai

Going in through the doors of Gallery Suites is something I hope all people who are looking for a boutique will be able to do some day. The feeling that has already occurred since traveling from the airport to the French concession in Shanghai from skyscrapers and five-lane highways. To small streets with wonderful old houses and a mill of people walking or cycling or driving mopeds to the next place surrounded by large trees that protect you from sun rays.||||Do not make your experience worse when you enter the lobby and meet Art Deco from top to toe. The lobby is small and you may wonder where you have come and how will this end.||||You have traveled to a wonderful Boutique hotel where staff will do everything for you to have the best experience in Shanghai.||||The rooms are big and you do not have to worry about being pushed with your traveling companion. Open the window in the morning and you will hear a fun little tune. You will soon notice what it is and there is nothing you are used to.||||The hotel has a disadvantage as we experienced it. The breakfast If you are not used to Asian breakfast and are hungry you will be disappointed. We from Europe and the Nordic countries are used to choosing from very different things.||||If you have a slightly larger budget, I recommend you to go down and around the corner of the hotel. There is a great cafe / restaurant that serves a kind of brunch until 12:00. You choose two or three dishes and then tea to it.||||We were VERY pleased about the hotel and we will be going back again.||||I had written a longer review but this disappeared when I was to upload this unfortunately.||This became a bit short. Email me if you have questions about everything from sights or how to bargain on the fake...

Stayed for one night on a last minute booking. ||||The hotel is in a good location and just a minute's walk to the metro. ||||I booked an Art Deco suite. ||||Reception were friendly and quickly processed me on arrival. The room was surprisingly large, although a little on the 'dark' side given the dark timber used for all aspects of the floors, screens and furnishings. ||||Lots of storage space, good air-con, masses of fluffy towels and a reasonable selection of amenities (including bathrobes) for the bathroom. While the bathroom lacks doors it was still relatively private given it was angled away from the main seating area and bedroom section.||||The basics of safe, complimentary water, tea and coffee and slippers were all provided. The wifi was free but a little patchy - but that is not uncommon in China (this was perhaps a tiny fraction on the slow side though).||||The bed was a stand-out - beautifully comfortable with generous bedding and great pillows (the 'marshmallow' type that you can massage into the perfect shape). ||||The sitting area was a little awkward - a strange lounge that didn't look so inviting and a mis-matched ottoman. I didn't check the television to see what channels were available. ||||Breakfast is by way of voucher from reception which you then hand to Kevin's Cafe. The breakfast options looked good but I only took toast and coffee (which was excellent - freshly made barista-style).||||Overall I thought it was good value if you enjoy the type of architecture and decor. There are more 'modern' hotels, but this is a matter of personal style and choice. ||||A deposit of RMB100 was required in cash during check-in. This was promptly refunded...

The good news is that the rooms are suites and spacious and the location, on Hengshan Road, is both a great location and a very nice setting. It is a short walk to several metro lines and Hengshan Road has wide tree-lined sidewalks. There are a number of good restaurants close at hand.||||The hotel itself is quirky to say the least. In the bathroom the toilet is basically out in the open. If you are traveling with someone, there is no privacy. The room has a couch and sitting area, but only a single TV so you can only watch TV while sitting in bed. Not that the TV is much to crow about. Of the 6 English channels only 3 were operating during my stay and the sound quality was such that you could not hear much.||||The bathroom vanity is positioned incorrectly so that the shower door could not open completely. As well the top of the mirror was at 5', so to look in a mirror I had to turn away from the vanity to another mirror.||||There is a single slow elevator, so get used to at least going down the stairs. This is somewhat problematic as the stairwell is poorly lit.||||Breakfast is off a set menu, not a buffet. It is adequate, but for the room charge inferior.||||This is my second stay here out of a desire to stay in the neighborhood rather than of any affection for this hotel. I think that one of the Xujiahui hotels, although more distant from Hengshan Road might offer better...