Crowne Plaza Hotel Fudan Shanghai — Hotel in Shanghai

When I reserved a room in Crowne Plaza Fudan, all I was expecting was just a tidy and hygienic room for a restful sleep, which I am confident that any IHG property is more than capable of offering. However, what Crowne Plaza Fudan presented to me really surprised me.||||As the pictures show, the suite I stayed at is truly spacious, tidy, clean, and simple (simple in a good sense, like the Muji style). It is even a little bit stylish, I would say. I had never expected to be given such a nice room, given how reasonable the rent at Crowne Plaza Fudan was.||||It worths mentioning the services at Crowne Plaza Fudan. Its members all give me the impression that they are very eager to help. More particularly, Crowne Plaza Fudan has successfully convinced me that the service of an upscale hotel is not necessarily worse than the service in a luxurious hotel; the main difference is just their style - the people in Crowne Plaza Fudan are all professional and efficient but in a highly energetic way. It clearly contrasts with the "old-people luxuriousness" one can commonly find in luxurious hotels like Four Seasons and the Ritz-Carlton. When hotel groups describe their hotels as "upscale", they usually just use this term to hide the fact that their hotels are inferior to some luxurious hotels. Crowne Plaza Fudan is the first hotel I have ever encountered that can give me a feeling that it is truly an upscale hotel, instead of something inferior to luxuriousness.||||A super comfortable hotel with great price and exceptional service! Thank you, Crowne...

When I reserved a room in Crowne Plaza Fudan, all I was expecting was just a tidy and hygienic room for a restful sleep, which I am confident that any IHG property is more than capable of offering. However, what Crowne Plaza Fudan presented to me really surprised me.||||As the pictures show, the suite I stayed at is truly spacious, tidy, clean, and simple (simple in a good sense, like the Muji style). It is even a little bit stylish, I would say. I had never expected to be given such a nice room, given how reasonable the rent at Crowne Plaza Fudan was.||||It worths mentioning the services at Crowne Plaza Fudan. Its members all give me the impression that they are very eager to help. More particularly, Crowne Plaza Fudan has successfully convinced me that the service of an upscale hotel is not necessarily worse than the service in a luxurious hotel; the main difference is just their style - the people in Crowne Plaza Fudan are all professional and efficient but in a highly energetic way. It clearly contrasts with the "old-people luxuriousness" one can commonly find in luxurious hotels like Four Seasons and the Ritz-Carlton. When hotel groups describe their hotels as "upscale", they usually just use this term to hide the fact that their hotels are inferior to some luxurious hotels. Crowne Plaza Fudan is the first hotel I have ever encountered that can give me a feeling that it is truly an upscale hotel, instead of something inferior to luxuriousness.||||A super comfortable hotel with great price and exceptional service! Thank you, Crowne...

I want to state upfront that the staff at this hotel are amazing. Everyone I dealt with was professional, polite, and friendly. I was very impressed.

The problem, though, is that the rooms were not designed with enough ventilation for how wet Shanghai is. The air in the room was noticeably more humid than the hallway, and maybe even more humid than outdoors, which resulted in a musty, mildew smell that was really off-putting.

The window did not open, and there wasn't any particular bathroom ventilation system. The only air flow in the room seems to be the aircon unit, which is situated in the entryway, blowing into the room. However, this is not enough to provide adequate air flow through the very large room.

I did not mention this to the staff until checking out, though, because I confirmed with several colleagues that they had the same issue. It's not something that can be fixed without an expensive HVAC redesign, so I didn't see the point in bothering the staff. Upon checkout, though, the person at the front desk mentioned that perhaps they could have sent up a dehumidifier. That may have helped the damp, but it wouldn't address the mildew that has already taken hold because of it.

It really is a shame; the hotel is very pretty, and is just across the street from the university. The staff are, as I've said, wonderful. But I was ultimately very glad to check out and get...