Grand Central Hotel Shanghai — Hotel in Shanghai

I have stayed in this hotel regularly for the last six years but I will now be taking my business elsewhere. The hotel has some good points: very nice, comfortable rooms which have been well maintained despite starting to show a bit of wear and tear. The cleaning and catering staff are very nice, and the concierge desk is also manned by helpful individuals. Unfortunately, the food is overpriced and mediocre. Neither the buffet breakfast nor the room service dishes are remotely acceptable for the prices charged (more on this later); however, the biggest problem with this hotel is the terrible customer service provided by the front desk. I have had a number of incidents over the years where I have felt that the front desk staff have spoken to me in a discourteous manner but during my latest and final stay, an incident occurred that has lost the hotel my custom. This was caused by an incident of gross overcharging and the duty manager’s appalling attitude in response to my complaint. During my stay I asked for a glass of milk to be brought to my room as I wanted to make some coffee and the hotel only provided two sachets of creamer which is not enough for even a single cup of coffee. A waiter brought the milk to the room and I signed a bill without looking at it. When I went to check out I saw that I had been charged 70 Yuan for the single glass of milk. I was completely outraged at this price and complained. I was told by the duty manager that I knew the price when I ordered it. When I continued to complain this woman laughed at me and walked away from the front desk into an office. I have stayed in hotels all around the world and in some locations I have been a repeat visitor. In countries like Thailand and particularly in the USA, returning customers are offered upgrades and complimentary services to reward them for their loyalty. There is no hotel in the world to whom I have given more business than the Grand Central Hotel Shanghai. I have spent tens maybe even hundreds of thousands of Yuan there over the years, and have recommended it to friends and colleagues. Despite this, I have never been offered a single complimentary drink, meal or upgrade of any kind by the hotel. I have now been grossly overcharged and treated with total contempt by the hotel’s duty manager. I will therefore be taking my business elsewhere. On a more general note, it has to be said that despite surpassing the West in many areas, China is still light years behind the US, Western Europe and many other Asian countries with regard to customer service. As is so often the case here, people with menial low-paid jobs are usually those who are the most professional and courteous, whilst those in middle ranking jobs who are given a small amount of authority have no idea how to behave. I think this is an issue that goes beyond the hospitality industry and one that needs to be addressed if China is to be a world leader in the...

This is a 5-star review for a 5-star hotel. It should be 10 STARS! For the hotel staff: each and every one of all of the services you offer made this stay amazing! The check-in was fast, easy, and exceptionally professional. The room was really TEN STARS for how well it was appointed - it had every amenity possible and was impeccably CLEAN. The service that IVY LU of housekeeping provided on a daily basis were exactly what kept the room so CLEAN. ||Cecilia Liu at the restaurant was SUPERBLY thoughtful, helpful and spoke English, which really helped. Shirley Xu at the restaurant counter was quiet but watchful. Ethan Liu was also 100% positively helpful. The feeling of being welcome at this hotel, the rooms being so comfortable, and the staff was nothing short of making this stay really amazing. Each of the staff members went over and way beyond to help make the stay pleasant, enjoyable and welcoming at every turn. IVY LU was the absolute BEST at housekeeping, and I've stayed at quite a few hotels - the room could not have been kept cleaner. Her very careful attention to detail made this stay amazing! ||I give this hotel and the staff the strongest recommendation for the above-mentioned items as well as the hotel location, location, location. Anyone visiting downtown Shanghai MUST consider this hotel as an extremely valuable find - because it is only a few hundred feet from the tour bus stop, the pedestrian area that leads to the Bund, and enough stores to satisfy the heaviest shopper. I made sure to take advantage of the closeness to the downtown pedestrian street to walk every day, checked out lots of stores, and got back in time for the buffet dinners. Oh, the food was so wonderful.|Service at the buffet is top notch or top shelf as they say. The hotel cannot be beat. ||The staff were ALL extremely accommodating and allowed a bit of early check-in as they had the room ready - so this was a big plus! Would definitely send a friend to this hotel.||Please - Grand Central Hotel - give ALL OF YOUR STAFF awards for the outstanding hospitality, the staff focus on cleanliness and their overall warm, welcoming...

My wife and I stayed here on our recent visit for 7 days initially, and then 4 days after visiting Beijing. The hotel is located within 100m or so from the subway station (exit No. 4) and is 50m from East Nanjing Road and about 700m from the Bund. We ran to the Bund several times early morning and if you are a runner it is a great experience. There are plenty of places for breakfast or dinner if needed and we had the Hotel brekky on our second stay and it was good, fresh with plenty to choose from. The hotel gym is also quite good, bikes, treadmills etc. and good selection of free weights to choose from. Didn't check out the spa or sauna, forgot about them. Our room was comfortable, very spacious and clean and we were lucky it faced the East Nanjing Road. It was nice watching people wandering around shopping and having fun. The bed and pillows were outstanding I must say. Also had a little deli over the road which had staples plus a good beer selection. PROS: Great location, close to subway, small shops for essentials and to shopping and the Bund. Plenty of places nearby to eat and you can spend your evenings walking Ninjing Road choosing where to eat. Rooms were clean, spacious and well maintained. Good internet speeds too. CONS: Nothing really, there is a Green initiative in place when we visited meaning our air cond. was not able to be turned on unless outside temp exceeded 24 deg or something. Anyway all rooms have windows which open and the fresh air nightly was very nice and for us was preferred over air cond. Some street noise may bother some people but not us. |Overall: We have no hesitation in recommending this hotel and would stay there again without hesitation. Well done to all staff who made us feel...