Holiday Inn Shanghai Nanjing Road — Hotel in Shanghai

Holiday Inn was ridiculous by setting the temperature of the central air conditioning system at 27 degree celsius. There was literally poor air circulation and the 'strong wind' mode was not strong enough to cool down the room. My sister and I were feeling extremely hot throughout our first night stay. We called the service line, and they sent a housekeeping staff and their team of engineering support staff to come and try to talk to us to open the window for cold air to enter the room instead and kept stressing that the temperature cannot be adjusted because it's central air conditioning system. I told the housekeeping and support staff team including the customer service team that it's ineffective to set the temperature at 27 degree celsius while expecting the customers to open window to allow cold air to enter. As customers, I am buying hotel accommodation services and expecting the ideal comfort level to meet, yet I was told to open the window while they can't do anything, except to ask us to wait till there's available fan to be sent to our room as they only had 10 fans which were all been sent to other customers. How absurd that such a big hotel chain, you have only 10 fans and asking your customers to open window while you can't do anything to adjust the temperature to human comfort level of around 22 or 23 degree celsius! My sister and I had our sleep deprived due to the car horning, dog barking, etc noises from external due to the fact that we had to open the window for cold air to enter! The issue was even when we opened the window, not only we had been disturbed greatly by the external noises, we still felt hot and the air in the room was still.In addition to the above mentioned, thinner blankets were unavailable when I asked for them as we were literally sleeping in sauna steam the whole night. The reply I've gotten from their customer service staff was they've only one type of blanket for their customers. Again another ridicule reason for such a big hotel chain! Last but not least, customers do not want free breakfast because free breakfast's not gonna resolve the main concern we had:- we had bad air circulation, high temperature inside the room, disturbed sleep from external noises(because we had to open the window) were not resolved instead. By giving free breakfast don't resolve the actual situations and problems.Eventually, I had to make several complaints before I got a fan to improve the air circulation...

My family and I stayed here in June of 2025. Im giving this hotel a 5 star rating for the following reasons:

Rooms were super clean, well kept, and had an amazing city view. My wife, son and I have allergic rhinitis but it was not a problem during our trip because the rooms were new and clean. Bed and pillows were very comfortable. I love how the curtains can be drawn with the push of a button. AC, shower and other amenities worked flawlessly. Cleaners had a big smile on their faces and seemed happy to be of service. They also provided a round table in the room which was useful for eating take out food and preparing baby stuff.

Front desk staff were very helpful. 24/7 service. Polite and very hospitable. They even helped us book airport transfer tickets and disney tickets which cost less if we booked through a website. I would like to commed Hans and the big tall guy at the front desk for accomodating our requests and helping us to make our trip enjoyable. There is a small play area beside the front desk to keep the kids busy while adults are checking in. Simple refreshments, cold lemon water was served in the lobby daily (highly appreciated after a long day of exploring).

LOCATION. The hotel is situated right in the city center. It is literally a 2-3 minute walk to Nanjing Road where restaurants and shops are located. This is ideal for families travelling with babies or senior citizens as they can go back to the hotel for a quick rest in the middle of a tiring shopping day. Lots of local eateries around the hotel. There are a couple of convenient stores (Lawson, Family Mart) which are just about a 3 minute walk from the hotel. We walked from the hotel to the bund which took as about 20minutes, our pace was slow as we were travelling with kids. Yuyuan gardens was just a 10-15 minute taxi ride from the hotel.

Efficient communication. Before we arrived, I sent an email to the hotel to make them aware of our room preferences. They replied promptly and accomodated our requests. Easy to communicate with them.

You get what you pay for. Although the price of this hotel may be higher than others, it is totally worth it because of the excelent service, strategic location, and the spacious and clean rooms. I would definitely stay here again next time I visit Shanghai. Keep up the great work Holiday...

I will be concise since many have already been reviewed here.

The hotel though near Metro 2 exit 4, the road condition plus the unsheltered path made it hard for trolleyed luggage. The only lift to/from the metro and street is from exit 2, the escalator at exit 4 only goes up, which is quite a distance. If rains, need a taxi.

Room - big. Shower strong. However centralized air conditioning leaves the room very warm. Was told to open the window to let in the cold Dec air. But as cold air descends outside and hot air ascends inside the room, neither the cold air can come in nor the hot air can escape out of the room.

The housekeeper - though, was super friendly, patient, and helpful.

Food&resturant- “Hi Bowl” both bf and lunch, female reception cashier was friendly and nice. Most hot food was cold. Quite salty for nonlocals. May not be suitable. A food counter chef for stir-fried food has a bad memory. An Incident - The chef told my friend that she was 2nd in line, and asked her to return 6 to 10 min later. But when she returned, he had left his station without cooking hers. When I went to the same counter to queue for my request, another chef who took over asked me to come back in 15 minutes. When I came back, an old lady wasn't sure about the queue system, I advised her to leave a plate in the queue. However, after a while when the chef wanted to ascertain who was next, he forgot and considered the old lady was before me. So I had to wait another 10 min. I felt it would be best if there was a system. Like a number or a clipped system to ensure no cut Q. I saw the same chef use a tasting spoon for all his customers. I find this practice unhygienic. Shouldn't he after cooking for many already confident how the taste is?

In contrast, the Chinese restaurant at level 2, Yau Fu has excellent fine dining at a reasonable price. For both Hi Bowl bf and dinner, I could have bought ourselves instead of a sumptuous and exquisite meal...