Hyatt on the Bund Hotel — Hotel in Shanghai

I have stayed many, many times at the Hyatt on the Bund Shanghai. For this trip, I stayed with my two sons for more than two weeks. This was my first stay at the Hyatt on the Bund since the pandemic and of course many things have changed since 2019. Other travelers who remember the old pre-2020 Hyatt on the Bund experience may be especially interested in this review. I will discuss what has changed. ||||Pre-2020, I considered the Hyatt on the Bund my favorite hotel in the world. I liked it more than the Park Hyatt Shanghai, more than the Park Hyatt New York, and more than any other hotel anywhere for its combination of style, location, friendliness, and service. ||||I believe that the Hyatt on the Bund is still an excellent hotel and I will definitely stay there in the future. Its location is outstanding. If you are a walker or runner, you can enjoy the 13 kilometer pedestrian Bund nearby that will take you past Shanghai's beautiful colonial buildings, past the famous Nanpu and Lupu bridges, and all the way to the great art museums of the West Bund. ||||That said, there are post-pandemic changes that I hope can be addressed. I consider the Hyatt on the Bund best marketed as a high-end, premium hotel experience, and its service and amenities should reflect that: ||||1) Check in. It took me at least 20 minutes standing in line to check in. It was very slow. I didn't mind that too much, but I sure noticed it. In all of my previous visits to the Hyatt on the Bund, check-in was lightning-fast and there were abundant staff around to greet me. There was none of that staffing or personalized service this time. ||||2) Uniforms. The previous staff uniforms were all-black in a subtle Hanfu or Tangfu "Chinese" style. The new staff uniforms are gray office couture, the sort of clothes that you would wear if you worked for an attorney or a bank. The old all-black uniforms made it visually unmistakable who the hotel staff were. The new uniforms are easily confused with the clothing that conference-goers and other hotel guests are wearing. The old uniforms had a mystery, an elegance, and evoked old 1930s Shanghai. The new uniforms have none of that appeal.||||3) The club. The most obvious change to the club since 2019 is that jaw-dropping view of Shanghai's Lujiazui skyline is now entirely blocked by a new conference center that was built across the street. Ideally the Hyatt on the Bund could relocate the club to a higher floor to recapture that stunning view. ||||But there are other changes to the club that I noticed at least as much as the loss of the view. The number of service staff have been dramatically reduced in the club. This affects the experience in many ways. In the old HOTB club, there were enough staff on hand that the staff could be proactively friendly and chatty. They would get you drinks, and refill those drinks. I got to know the staff over the course of many visits and was quite happy to see the same people again and again. The new club lacks this warmth, in part because the staff are very busy. There aren't enough staff. ||||Pre-2020, the Hyatt on the Bund club staff was staffed in large part by students from a hotel management college. They were proactively friendly as many young people are, and took time to know you if you were interested in talking. The new smaller staff are less proactively outgoing. I miss that aspect of the Hyatt on the Bund. The old HOTB really felt like a "home" that I was returning to again and again, and the friendly club staff were a big part of that. ||||4) Maintenance. There are small but very noticeable maintenance problems that affect the guest experience. These include: ||||* The key reader on at least one of the elevators is broken on one side of the elevator. You have to learn through hard experience that only one of the key scanners work. Guests will notice this with frustration as they ride the elevator up and down, unable to choose their floor. ||||* The drain on my room would not open. Each day I left the tub filled with water and the excellent housekeeping had to drain the tub for me. I would have preferred to do it myself. ||||5) Globalist amenities. The old pre-2020 HOTB refreshed a fruit plate in my room every day, as well as presenting a small sweet amenity in my room when we checked in. There was nothing like that on this trip. I did notice that some fruit appeared in my room on the final of my three reservations, but the chance for a first impression was missed. ||||The fruit plate is a very small point, but it made the old Hyatt on the Bund seem like an "expensive" high-end hotel and a special experience worth paying extra for. I miss it. ||||6) Lobby and seating. The HOTB lobby is a huge space. There is nothing much there now. The decor is fairly uninteresting given the grandeur of this wide-open space. Worse, there is not sufficient seating for the many people in the lobby calling DiDi rideshares and the like.||||I had a good stay in my two weeks at the Hyatt on the Bund, and I still like this hotel a lot. I will stay again in the future. I just hope that in time HOTB management can bring back some of the features that made the pre-2020 Hyatt on the Bund a truly special experience. With its awesome waterfront location on the Puxi side of Shanghai, the Hyatt on the Bund has...

😡😡ABSOLUTELY POOR SERVICE, receptionist named THEA CHEN is the WORST receptionist I encountered😡this was my second time and I WILL NEVER RECOMMEND THIS HOTEL. and I WILL NEVER COME AGAIN. Yesterday, I got super Angry. the receptionist named THEA CHEN is not very helpful at all. She is the worst receptionist I've ever encounter in my Hotel hoping! This is the kind of service that I will definitely NEVER REPEAT NOR RECOMMEND AGAIN.I booked 2 rooms for me and one for my employee supposedly as business trip.. I Have chosen this because when I checked in the first stay last month- everything is perfect. but this time- as my second visit- I am very very angry and until checked out- I was super mad. So I asked if possible to get the Same room same as the last. This Thea Chen which very annoying receptionist, started to FIRST that "I HAVE TO PAY EXTRA". then I said is it possible for free upgrade same as last time since I booked two rooms. and I even told her already that I recommended this hotel so I am hoping to get same service as last time. Then she said, ok- let me give you the River view with Bund view upgraded. so I was so happy and I go up to the room. THEN there's no BUND VIEW. I go back to the reception again and ask her. I told her that there's no Bund view. Then, she started saying " IT'S NOT AVAILABLE - there's no room available" this is her exact words. so I started to get annoyed- I told her- if you know that there's no room for river and Bund view then why did you play my mind and let me go check the room. Then- she started saying that if I want this then " I HAVE TO PAY EXTRA MONEY" WHICH I PAID EXTRA 😡😡😡. I told her- I am not happy and I was very disappointed. I told her many times but she did not even bother to say "sorry" but rather she just * collected my money. I even told her- I can go to better hotel but I have chosen this hotel because of the first service I was give before. but this time. NEVER. and the funny thing, when my employee arrives- she goes to another counter- and she ask if possible to get free upgrade for river view with Bund view- they gave her immediate AT NO EXTRA COST. REMEMBER-I AM THE ONE PAYING THEIR HOTEL and I didn't get same service. it's horrible. I will never ever come back here again. ALSO- I LEFT MY PHONE FROM THE PREVIOUS ROOM. I called them if possible to get my phone in the previous room- it took them more than an hour to return my cellphone. I called 6 times and I was so angry. The answer I get- it is holiday and they are busy. they will try their best. like what the **. seriously. This is the WORST WORST WORST hotel EXPERIENCE I ever had. NO SOLUTION. NO EMPATHY. NOTHING. maybe because when I checked in first- I looked very ordinary so when they see my employee who dressed more professional than me then they just accommodated her and treated her well. GUESS WHAT. I'm their boss and paid their room. and I swear, I will never ever recommend this hotel. FROM 5 star on first time to 2 this time....

The good: room is clean location is good

For a 5 star hotel, i would expect the experience would be better, attention to detail, but all i get is what is expected of a 5 star hotel, which is a clean room and good location, that’s all the nice things I can say about the hotel.

The bad: The check in process took awhile, from waiting my turn to getting my room key, it took more than 30min which is honestly ridiculous for a check in on thursday 4.30pm. There is no proper queueing, no first come first serve, you basically pick 1 of the 4 check in queue available, and base on your luck, your waiting time will be between 25-45min. There is also 2 additional stuff that stand next to the registration counter like a flower pot, not guiding guest on what to do next or help manage the first come first serve process, this is honestly one of the most annoying portion.

My room booking also came with a few additional remarks and benefit but the reception staff practically missed it all, didn’t mention till I ask, even after asking he is unclear of the terms. No mention of the facility, benefit, breakfast location or timing till asked, had issue with the “credit” benefit when checkout and resolve only after “complaining”. Honestly is this even a 5 star hotel? The one thing good is he mention that my room view is the shanghai bund, and that’s about it.

The room is clean and looks new, about 10min in l receive a call from the front desk saying that they made a mistake in my room charge and request that I visit the front desk again to rectify it, the issue took a few days to resolve but I am ok with it.

Next is the breakfast, weekdays is ok, weekend is chaos, the queue is LONG, I know hotel weekend especially for bfast can be chaotic, but this can seriously be improved. The hotel has a plate like notice on the table stating whether the table is available or occupied, staff can inform guest to flip over to available when they are done using so that cleaning staff can immediately clean up table that are done and ready for the next guest. Right now seems like a guessing game for the staff to think whether to clean up vacant table or not, the whole flow is abit sad.

Next is the roof top bar, view is good but the service is honestly 3/10, part of me want to say it might be a language barrier but I think for a service line employee especially a 5 star hotel one, this needs to be improved. Reception of the bar makes guest feels like they are unwelcome, bar stuff didn’t provide menu even after 5min of sitting...