InterContinental Shanghai Pudong — Hotel in Shanghai

Hotel is over 20 years old and in desperate need of a renovation. In room Air conditioning thermostat is misleading. Hotel uses central heating / cooling and I was told by hotel staff that they can only have one or the other (heating or cooling) on at the same time. As it is currently autumn during my visit, the hotel has chosen to only use the heater - meaning that if the room is already warm, it will never cool down!! I was told that I would need to open the windows and let the cool smog... ahem... I mean air circulate to cool the room!

Bathrooms were moldy (see photos), electrical wiring was dodgy, and everything just looked like it had seen better days. Furnishings used in the room looked cheap and run down.

They are very well staffed... A handful of the team was helpful, but majority of the staff don't seem to care. They will only do the one job they were hired to do and not bother about the bigger picture or guest experience (no communication between staff/departments whatsoever). What is worse is if you are a foreigner and struggle with the local language, they don't even try to communicate with you in English. They simply ignore you and speak to someone else.

I am a Spire Ambassador of IHG Rewards, and apart from the "automated" recognition such as room upgrades, there was no extra effort made by the staff to make me feel comfortable during my stay. The one staff member that did stand out was the trainee Guest Relations member - Letisia - who was the only staff member that made the effort to explain to me about the central heating/cooling issue. The other staff members just said they don't know or that they don't have the codes to change the temperature?!

Overall, I did not find my stay to be anywhere near intercontinental stands. I won't go into comparisons between hotels in this review, but what I can say is be prepared to be treated like another number. I definitely would not...

I had high expectations returning to the InterContinental Shanghai Pudong after 3-years due to China’s closure due to COVID and I was impressed as always. I flew into PVG and took the Maglev to the metro where which I took to the Century Avenue station and then took the short walk to the hotel. The whole trip only took 35-minutes as its centrally located in the Pudong Business district, way better than spending 90-minutes in a cab and in total it was only 45rmb. It was great to be back at this terrific property and enjoyed my short stay. As a Diamond Ambassador, I’ve been to properties all over the world and this was always one of my favorites! From the onset, I was welcomed like an old friend by the awesome staff at check in. They upgraded me to a wonderful room with a million dollar view of Shanghai. They were so friendly and efficient checking me in and changing some US currency for me. I had a couple hours before my travel companions arrived so I decided to visit the club lounge. The view from the 24th floor is absolutely spectacular and there’s tons of comfortable seating in a relaxing environment. Happy hour had just started and the staff really took care of me bringing tasty cocktails and some delicious food. A special thanks to the staff in the InterContinental Club staff: Juan, Vivian, Lilly and Becky who helped my brush up on my rusty Chinese and gave me some great restaurant tips. The room was clean and quiet and the bed was super comfortable. I had a great night’s rest and woke up energized and ready for the day. Breakfast was terrific as it always has been at this property with a vast selection of Chinese and international cuisine to suit any palate. My only complaint was that I didn’t have longer to enjoy this great property. Thanks for always delivering an exceptional experience!

-Raphael...

We stayed here early November 2024.

On arrival, the hotel appears a little like a building site as renovation work was being carried out on the exterior facade.

Also, the swimming pool was under renovation, so could not use that.

However, on arrival, even though we were very early due to incoming flight issues from Singapore, we were greeted warmly and our bags taken by Concierge and stored.

Reception gave a warm welcome, apologising that our room was not ready and sent us to the Club Intercontinental for a breakfast.

Club Intercontinental is located on floor 24 and again, even though our booking had not started, we were welcomed by manageress Lily and her team.

Whilst having a needed coffee and food, Hana arrived with our room card and escorted us to a lift to show us a short cut to our room on floor 19.

We were so early, arrived at 0830 with check in at 1500, yet we were in our room by 10am. Just great service from the whole team.

The room was upgraded to a Diplomatic Suite which was a lovely surprise and afforded nice city views.

All staff were extremely helpful, polite and respectful. Be sure to show the staff the same respect.

We had access throughout our stay to the Club Intercontinental on floor 24. This was a haven away for the bustle of the general hotel areas and the staff, especially Hana, Lily and Pearl were tremendous in their service along with manageress Lily, who told us she had worked there for 28 years. !! For the. Club Intercontinental staff, I have to give them 10/10.

All in all, we can recommend the hotel as a wonderful place to stay and the city centre is easy to access thru the plentiful, cheap taxis.

Plus, if you have access to Club Intercontinental you will have great service from the aforementioned Hana, Lily and Pearl.

Highly...