Joyful Star Hotel Pudong Airport — Hotel in Shanghai

Perfect hotel for layovers at Shanghai Pudong Airport. Spent two nights there. First night was perfect - really nice, superclean room. Good Wifi (it‘s China though, so plenty of restrictions and not all VPN connections work there). Good bathroom with really good water pressure.

Airport shuttle was a little bit weird. Super old and kind small blue bus. When I arrived first I had to get onto the bus at the upper level at the Terminal at Exit 26 and the 2nd time I arrived at Pudong Airport I had to get onto the bus at the lower level. However, calling the shuttle service was a major pain as the connection was really bad and therefore hotel staff was really hard to understand.

Second night the first room I was assigned was smelling really moldy. It had rained heavily before, so some moisture must have leaked into the hotel. Same for the second room. Third room then had a slight cigarette smell, but was still way better than the mold. Don’t think that‘s a regular problem and am sure that will be taken care of.

Staff was super friendly and helpful.

Breakfast is nothing special, but absolutely okay for the price and will get you fed before boarding the next flights.

There are plenty of restaurants and shops nearby the hotel. I recommend to withdraw or exchange cash at the airport, as the bank around the corner won’t let you withdraw cash with all credit cards and most shops and restaurants don’t accept...

All and all a nice hotel. The rooms were clean. The staff was helpful and one out of two was even very nice! I arrived at 10pm and had to leave a 3:30 am to catch my plane out, so I didn't get to experience the neighborhood, Disney, food, etc ||I, like apparently most others, chose this place for a layover sleep because it had shuttle. The room was nice and clean and had a bed I didn't think actually had a mattress on it. LOL. The bathroom was a glass room. If I had been with someone that would have been a very very very uncomfortable feature. ||Don't be fooled. The only way to get this shuttle is to call the hotel and they will give you (not contact for you) the number to call for the shuttle. I didn't figure this out for a solid 1.5 hours of being told go here and then there and finally outside, where I couldn't get back in to maybe ask information to call for me so I didn't have to pay so much using my cell. In fact, since I had to call and then they made me call another number, my cell expenses were probably not far off what a cab would have been. Sigh. So, get someone to call for you in the airport and don't believe anyone if they tell you to just go so and so place and wait...you...

The beds are very hard as most hotels in Mainland China are. The rooms are clean though we had issues where the shower doors would... roll open.

Shuttle arrival at airport was punctual and the shuttle bus is distinct. Since the shuttle bus actually stops at two hotels from the same franchise, make sure you can express to the non-English speaking driver that you're going to Wanxia ("Wansyah"). Once checked in, you can register for a shuttle to the airport or to Disney. Disney shuttle leaves at 735 in the morning and returns at 920pm, any other time you will need to take a taxi or Didi Kuaiche yourself. Going back to the airport, the shuttle stops at Terminal 2, then 1 so make sure you look up in advance which terminal you're going to in advance.

Breakfast spread is extensive. The best item is by far the red bean buns, followed by the Chinese vegetables. Generally, many of the breakfast dishes were greasy. The salad did not look too fresh.

There are a lot of restaurants nearby, including a FamilyMart convenience store and the area felt safe to...