Tian Ci Apartment Shanghai — Hotel in Shanghai

I staid in a 2 bedroom flat with my 2 children, aged 9 and 14, for 3 weeks. This apartment was booked by Mandarin House, the school my kids attended for 3 weeks. ||Whilst the apartment was spacious for the biggest city in China, it looked dated and very badly maintained. Here is a list of some of the issues :||1) Very bad smoker's smell : management offered to put in a deodoriser but smell just lingered and never went away||2) Loose vinyl flooring panels : major gaps in between the different panels, made the flat really look cheap ||3) Kitchen : very dark and dingy without any equipment. We could hardly prepare a meal. It did however have a microwave and washing machine but no kitchen utensils. I even had to buy a knife to peel an apple.||4) Dirty : the cleaning ladies come every second day but just sweep around the furniture without ever moving anything. There were layers of dirt and dust under the bed and on top of the wardrobes. Shower curtain had black stains everywhere, but this was replaced when I complained||5) Reception : no maps of Shanghai and some only spoke very broken English.||Good points :||1) Spacious : we never felt on top of each other. The living room, dining room and 2 bedrooms allowed for our individual comfort||2) Location : Guangdong road is one of the major roads off People Square and very central. It was a 10 to 15 minute walk to East Nanjing Road Metro or to People Square Metro station. It is also a 10 minute walk to the Bund and a 2 minute walk to Fuzhou road, known for its bookshops and stationary. There aren't many western eateries around but there is a French bakery 2 minute's walk away.||3) Entertainment in flat : it came with 2 TVs with some good movie channels. The quality of the image wasn't great but it functioned. The wifi was also free and reasonably fast.||Would I stay here again ? Not sure. If my budget was limited, then maybe. We paid around 650 RMB per night, but my friend was able to book Frazer suites for around 900 RMB. There are loads of service apartments around, so I would recommend you check out some other ones before you book Tianci. If you are a fussy person, don't even bother looking...

This was our second stay with Tianci Service Apartment. The staff have always been good here. At the desk they speak some basic English, which is helpful, and the service man who came to install a modem, fix the toilet and connect the washing machine was lovely. Our apartment was on 18th floor with good views towards Nanjing Rd but too far up to observe life in the lovely lilongs. The rooms are fairly basic but the space is great when travelling with children and staying more than a couple of nights. Awesome location near to Nanjing Road and the Bund. The hallway always smelt of cigarette smoke but our apartment was fine. Cable TV was useful for my sport-loving sons. Although we had booked ahead and requested an extra bed, it was not setup when we arrived. They had no bed available because we arrived after 7pm so my son slept no the couch (not ideal). Extra bed was 200Y per day. Beds were very hard but linen clean and sufficient. The bathroom looks worn out and needs renovating. Kitchenette has a fridge, microwave and water cooler but no plates, bowls or utensils. We managed a basic breakfast in cups and plastic spoons from a nearby shop in the lilongs. Washing machine and clothes drying rack was a welcome addition since our last stay but the hosepipe costs 50Y per day so make sure you call reception to collect it after laundering or they will charge each day. No breakfast available. You'll find French-style bread and coffee at Paris Baguette on Hubei Road and steamed bread and shallot pancakes on Zheijiang Middle Rd, as well as many quickie marts for milk, yoghurt and juice. We ate our own cereals and headed straight to Yang's Fry Dumpling or similar for...

Mainly because after staying in these apartments anywhere else will seem like a Palace.||This is supposed to be fully serviced. The kitchen contains a fridge / freezer, microwave, 2 ring gas burner and 1 PowerPoint. Don't bother looking for crockery, cutlery, cups, glasses, toaster or kettle.||There is a flat screen TV in the living room. If it seems to be in a strange location that is because it is using the only free power outlet as the freestanding a/c unit and the wireless router (available on request) are using the others.||You will have to re-enter the user name and password at least twice a day, so you won't forget them.||Depending on the room the bodged repairs will have you reattaching door handles or lifting the lid to the WC cistern to re-attach the chain or string which operates the flush.||The cleaner spends around 3 minutes a day in the apartment,any longer and she must be checking out what clothes are hanging in the wardrobe. The bathroom tiles were last cleaned when Mao was in short pants.||Apartments in Shanghai are expensive, costing more than in Singapore so after a few days here you will be glad to pay the prices in a decent...