Shanghai - Downtown hotel convenient to metro, airport train, etc.

We will be in Shanghai in July. We want to do a shopping tour as well as see some of the famous sights. One tour meets at the Shanghai City Centre.

We prefer to use the train to go from/to Pudong airport and would like a hotel somewhere near the stop for the train. We are totally unfamiliar with Shanghai, and any suggestions will be welcome.

I am not sure how one defines "city centre" in Shanghai.

By train from Pudong, I assume that you mean the Maglev. This train only makes one stop in the city and it is not a convenient nor interesting place to stay. When you get off the Maglev, you get on the subway in the building adjacent to it.

Shanghai is divided by a river. On the east (dong) side of the river is Pudong, on the west (xi) side of the river is Puxi. Pudong is more modern and is mostly the business district. Most tourist attractions are on the Puxi side (although there are a couple near the river in Pudong). You probably want to stray around People Square, along the Bund (riverside in Puxi) or in the Former French Concession area. The subway goes everywhere so you want to stay close to a subway stop.

Here is a good subway map: https://exploreshanghai.com/metro/

If you want a specific hotel suggestion, you need to give us a budget range.

Price around $150 or less per night. Preference is for Marriott, Hilton, or IHG hotels because of affiliations we have.

Yes, I was referring to the Maglev. You are right that we want to stay near a subway. Is it reasonable to take the train and then transfer to the subway rather than taking some other type of transportation? Getting from the airport to the city faster is good since our time is limited. We'll have just one carry-on bag each so not much luggage to deal with.

You can't bet the speed of the Maglev to get to town.

For the hotel, it will be very hard to get a hotel in the prime locations that I mentioned for this price. The Marriott on People Square is a great location and has amazing views but is more in the $400+ range.

Look at some of the properties of these chains near the train station (it says so in their description).

Not sure of it's convenience to the Maglev, but we stayed at the Grand Central Hotel in 2012. It is right on Nanjing Road which is great for wandering and very convenient to walk to the Shanghai Museum, Yuyuan Garden, etc. Very large rooms, grand lobby. Definitely within your price range.

Joe

I have stayed at Hyatt on the Bund (spectacular views of the Huangpu River and an amazing rooftop bar/restaurant), as well as Hongta Hotel (Pudong area - near Expo center; I was there on business).

Both hotels were approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour from the airport and cruise ports, and also very accessible to the metro stations and HOHO bus routes.

Thanks for all suggestions!

Is it reasonable to take the train and then transfer to the subway rather than taking some other type of transportation?

Yes, I've done it a couple times (I was staying in a hotel on top of a subway station for business, and it happened to be a very convenient subway line from next to the Maglev station). I've also taken taxis from the airport to the hotel & reverse and that works fine too (just have a printout of the hotel name & address in Chinese - most have on their website) and use the OFFICIAL taxi line at the airport.

We also stayed at Hyatt on the Bund and really enjoyed that hotel (we wanted Puxi and views of the river - there aren't a ton of options and this worked really well for us) It's ~10-15 minute walk from a subway station, however. That wasn't a problem for us, but do be aware it's not likely to be a place you want to walk to with luggage. It was not $150/night, however.

We will be in Shanghai in July. We want to do a shopping tour as well as see some of the famous sights. One tour meets at the Shanghai City Centre.

We prefer to use the train to go from/to Pudong airport and would like a hotel somewhere near the stop for the train. We are totally unfamiliar with Shanghai, and any suggestions will be welcome.

Consider staying at the Grand Central Hotel.....our favorite hotel in Shanghai...steps from Nanjing Road and a quick easy walk to the Bund and Metro....Amazing hotel !!!!!

Really...."shopping tour" not necessary at all. Take the subway (metro) to the underground market at the Science and Technology Museum....my favorite place to bargain shop. I usually have to buy another suitcase to get all my loot home :D

Consider staying at the Grand Central Hotel.....our favorite hotel in Shanghai...steps from Nanjing Road and a quick easy walk to the Bund and Metro....Amazing hotel !!!!!

 

Really...."shopping tour" not necessary at all. Take the subway (metro) to the underground market at the Science and Technology Museum....my favorite place to bargain shop. I usually have to buy another suitcase to get all my loot home :D

Yes, that AP Plaza Market by the Science and Technology Museum is where I always go, and I usually end up buying another suitcase. :)

Yes, that AP Plaza Market by the Science and Technology Museum is where I always go, and I usually end up buying another suitcase. :)

Yep...step off that underground metro and I'm in shopping heaven :hearteyes:

A few weeks ago we stayed at the Jinjiang Metropolo Hotel Classiq YMCA. Yes it is an old, converted YMCA but it is a very nice place, rooms were very big and comfortable and our cost was under $150 per night. Within walking distance of a Metro station, Peoples Square, Shanghai Museum and lots and lots of high end shopping including Times Square and the Shanghai Center. It was about a 15 minute walk to the Bund. For the price it cannot be beaten. Marriott, etc were more than twice the price so our Hilton and IHG affinity went out the window. We had a lot of luggage coming off of a 14 night cruise preceded by 3 nights in Hong Kong so we opted for a cab to the airport. That was only 198 CNY or about $28. The Maglev would have been an experience but I don't think there would be a big time saving when you have to deal with waiting for trains, changing to the Metro, walking etc.... A side note, if you get to the Shanghai Center, check out the Blue Frog, best burgers every and a nice break from Asian fare at the end of our trip.