Introduction to Shanghai
Chicago O’Hare American Airlines Flagship Lounge
American Airlines ORD-PVG 777-200 Business Class
Le Royal Meridien Shanghai Hotel Review
The Westin Bund Center Shanghai Hotel Review Part 1
The Westin Bund Center Shanghai Hotel Review Part 2
The Hongta Hotel Shanghai Review
Twelve at Hengshan Shanghai Hotel Review
Four Points by Sheraton Shanghai Pudong Hotel Review
My Experience on the Shanghai Maglev Train
The Sights and Sounds of Nanjing Road and the Shanghai Bund
The Sights and Sounds of the Yuyuan Garden in Shanghai
The Sights and Sounds of the French Concession in Shanghai
The Sights and Sounds of Pudong Shanghai
The Sights and Sounds of Qipu Lu (Cheap Road) in Shanghai
Scam City: Shanghai Edition
The Various Restaurant Eats in Shanghai
The Various Street Foods in Shanghai Part 1
The Various Street Foods in Shanghai Part 2
The Various Street Foods in Shanghai Part 3
Shanghai Pudong Airport First Class Lounge
Shanghai Pudong Airport Dragonair and Cathay Pacific Lounge
American Airlines PVG-ORD 777-200 Business Class
I decided to stay at the Hongta Hotel because I want to try out the different neighborhoods of Shanghai. The Hongta Hotel was previously a St. Regis and has recently been rebranded which is now part of the Starwood Luxury Collection. I paid a ridiculously low amount of 550 CNY ~ $89 USD due to my corporate rate which is unheard of at a Luxury Collection hotel.
It was pretty easy getting to The Hongta, even though it’s across the river in the Pudong district. Since I stayed at the Le Royal Meridien the previous night, I took the Metro Line 2 from People’s Square to the Century Avenue metro station. There was no changing of lines involved and it was a quick 10-15 minute walk to the hotel from the Century Avenue metro station.
The basic properties of a high end Shanghai hotel is some sort of water display in the front with a grand luxurious lobby.
During check-in, I was recognized as a Platinum member and was offered my choice of Platinum amenity. Since the hotel had a Club Lounge, I decided to take the 500 Starpoints as a welcome amenity. The agent advised me that as a Platinum guest, I would get free wifi, evening appetizers at the Club Lounge, and my choice of breakfast held at the Club Lounge or lobby restaurant. She advised me that the lobby restaurant offered more choices, but having breakfast at the Club Lounge meant a more intimate setting.
I used a Suite Night Award upgrade a week prior to check-in and was placed into a Grand Luxe Suite. The suite was very large and the living room contained an executive desk with a fax machine, sofa, tv, and a welcome letter with assorted fruits and cookies amenity. In addition, there were two bottles of water next to the TV.
The bedroom was very quaint and contained a king sized bed with a dresser and TV.
The bathroom was located by the door entryway. The bathroom had a separate shower and bathtub area with a ton of Aloe Vera Luxury Collection bath amenities.
The best thing about this hotel was being able to watch TV from the bathtub. My favorite TV channel in Starwood hotels is SPG TV since I love being able to see what kind of aspirational properties I might want to stay at.
The Club Lounge is called “The Executive Lounge and Library” which is located on the 40th floor. You need get to the 39th floor and take a private elevator to the 40th floor to get into the lounge.
The Lounge had a good spread of hot and cold items such as chicken, pasta, soup, fried chicken, potato wedges, and various cold meats.
I had a little bit of everything since I was hungry and didn’t want a heavy dinner later that evening.
I decided to have breakfast in the main lobby restaurant since it was an option for Platinum members to either have breakfast in the lounge or restaurant.
Breakfast the next morning consisted of freshly baked breads, various pastries, fruit, yogurt, fish with sausage and cauliflower, boiled eggs, bok choy, mushrooms, steamed vegetables, and baked beans.
In addition, there were chicken sausages, pork sausages, shanghai noodles, fried rice, congee, dim sum, cold meats, pancakes, bacon, fried potato wedges, French toast, Chinese fried dough sticks, and salad.
There was also a chef’s station where you can order an omelet and cooked to order eggs.
I had a little bit of everything since I am a huge foodie.
I decided to go up to the Club Lounge to see the difference in their buffet spreads. It was definitely a more intimate setting since there were only a few people having breakfast.
The spreads were similar but in a very smaller scale and even had a chef for the omelets and cooked to order eggs, any style.
The Hongta Shanghai is definitely a top notch hotel in the Pudong business district. The service was fantastic from the friendly check in agents to the servers in the restaurant. I would highly recommend this hotel if you have nearby business in the Pudong district. The location is great since you can get around anywhere in Shanghai with the nearby Century Avenue metro which is a major interchange station that serves 4 metro lines.
One thing I’ve notice at most of the Shanghai and Beijing high end hotels I’ve stayed at is that the gloss is diminished by the poor construction quality. You’ll notice that tiles are not mounted square or flush to the wall, that sealing grout is very uneven, that doors are not quite square etc. These aren’t gross issues, but if you look for them you’ll start to see them everywhere. kind of like ‘it looks like baby formula but . . .’
Completely agree with the observation. It takes a few days but once you start noticing it once, you notice it everywhere. However, it looks great in photos when taken far enough away and in the right light with the right furniture blocking the imperfections.
Did they ask for any ID on your corporate rate? Or any of the other shanghai hotels?
yes they did