Andersen Culture Hotel - Shanghai

Location : conveniently close to the tube station “ North Sichuan Rd “ – 5 mins walking – and located just two metro stops far from “ East Nanjing Rd “ tube station, this hotel is placed in a unique location : Zhapu Lu is a bustling and busy street , full of shops, restaurants ( all in Chinese , hard to find one with English menu ) and street sellers of fruits and snacks . It’s therefore a very lively street but horribly ( for me ) smelly and dirty as well . It’s crossed by the well-known Wujing Lu – “ Shanghai’s most famous street of food “ in which you can really find anything, from noodles to scorpions . Hotel : inside it’s a luxury hotel , a 4 stars one . The entrance, where there’s the receptions, is definitely cosy . There’s also a bar but hardly is it open . If you are lucky enough to find it working, you may pour a decent coffee or a very good tea . They sell excellent croissant ( French style .. Chinese managed to perfectly copy even the French croissants !! ) brioches, cakes and sweets for ridiculous prices ( 5-10 yuan ) . Rooms : as written , we’ve booked two double deluxe rooms – 9th and latest floor - which were definitely cool ! Big, clean, with extremely comfortable beds and a nice view from the window and furnished with tea/coffee making facilities and tv . Really nothing to complain about them .

Staff : here comes the problem … they can’t speak English at all !!! Among a group of 6-7 ladies , only one can understand and speak a little bit of English ( and of course she’s not always there for they have shifts ) . For instance, I needed to book another two nights in the hotel and in order to make them understand what I meant I got helped by a lovely little Chinese girl , that was wandering there in the reception , who translated them the all thing . The fact is that , a part from the one who at least tries to communicate in English , all the others completely don’t care about this problem of language . You ask something in English and they simply reply ( if they do !! ) in Chinese . Most of the times, when you have an enquiry , they just shut their mouths down and say nothing . But they smile . They only smile ( better than nothing, isn’t it ? ) . However, honestly this didn’t cause me such problems . I mean, it’s not something that would prevent me from staying in this hotel again . Luckily we managed to “ survive “ in spite of the lack of communication . The most negative characteristic of this hotel ( I daresay the only “ real “ one ) , is that it doesn’t have wireless . That’s really a disadvantage for tourists ( and for business men / women as well ) who may need to check things out , arrange trips , make check in etc … I was very pissed off when I found it out because in booking’s website was clearly written that the hotel had wireless .

Perfect location (walking distance from the Bund), nice large room, cool bathroom, friendly stuff. Great value for money!

There was no breakfast, even though it was promised in the booking. Finding food is not big deal in China, though.

The location is very bad..the hotel stay at durty street.

The location was good. Albeit, it was a 20-30 minute walk to the Bund but that suited us as there was plenty restaurants with more culture nearby the hotel. The rooms were spacious with a kettle and fridge and internet access is available but you have to request a connection lead for your room.

Upon arrival, we asked the receptionist for information but she was unable to help. We asked if she could possible supply us with a local map so we can explore and get our baring, but they could not offer us one which made it abit difficult initially. If you require a hotel that can assist you as an english speaking tourist, this is not the right hotel but the staff are friendly. We stayed at the hotel for one week and never had our carpets cleaned and they were not clean upon arrival. Everything else was clean. The breakfast choice was not great but you get used to it.