Hangzhou, Suzhou and Shanghai - Hotel Reccomendations

sal78 on 17/02/2016 - 12:13
Last edited 17/02/2016 - 12:26 by 1 other user

Hi guys

We just organised a quick last minute trip in 2 weeks time. Please recommend me hotels in those cities. I want something nice but we are literally staying just 1 night in each place and moving from town to town so we won't be spending much time in the hotel except to sleep.

In Shanghai, where is the best area to stay? Nanjing or the Bund? I'm tempted to book Fairmont Peace because it's such a landmark building but not sure if it's worth it for just 1 night. Has anyone stayed there before? We will be arriving at Hongqiao station early am and departing after checkout next day from Shanghai station to Suzhou.

Thanks any tips would be greatly appreciated too. We are Chinese but do not speak Mandarin and I'm worried about getting lost etc. It's still hard to get by without Mandarin

• 

  Schema on 17/02/2016 - 12:28

  "i'm tempted to book Fairmont Peace because it's such a landmark building but not sure if it's worth it for just 1 night. "

  What would be different about the hotel if you were to stay multiple nights?

  If you're going there and you're temped about it, just go for it!

• 

  [Deactivated] on 17/02/2016 - 12:34

  Went 3 years ago, stayed 2 weeks with family in Shanghai, and 4 days in hotel with missus. Hotels are aplenty, if you want to pay extra to stay near the Bund then that's up to you, else find one near a train station (bus is meh, crowded), train I found to be excellent, comes VERY frequently. Get one of those Opal card equivalent and top up as necessary, train is cheap. Download an app for your phone that 1) asks you start/end station and it'll tell you where to get off and change to which lane, and 2) shows you where the nearest train station is in relation to you. It was super easy to get around that way, We never felt like we were lost.

  You'll find that hotel reception speak some english (ours was actually really good), some shop owners knows the usual sales pitch few lines, big shopping centers and establishments will have concierge that can converse with you, the rest knows minimal to none.

  P.s. I know you will but enjoy the food! It was just absolutely fantastic, the street food costs damn peanuts and most of the restaurants (granted taken there by local relatives) were all great true flavours and the bill for 12 one night was I think 400yen with plenty left over.
  P.p.s. Ate fried dumplings like every morning, $1/person :P

• 

  minski on 17/02/2016 - 15:06

  Shanghai is a big city. Given you will only have one day to spend there, you will want to stay near the attraction you want to visit. So figure out where you want to go first, then find a place nearby. The Bund and Nanjing Rd is within walking distance (~10min walk) from each other, so you can't go wrong if you're staying around that area. You'll be in the heart of the city. The Yu Garden and Cheng Huang Temple is also nearby (to the south of Bund), which are popular with tourists. Think Vic Market style souvenir shops and famous for the steamed pork buns (Xiao Long Bao).

  If you can read Chinese characters, get the Baidu maps app from (map.baidu.com), which is like google maps (all google apps are blocked in China) and will give you both walking directions and journey plans for public transport. Even without knowing Chinese, you could probably figure out the basics from the icons, since it looks very much like google maps.

• 

  xabiso on 17/02/2016 - 17:44

  I went to Hangzhou for a year on exchange. The East Hotel Hangzhou, 杭州逸酒店 , it is a place I really like - value for money, comfy and perfect for a nights stay. Hotel staff speak English and helped us catch a cab to the main train terminal. You can read up the reviews on booking.com or tripadvisor.

• 

  sal78 on 18/02/2016 - 17:21

  wow awesome advice!

  our itinerary is

  day 1 arrive Hangzhou 11pm
  day 2 morning bullet train to shanghai 60mins
  day 3 after checkout train to Suzhou, get locker at station for luggage and spend the day in Suzhou. catch bus to Tongli in afternoon and stay one night.
  Day 4 explore Tongli and Suzhou. afternoon train to Hangzhou. how is the Westlake impressions show at night?
  day
  day 5 explore Hangzhou. catch the 11pm flight to Singapore
  day 6 Singapore to batam for 1 night
  day 7 our last night in Singapore, probably marina bay sands or something as nice and check out kudeta.
  day 8 night flight home.

  got the scoot Tuesday special for $169 one way and a bit extra to Hangzhou. Looking forward to the food and cooler weather in Hangzhou. Just need to escape this heatwave!