Atour Hotel Ziwei Road Zhangjiang Shanghai

Good Hotel in nice area, Very Very Friendly Staff, Language issue as not lot of English trained Staff, poorly managed Restaurant. Room Comfort good.

This hotel has Victorian styling and trim everywhere. Just staying here feels like an adventure -something that you cannot really find in bigger chains. The staff is extremely friendly and does their absolute best to make you feel comfortable. Knowing a little Mandarin will help get what you want overall but they have always been able to find someone who can speak English at all hours of the day/night. The rooms have clean/comfortable beds and pillows and highspeed internet. Power is completely turned on/off via roomkey insert which is very eco. However in the winter this also turns off the heat which makes for an extremely cold room when returning from work. The only two complaints I have are the design of the shower/bath which tends to flood the entire bathroom floor during use. The other is that their eco-minded practice of aerating the building through opening windows tends to make for very cold hallways in the winter. Breakfast is Chinese style with a few western tidbits available. It is overall simple but is tasty and does the job. They don't have a gym, spa, or pool, but I heard that a massage parlor will be available in a few months. The surrounding area has a very Shanghai local feel with a modest variety of shops and a good variety of restaurants from street food to banquet hall cuisine with prices that will actually be difficult to break the budget. Other more touristy places are easily reached within a few minutes via taxi.

Positives: 1. This hotel is located close to the Zhangjiang High Tech Park, so if you are going to be spending time there, it is very convenient. I walked to and from the site where I was working every day. 2. The hotel is relatively new, but modelled in a very old-fashioned style, certainly more character than the big chains would typically produce. The staff were very friendly and helpful. 3. The rates were very competitive and constituted good value. 4. The most basic room was large, clean and comfortable. Wired internet was reasonably fast, and all services worked well. Kettle and (empty) fridge included. Iron and board supplied on request. Negatives: 1. If you are going to visit downtown Shanghai, you are a long way away. I wouldn't say this is suitable for a tourist. 2. The hotel is dimly lit. 3. The restuarant was closed and I believe it serves breakfast, although I didn't eat there. There are several decent restuarants nearby. 4. There do not appear to be any sports facilities. 5. Couldn't find any non-Chinese TV channels. Would welcome CNN and BBC News.

Desk Staff were very friendly and welcoming with good English. Whilst out of the way, the hotel is surrounded by interesting markets and is a 15min walk from the subway system which will get you almost anywhere in Shanghai. In typical Chinese fashion, the beautifully presented hotel is of boarderline workmanship. The shower head fell off the wall (bracket and all), the plug in the bath didn't seal at all, there was no fridge in the room, no microwave or simple cutlery (such as a bottle opener!) . When I had to leave 3 days early there was no refund of the remaining balance paid in advance. A nice place to stay but only if you can get a good cheap deal.

Whoever gives these star ratings should visit and check. This is not a 4-star hotel. Upon entering the lobby, it had the look of "love hotel" with large red LOVE letters lined up. The plastic key was worned out, and the hallway was dark and not air-conditioned (it was 30 degrees C at night). The room was dark due to dark carpeting, and it had dusty smell (probably due to thick dark carpet with patterns). Suffice what I have said so far, you get what you pay for. This was a low-budget hotel. The large rooms had Renaissance-flavored decoration, which comes short on practicality. It was near where I had to go.