“nice hotel with great pool, but too far from center of Shanghai and internet expensive”

This hotel is mainly for conference parties but has nice swimming pool indoors (outdoor one was closed due to some renovation from June09- about end Aug09) so there was a bit of construction noise. But staff was nice (there were very few people in the hotel) and breakfast buffet was also very good … more

This hotel is mainly for conference parties but has nice swimming pool indoors (outdoor one was closed due to some renovation from June09- about end Aug09) so there was a bit of construction noise. But staff was nice (there were very few people in the hotel) and breakfast buffet was also very good and there was enough even food left for my late morning wakeup... Major problem is that it is far from the city center, although there is a bus to take you within 10 minutes walking distance from main train station. Taxi to station is appx 20RMB. Bus 117 is 2 RMB. It's a good place to relax and there is also a golf practice range, a huge workout room, and albeit a bit shabby, a playground for the under 6. Indoor pool was super, but I would not like to be there during a full conference! But staff are friendly, no complaints. All worked well, even if bathroom was a bit small, it was nice and clean. Ctrip.com has fairly good deals, but search and you may be able to find even better. The only downside was that internet was 50RMB per 24 hours when most give free access.

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“cab driver struggled to find from Shanghai airport”

As part of a high school music tour, our family stayed in the Vivasha last month. We had been warned that Chinese hotel beds were firm, and there was a little more padding than just sleeping on a box spring, but everyone was comfortable. The rooms were small but not cramped, although the room ligh… more

As part of a high school music tour, our family stayed in the Vivasha last month. We had been warned that Chinese hotel beds were firm, and there was a little more padding than just sleeping on a box spring, but everyone was comfortable. The rooms were small but not cramped, although the room lighting in all the hotels in China was dim (bring a battery powered booklamp).As with the rest of our tour, we knew the water was unsafe to drink from the tap so we drank the bottled water and made tea from the electric kettles in each room. You could easily bring packets of instant soup, oatmeal etc. if the Chinese food was not to your taste. You can also buy bottled water in the hotel giftshop and pay in American dollars for it (about a dollar a bottle). Breakfast (Western and Chinese) was a reasonable buffet (croissants and breads, fresh fruit (which my husband, the internal medicine doctor, refused to eat)fried eggs from the Western side) included with the tour. Be sure to print out the map of the hotel (in Chinese, from the Vivasha website) for your cabdriver before you leave home. Even with the map, he made a wrong turn and finally turned off the meter; however the cab fare for 4 people for a spotless minivan from the Shanghai airport with tons of luggage was still US $15 (equivalent, in yuen, and no tippiing). The hotel is on spacious, landscaped grounds, a little island, surrounded by high rise apartment buildings; very quiet, despite the train tracks a block away. It was at least 30 minutes by tour bus from the Bund, depending on traffic. The outdor pool was dirty and not swimmable; we were so busy touring I did not see the indoor pool or sports court on the premises. Laundry was very cheap and excellent quality, in by 9AM, back by 5. Some of the staff spoke minimal English, but they would always summon a manager.

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“Very average.....a bit of sprucing up would do it good.”

Large and spacious, yet with a rather unwelcoming ambience. Room cleanliness not upto the mark, lounge services too slow. The breakfast spread though vast is more oriental , catering obviously to local clientele rather than tourist. Quality of service hampered as most staff have no more than a sm… more

Large and spacious, yet with a rather unwelcoming ambience. Room cleanliness not upto the mark, lounge services too slow. The breakfast spread though vast is more oriental , catering obviously to local clientele rather than tourist. Quality of service hampered as most staff have no more than a smattering of English. If a tourist look for amore tourist-friendly place.

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