“It must have gotten better over the past few years”

My host at Shanghai Normal University booked two nights for me in this hotel and after reading the reviews I thought about making some excuse and booking a room elsewhere. In the end I decided to stick with this place owing to its proximity to the University. What I discovered is that the place i… more

My host at Shanghai Normal University booked two nights for me in this hotel and after reading the reviews I thought about making some excuse and booking a room elsewhere. In the end I decided to stick with this place owing to its proximity to the University. What I discovered is that the place is decent. I'm not sure how the other reviewers define as a bad or dangerous neighborhood, but I found it to be fine. Plenty of nearby places to eat, including a very popular Szechuan place. The WiFi worked well, the bed was fine and the linens were clean. Standard amenities in the room, including a pot to make hot water. The staff don't speak English, but courtesy an app on their phone they were able to quickly help me when my key didn't work one afternoon. Now, this is not a tourist area and the hotel has its negatives. They would do well to call Stanley Steamer as the carpets in the my room and the hall needed cleaning. The air conditioning was marginally effective as my room was a constant 26 C despite setting it to 21 C. Bottom line, it's a much better hotel than the older reviews suggest, but it ain't the Ritz.

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