Yitel Shanghai Xuhui

Location: The hotel is located about 12km Southwest of the core of Shanghai. The Guilin Park Metro station is immediately across the street from the hotel so, getting around is convenient. There are a number of shops around the hotel providing many services: convenience stores, fruit stands, bakeries, restaurants and a Wal-Mart. Because the area is somewhat removed from the central core of Shanghai, most shop employees as well as the hotel desk personnel do not speak English. Bear in mind that a smile goes a long way here and if they see you are struggling, they do their best to help. TIP: download a translator app (like Google) and the “simplified Chinese” dictionary. This can help with specific inquiries both at the hotel and at local shops. Sleep Quality: The room was a bit stuffy. There is a thermostat in the room but, it did not work very well, only blowing warm air regardless of the thermostat setting. The city cooled in the evening and one could open the window to freshen the room. However, the air quality in Shanghai can be unhealthy so opening the window can cause other issues in the room. Rooms: The room is clean and well appointed. There is a television (look for CCTV News — an English language channel), telephone, USB jacks (2) to directly charge devices. Although China has some unique sockets for electronic appliances, most North American two-pronged electrical cords plug directly in to sockets here. If you have three-pronged plug, you will need an adaptor. Instant coffee (2) and teabags (black & Chrysanthemum), bottled water (2-348ml bottles) are provided and replenished daily. There is also a small, empty refrigerator and a kettle. Also provided are two cups and two drinking glasses. Housekeeping will not clean the cups/glasses during your stay. As well, there was a note in the washroom concerning towel use and a concern for the environment: towels left on the floor would be laundered, anything hung up for future use would be left untouched. It didn’t seem to matter where I left my towels — if it was used, it would get laundered if I left it hanging up or otherwise. The washroom has a rain-style showerhead as well as a hand-held nozzle. Good water-pressure. The hotel provides good quality shampoo, conditioner and body wash. There is a hair dryer along with a number of toiletries (cotton swabs, razor, comb, toothbrush/paste). There is also a spigot for “drinking water” adjacent to the bathroom sink. In the pictures I uploaded you will note there was quite a lot of mold and mildew in the shower/washroom. Such is the plight of hotels in Shanghai. The city is very hot and humid the majority of the year and I understand things can get moldy quickly. Housekeeping staff effectively clean the washroom daily, I just think it’s very hard to keep on top of all the mold. If you are concerned about the sanitary conditions in the washroom, you can do as I did and purchase a small bottle of bleach and give the shower a thorough cleaning. There is a room safe. Also provided: terry cloth robes (2) and slippers (two pairs) in the room. Service: There is a breakfast buffet included with the room. The majority of dishes are more of the traditional Chinese realm and I found I missed the comforts of a “Canadian” breakfast. Mind you, some of Chinese items were delicious. I enjoyed the vegetarian pork (… a bit of a backstory to that one), seaweed salad, congee, noodle bar, and vegetables. There is a bit of an attempt at western breakfast items: side bacon, fried potatoes (in the form of McCain-like potato smiles), fried eggs (cold, greasy), toast, butter and strawberry jam. I ventured over to the Wal-Mart for a jar of peanut butter to supplement breakfast and add familiarity. There are juices, yoghurt, coffee, tea, and fresh fruit (mostly mandarin oranges, cantaloupe, dragon fruit, longan, and watermelon). There is a self-serve laundry machine on the second floor for guests to use on a first-come-first-served basis. Laundry supplies are also provided. This was extremely convenient for an extended stay such as mine. Generally speaking — I highly recommend subscribing to a Virtual Private Network (VPN) before you travel to China for your laptop/tablet/phone. One is easy to download in North America and in Europe but, can be difficult to obtain while in China. Many websites are blocked in China (all social networking site, Google, and many media outlets). A VPN will allow you to remain connected to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and the like if that is important to you. Value: Rooms are well priced around 500 RMB (about 100 CDN or 75USD / night).