Courtyard By Marriott Shanghai Hongqiao

“Affordable courtyard with one of the best breakfast experiences”

Highlights - My absolute highlight was the Service from breakfast buffet. The complete service team was so focused and hotel guests orientated they treated us like a king with perfection. - Dream from the front desk team was able to check me in already at noon time and answered all my questions pro… more

Highlights - My absolute highlight was the Service from breakfast buffet. The complete service team was so focused and hotel guests orientated they treated us like a king with perfection. - Dream from the front desk team was able to check me in already at noon time and answered all my questions professionally - The room was cozy and clean according to international courtyard standard Improvement potential - The room windows don’t have high-quality. I could hear the noises from the traffic outside throughout the night. I was able to open one of the window for the fresh air, but it could not be closed completely.

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“Shanghai visit to NECC”

Nice and clean new property but some rooms have construction noise in day time due to many under construction buildings are the property. Near by money exchange is about 1500 meters walk at the National Exhibition and conference Centre. Staff is friendly

“Needs better English spoken”

This was the first hotel on a three week business trip to Asia, and chosen for brand, location to a degree (close to Hongqiao station and airport - both together), and in case of emergency assistance, although the latter thankfully not needed. As Chinese taxis do not take MasterCard or Visa, choos… more

This was the first hotel on a three week business trip to Asia, and chosen for brand, location to a degree (close to Hongqiao station and airport - both together), and in case of emergency assistance, although the latter thankfully not needed. As Chinese taxis do not take MasterCard or Visa, choosing Ali or Union Pay or cash (RMB), I chose the hotel car to meet me in Pudong. Pre-booking this a while in advance was impossible via any type of booking form, and emails went unanswered. Trying to find a phone number was also difficult, but success in the end when I found the front desk number. This is where I noted the use and understanding of English was limited. Speaking to the front desk was hard, and eventually I confirmed everything by email to be sure. Granted, when I found someone with a good grasp of English and emailed back to confirm, I felt confident this would be OK. To their credit, the pick up was fine and delivered to the hotel. The hotel is 1 hr from Pudong Airport and only 10 minutes if you come in to Shanghai Hongqiao airport (from Beijing etc.), not long haul. A Chinese taxi will cost about 350 RMB (£38) with the hotel at 550 RMB or £60. You decide, but at least the hotel charge to your room rather than Chinese taxi man not allowing you to take your luggage until he is paid. Check in was fine, room very clean, good supply of daily bottled water, and mainly continental plugs, some 2-pin and some 3-pin but not UK, so take an adapter. The a/c was a big issue, and being unable to get the room down to 20 C, asked for help from the front desk. I didn't expect to have to change rooms at 9.30 pm but faced with heat or comfort, I opted for comfort. Even moving rooms didn't totally fix the problem and I feel the master thermostat is set to 24 C so take it as that. TV selection virtually all Chinese which is surprising for a western brand hotel in Shanghai. Shower and toilet all very clean and good with a good selection of wash items if needed. In room tea making facilities and a fridge did well to keep me hydrated. The lobby doubled as the main meeting area, and although a selection of 2 and 4 seater areas, not a lot of places to sit if the occupancy exceeded 20 at any point. A coffee shop in the lobby does a small trade during the day. Personally I think there should be more options for food instead of relying on the restaurant (if open). The staff looked bored at all times. The restaurant was busy in the morning as expected, and a lot of variety to choose from. Very helpful staff, sometimes too eager to take the plate, but as they got to know me (staying 5 nights) learnt what I like to drink (hot and cold) for breakfast and keen to ensure I was catered for at all times. In the evenings unless there was a buffet or special event ( Seafood Friday), the restaurant was empty. I ate in the hotel in the evening on three occasions due to nothing else near by, and taxi rides away if you want to venture out. The menu is Asian on one side and Western on the other. The Asian food was well prepared and filling. The western aspect left a gap and was not enough if hungry. Being served together if you opted for starter and main, did make it a rush to eat both before they got cold etc. The salmon salad was lacking salmon (see picture) and more a salad with a salmon garnish. The burger is 'OK' and I'd have again in place of the pizza. As the restaurant was so empty, the service lacked atmosphere, and food did take longer than expected to arrive. You'd have thought it would be fast based on chefs having little to do. The music in the lobby/lounge was typical lounge fusion and certainly to my liking. It may not be everyone's favourite, but it kept me busy working in the lobby rather than in the solitary confines of my room. Across the road from the hotel are a couple of local cafes, not really for westerners, and a couple of small grocery stores if you need beverages cheaper than the hotel. There is a lot of building work near the hotel, not that it is noisy, but this is an area that is growing, but for the moment the streets are quiet, almost too quiet. The location of the hotel does not lend itself to venture far with the nearest mall about 2 km walk. Maybe doesn't seem far, but take in 80% humidity and 33 C temperature and you soon melt if out too long. It is about 1.5 km from an exhibition centre, and at the end of Line 2 (green) East Xujing on the metro. The airport and train station is about 3 km from the hotel, but too far to walk and not user friendly if you tried either. Allow 15 minutes by taxi as the queue for the taxis to drop off and get through the front door (security screening at the train station as well as airport), and also the time of the day. Hongqiao station is vast and serves a lot of China. Trains run to time, and you need to book in advance. Ask me more if you want help on this. A lot of the hotel staff are young and I expected a better grasp of English spoken and understood. Unless you have an app to translate, keep all conversations brief and to the point. Trying to ask why my laundry had been taken from my room when not ready was impossible. It returned when needed, but I hadn't completed the form etc. so trying to get them to understand my questions, I soon gave up. In the restaurant asking about portion size, I reverted to expanding hands in a circle as trying to ask if a dish was enough proved too much. Being a Marriott hotel I did expect a lot more westerners staying. For three days I was the only westerner, with everyone else of Asian character. Go back a few years and the balance would have been 95% western, 5% local. Now it's the opposite, which might be why the hotel staff have limited opportunity to practice spoken English. Check out should have been easy, and in general it was. I asked for the invoice in RMB to do my expenses, but when it came through it was in GBP and not able to change. Although not the end of of the world, you need to work the fx rate to make it balance when accounting for the stay. Either I was not clear or they didn't listen. The quirky point of the hotel are the little robots touring the hotel taking beverages and snacks to the rooms. They are 'dressed' as male and female and do take priority in the lifts. Very smart, and certainly the way forward, albeit at the expense of people not needed, when these little bots run 24/7 and don't need paying, only a charge here and there. In terms of value for money, this was on par with others, and normal nightly rates you'd expect to pay in Shanghai, and for a Courtyard Marriott. I would stay here again, but only if the English spoken improves. It did become frustrating at times. Also being contained in a hotel with little to do if it's raining outside along with the heat. When there is more to do locally, maybe I'll consider returning. A pool would certainly increase trade and justify a higher room rate.

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“Good stay # ask for a room where the AC actually works”

Room was ready at mid-day, which is unusual for Marriott BonVoy Titanium Elite Members that almost reached 800 nights within less than 5 years and it's a Courtyard by Marriott and not a sub brand. The safe deposit box' battery was low and I could almost, not retrieve my items. In the night the roo… more

Room was ready at mid-day, which is unusual for Marriott BonVoy Titanium Elite Members that almost reached 800 nights within less than 5 years and it's a Courtyard by Marriott and not a sub brand. The safe deposit box' battery was low and I could almost, not retrieve my items. In the night the room temperature increased from 24 to 26.5 C and the air conditioning controller was offline, extremely hot. At approximately 3 am i was offered an alternative, and the other one was a perfectly functioning room / with AC. What was a little bit bothering that I went for the dinner buffet and they don't even offer any Marriott BonVoy Titanium Elite Membership Discount on that. Usually, the other Courtyard, across the whole entire planet, offer a USD 10 / per person, per day voucher, this hotel only offered 500 welcome points. When they took the RMB 1000 deposit from my credit card, they somehow made it look like a "cash withdrawal", which will lead to an additional charge to my credit card. Until today, over 24 hrs after checkout, I wasn't even seeing any invoice or so called "folio" / and I don't even know what I was being charged for the room, no final bill ! The room itself and the location is fine, but I can clearly see that someone here is mismanaging this particular property. Something on the side, not really important, but also quite astonishing: their coffe machines taste like instant coffee, but in their lobby, they sell Lavazza coffee, much better! However, when you offer ice cream for a buffet, there should always be hot water along with the spoon, so you can take it out easier. The rest was fine, just a few flaws that can easily managed by a more qualified hotel manager.

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