The trick is to stay at the newly renovated Shanghai room or club level, slightly more expensive (my company has a corporate rate) than the standard room (everyone on this site complained about) - new rooms are better decorated, with separate shower stall, beautiful bathrooms and Plasma TV. I personally like Portman, it's a convinient place to stay for a foreigner who does not speak chinese (don't need to carry a hotel card with the name in chinese, every taxi driver in town knows "portoman"), service is efficient (they always greet me on the curbside if I order airport transfer and have all the papers ready to sign, no wait in line for check in). Also, very convinient to have everything you might need at hand and with staff speaking great english - airline offices, western run medical center, banks, wine store, element fresh, pharmacy, post office, etc. I have stayed at other 5 star international hotels in Shanghai and none of them can beat Portman on location front.

I have long preferred to stay with the Portman, given its location, service and well-established reputation in Shanghai. This last visit shattered my earlier opinions.

The hotel is looking worn and old and in desperate need of a makeover if it is to survive competition from the Four Seasons, JW Marriott and other five star brands appearing across the river in Pudong.

Some particular disappointments: 1) the Internet LAN cable is too short to reach the bed, and WiFi is unavailable; 2) the shower head was old and rickety; 3) towels, although large in size, were quite rough on the skin; 4) amenities are generic and cheap; 5) staff was inattentive (nobody was in the lobby to take my suitcase at check-out, or to bring it to the taxi stand); 6) the very old television’s remote control did not work well, requiring me to jam my fingers into the buttons to change a channel.

For leisure travelers, the hotel is not a suitable choice given its location and focus on business guests. For business travelers, consider the Four Seasons or JW Marriott as strong alternatives.

Until the hotel completes a significant renovation, I would avoid this place and spend the money at a property with more value for cost.

This is not a nice hotel especially for a Ritz Carlton. I have stayed at multiple Ritz Carlton's worldwide and this has to be the worst. It is "tired" and needs major updating from everything from the Lobby to the rooms. Skip staying here and spend the money at the JW Marriott or the Four Seasons in Shanghai. This hotel needs a major renovation and until it has one I will not stay here again.

We were a bit stunned when we first arrived at the hotel... this is no standard Ritz Carlton. The hotel is huge and thus impersonal, i.e. lack of the signature of the personal touch at other Ritz Carlton.

Language problem could post a barrier... although most of the service staff could speak some English, they would get lost if you try to get into details. However, they were snobbish enough to provide more attentive service to foreigners over "locals". I am an Ethnic Chinese, and thus was always put at the end of the queue trying to get enquiry at the concierge. But other than that, I'd say the reception and concierge were still courteous enough.

We stayed at a standard room and didn't find the room to be "small" as read here previously, but the furniture were indeed very dated. However, this "antique-ness" did disperse this feeling of the old Shanghai, just like a very gracious old lady. In fact, I did quite fall for the atmosphere after the first day.

The only complaints of the room would be the dimly lit room (ok in the day time with the sun shining in) after the sun gone down; and the small bathroom which had a leakage in the toilet bowl (service was swift though... it was repaired during our short trip out to dine), and no separate shower cubicle.

The gym was well equipped and opened 24 hours (I hope I remember right), and the swimming pool was of good size comparing to other hotels in Shanghai. There was even a mini-supermarket attached to the block which sold some good quility deli, but at a price of course!

With its excellend location, this hotel is still on my list of choice hotels for my next trip to Shanghai.