I was a bit disappointed when I had read reviews online that said the hotel is centrally located. Centrally located to me means being able to walk outside and within 5 minutes be in the center of a shopping area, metro stop, or restaurants. Hengsheng was not near everything except a Starbucks across the street. Even walking to the Bund took a good 20 minutes as you can't walk over the main bridge but have to go out of the way to get to a side bridge and then circumnavigate your way back to the river. This is only a good place to stay if you want to take cabs everywhere. But even the cab drivers get upset if you want to go short distances (like to Nanjing Road East shopping area). It's not a long walk (20 minutes) but if you're in a hurry or not in the mood to walk, you have to deal with a grumpy cab driver.

The room was nice but small and the carpet was subpar considering they call themselves a 4 star hotel. The staff were friendly enough but for a 4 star hotel you would expect them to have some sort of travel service in their hotel to help book train tickets (a nightmare process in China if you don't know Chinese) or airline tickets. Instead they told us that we had to go to a different hotel down the street. They also charge $7 a day for internet usage which is fine except the internet is slow.

We changed hotels after 2 nights and ended up at the East Asia hotel on Nanjing Road East. Although it's only a 2 star hotel, the carpet was cleaner and the furniture a little simpler but the staff helped us book train tickets and the location was very central and only a 5 minute walk from the metro and 15 minutes to the Shanghai Museum. Plus the internet was free. Slow, but free.

Hotel staff spoke limited English, some spoke no English. I reserved a Suite for 3 people that included internet through Travelocity. When we checked in they gave us a standard room that overlooked the Bund on the 14th floor. I went back to the front desk and was told the room they gave us was a suite. Communication was difficult because the two persons at the check in spoke limited English. I finally spoke to as Asst. Manager who went to the 14th floor with me. She looked at the room and told me it was an "upgrade" because of the view. I asked her for the suite I had paid for and she moved us far, far away to a remote corner. The room we got needed renovation, the living room area had only 2 chairs and a TV that worked intermittently. The room had 2 very small bathrooms. The carpets were very dirty and there were holes in the walls from pictures being taken town. It looked like the room was in the middle of renovation. We were told it was our only option. The breakfast restaurant was very dirty. They sat us at dirty tables every morning and it was difficult to impossible to get a cup of coffee. The food was horrible at best. The concierge staff steered us in wrong directions on 2 occasions. I hope they deliberately didn't do it, it just seemed odd it happened 2 times! They had a nice lounge in the lobby area for morning coffee and late nite drinks and a 26th floor lounge that was nice for a drink late at night. The on premise massage people were horrible! Very poorly trained and the rooms were dirty. It's about 20 minute walk to the Bund, better to take a taxi.

I spent 5 nights at the hotel in Dec-Jan 2007-2008. I had some doubts about it after reading the reviews here before leaving for China... Here's my thoughts about the stay.

Location:
Ok. Longer than 100 metres to the Bund though (despite what the hotel says), we soon got tired of walking to and from the centre. The helpful doormen got us taxis almost every day, it's so cheap! Y11 (€1,1)) for a cab to People's Square.
And across the street there is a Starbucks! :)

Cleanliness:
When me and my friends booked our rooms there were only Deluxe-rooms left. It wasn't much more expensive and i'm so GLAD we ended up in those rooms. Clean, good beds - but the carpet in both rooms was gross, no walking barefoot and almost not in socks either... Luckily the hotel provided slippers.
Clean bathrooms! And hot water all the time.

Staff:
Friendly overall... but not everyone were what we would consider service-minded.

Warning:
You'll have to pay Y500 as a deposition upon arrival. We complained, because we thougt it was way too much and got some really unpleasant replies. Anyway, be prepared. A friend who stayed in another hotel paid Y200.

Food:
Don't spend money on their breakfast. Y80. Too expensive. We came to breakfast around 9.30 and people were still coming in after us. The trays were empty and the huge amount of workers didn't manage to fill them. What they had wasn't that good. Grab a cab and go somewhere else to eat, as we did after that first day.
The restaurant is also overpriced.

TV:
Yes, CNN Asia and HBO. I know what you're thinking: Why go to China to watch TV?? But after 10 hours of walking it feels nice to watch some bad movie and relax in the comfortable bed!


Would I stay there again:
Sure, I wouldn't mind it at all! But for my own convenience maybe I would choose something that's closer to Nanjing Rd and the metro.
Ajust the heating before going out in the evening in winter, otherwise the room will be freezing cold when you get back in.

Have a nice time in Shanghai, I love the city!

Close to HongQiao airport.
No problems getting a non-smoking room.
All staff spoke at least a little English and were helpful.
Room was clean, newish, and i loved soaking in the bath while watching t.v after a long day's sightseeing.
Room stayed nice and warm - important in winter.
Softest bed i've had while in Asia!!
Some construction on tall building next door but nothing that i found too disturbing.
A very short walk to main sights (Bund, tunnel to Pudong, shopping streets etc), restaurants/bars.
Great local eatery across the road, where they make excellent xiaolongbao (shanghai dumplings) and soup noodles - very friendly people and delicious, cheap food.
Don't bother paying extra for breakfast at the hotel- very average. There's a Starbucks across the road to get you started until you find a better place for breakfast.
Overall, a wonderful 4 nights at HengSheng Peninsula International. I will stay there again.