Was there for 4 days in may 2008
That was my second time in this hotel
First time I was in standard rooms which were SO SO
Took deluxe room this time including internet . Was lot better than first time, room more spacious with couch and extra place for working desk

Staff more or less welcoming
Location is very interresting( 10 minutes walking from BUND)
For 100$ US a night , I think I got what I paid for

Mike from Montreal

We booked 2 nights in a standard room at Hengsheng (via "rates to go"). We weren`t told that standard room means dump! As we came into the room we were completly disappointed. It was dark, raunchy, hackneyed and completly uncourtious! In front of the window were concrete pillars so that you couldnt see anything. We changed into another standard room that was better but as you can see with our photos still a catastrophy: The bathroom was full with mold! The ancient shower was so small-sized that you touch the nasty rottenness during showering. The kitchenet, espacially the fridge was also dirty, grubby and really disgusting! Not to be about to use it!
We asked for changing into a superior room which was also low standard.
The staff was nearly always very rude and unhelpful: E.g.: once I was running on a treadmill in the gym a rude charwomen came in an shouted and screamed at me in Chinese. She treated me like a criminal! She did not stop accosting me till a English speaking women came and asked me if I am a hotel guest. Absurd!

On the top floor you can find a bar, from where you have a georgeous view at the Bund. It could be reached by a vitreous elevatour. Anyway we don`t recommend this hotel!

Location: About a 15-minute quick walk to the Bund or Nanjing Road. Similar walk time, if not a bit longer to the nearest subway station. Located two blocks from a not so nice 'massage' district. Lots of beggars on this street as well if it's apparent that you're foreign.

It's about a 45 minute taxi ride from Hongqiao Airport and closer to an hour to Pudong (assuming no traffic for the latter).

You will definitely experience the 'real' Shanghai at this hotel since it's not in a major tourist area- you can walk in any direction to see what life is really like for the majority of locals.

Accomodation: Not that impressed with this hotel even though it's only about 5 years old. The room carpet was disgusting- it was never vacuumed while we were there (4 nights) and I doubt it's ever been cleaned. The room was a good size, we had a 'double' bed which was two beds pushed together. There's an in-room safe and a small refrigerator. There was also daily bottles of water which was nice, and lots of toiletries if you need them. You have to pay for internet here (I think it was 50 RMB/day), and there is also a fitness centre with slightly crazy hours of 11 am - 11 pm.

We had a mixture of experiences with the level of English skill at the concierge and check in desk. They were helpful, though, in writing our destinations in Chinese if we did take a cab anywhere.

Overall: We got what we paid for with this hotel in Shanghai, but I would not recommend or return to it.

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.