We have just arrived back from China. We spent 3 nights in beijing, 2 nights in xian and the last 3 nights in Shanghai.

Although we had the most amazing room, the largest ever! (we upgraded to a horizon room, which I had not done before)

However, i am not sure why but was not left with that wow factor that I have got from other Shangri La hotels.

The hotel was very large, but also a little impersonal.

We still had a great time there and would recommend it. We were just a little spoit in Beijing.

I stayed here at the recommendation of colleagues in Asia. I had business nearby in Pudong so it made sense. Car from and to airport was prompt (600 RMBs each way) and comfortable. Room was OK - sufficient size for one business traveler. I made use of room service for some western sandwiches a few nights - very good and reasonable. I ate breakfast at Starbucks right around the corner and overlooking the river. I had a drink in the bar one night - OK. I did not use the fitness center or pool or restaurants. I bought a disposable camera in the gift shop because I forgot my digital - the camera must have been way past shelf life as all the pictures came out dark. Taxis were very convenient . If you are doing business in Pudong this is a centrally located hotel. I don't want to sound overly critical - because all in all - it not a bad choice. I would stay here again.

Great location on Pudong waterfront, opposite The Bund and fabulous views from Jade Restaurant on 36th floor are quite unbelievable. Spacious and immaculate room in North Tower, excellent room service at a reasonable price but the dreaded Evian water in room hit a new high of 101 yuan ( with service, equivalent to £7 !!! ) for 0.75 litres, about 25 times the cost of purified water on the street ( to be fair they do give you a couple of bottles of the cheaper stuff each day).
Highly trained and friendly staff, outstanding 10 kitchen Yi restaurant does a fine buffet ( Chinese is good too), so no complaints.......our best hotel of 5 in China and well worth its 5 star rating.

Stayed here for a conference in March. Had a standard room in the new tower - very spacious, good size bathroom etc. Rooms with numbers ending 60, 61, or 62 are larger (with a tv in the bathroom) and have better views (onto the Bund) than any of the ones ending in 50-something (which look onto the Jinmao tower and the IFC building site - quite noisy).

Ate in the hotel a few times. The Chinese restaurant on the ground floor (Gui Hua Lou) is alright, food was fine, but service was really patchy - loads of mix ups with drinks, and some dishes took forever to arrive.

The Yi Cafe on the first floor has a massive breakfast and lunch buffet - avoid lunch on the weekend if you can. I turned up on Sunday and the place was packed with little children running all over the place and congregating around the pudding/dessert area.

Had tea in the lobby lounge in the new tower - nothing special. Poor selection, and very smoky.

Ordered room service - arrived promptly every time.

The gym and pool in the new wing are pretty good - reasonable selection of free weights, but not too many cardio machines.

Used the business centre a few times. It's good - you get your own semi-private open office area, but costs a fortune - printing is RMB10 per sheet and internet access is something like RMB150 per 15 minutes.

Easiest way to get to the Bund from the hotel is to take the Tourist Tunnel - really tacky and silly, but fun. The shopping mall next to the hotel has a couple of good places to eat if you get bored of staying inside - a Western pasta/smoothie place on the ground floor, and a branch of the Ding Tai Feng dumpling chain on one of the higher floors.

Overall, a good hotel if you're here for work, but probably not right for a leisure traveller.