I stayed at the Golden Tulip Shanghai Riverside for four days in November 2007. The hotel looked good on Expedia.ca, was near a metro station, and was acquired at a decent rate ($70 CDN/night). Having never been to China before, I didn't know what to expect. It is above-average in terms of hotel standards there, but would be no more than 2 star accomodation in North America. The rate, while low for Western standards, was quite high for China and didn't really come with any added perks (like a breakfast for instance, which seemed standard at every other hotel I stayed at during my trip).

Location: outside of the touristy spots, but the metro stop is directly behind the hotel. I actually preferred to stay out of the way, as there was no hassle with "art students"/tea ceremony people or Rolex salespeople. You can walk the streets freely with no distraction or bother. There is some Western-influence as well, as evidenced by the Tesco Supermarket, McDonalds and Papa Johns pizza a block away. However, if it's a truly Eastern experience you are after, you will get it near this hotel as well. Just walk and explore.

Room: Clean and comfortable. The beds are hard, but they are like that everywhere here. Unless you have a large budget, don't mistake the water in the fridge for the complimentary bottled water found in the bathroom...it turned into a costly mistake for us ($8 CDN per 250mL bottle). Ouch! Elevators are REALLY slow.

Staff: There are English-speaking staff. Could have been friendlier though. Comparing it to other hotels I stayed at during my month-long excursion, I'd have to say it was one of the worst. A smile goes a long way. There aren't many to be had here.

In May, I stayed at the Golden Tulip Shanghai Riverside, a hotel situated in Putuo district in Shanghai.

Before going there, I was a bit afraid of the location of the hotel as I didn’t knew where was Putuo area, but it turn out to be a very good experience as this hotel is in a walking distance from the tube station, only few stops from people square and taxi to go down town in very cheep.

This was a very good value for money stay compare to the other hotels
situated down town shanghai that were much more expensive. Rooms are nice and comfortable.

Nice hotel that has changed a lot since the new management took over. Friendly people and you can see that international management is doing them well.
A little far from the centre, but metro is 50 mtrs from the hotel and you can reach down town in 10-15 mins paying only RMB 4 (about € .040!). If you look at this, than staying here is far better value for money than staying down town.
Good and clean rooms, strongly improved breakfast.