This Marriott is brand new and beautiful. The rooms are immaculate and breakfast was very good with a multitude of selections.

Do make sure to have directions in Chinese to the hotel for taxis, as since it is new most do not know where it is.

Overall, my favorite Marriott, and I am excited to stay here again in the future.

First a warning: I’m a Marriott Platinum member (75+ nights/year in Marriott hotels) and so my experience might not be representative for all travellers.

I stayed here for 4 nights on an award (points) stay, choosing it over the JW Marriott as it was 2 categories cheaper and it had been recommended by a colleague. It was definitely one of the best Marriott experiences I've had - and this is amongst some pretty strong competition from a lot of Asian properties.

Arrival
The hotel is very close to People's Square but we ended up getting a taxi as our guide (friend) got a bit lost and we ended up going the wrong way down the street. In short, get out of the station, Exit Gate No.7 or No. 19 and then look towards East Nanjing road and go left along the road that is parallel with it (away from the park) for around 5 minutes and the hotel is on your left. FYI - Chinese of hotel:上海雅居乐万豪酒店 Address地址:西藏中路555号(近长沙路牯岭路). (Taxi driver didn't know where it was though as it is new)

Anyway, once there, lots of bellmen and an early checkin (10.30am) and suite upgrade, thankyouverymuch! I found the lobby was pretty interesting, one of the most impressive chandelier-type ceilings I've seen covered pretty much the whole ceiling, which went up perhaps 10m. As we were there at Christmas there was also a little Christmas gingerbread house and a (rather thin young lady) Santa.

Room
Very spacious room, a welcome bowl of fruit, biscuits and bottle of French red wine. The suite had one large LCD TV per room and a separate bedroom, a toilet plus a seating area with enough room for 4/5 people (two comfy chairs and a sofa). Plus, extra nice, a nexpresso machine too. The main bathroom had a large bath and walk-in shower, plus (as standard in Chinese hotels) a large window onto the bedroom. We had a spectacular view looking out towards the park (there were buildings in the way but on the 28th floor it didn't make much difference), and a night it was marvellous. Its easier to show the room than describe it anyway so I have pictures with this review

Executive Lounge
The lounge actually takes up most of the 25th floor with a large amount of seating so it never felt crowded. Evening "snacks" could have fed you if you desired with a cheese/meat/fruit selection, hot dumplings/European finger foods. Lots of alcohols and a delicious set of deserts. Breakfast was similarly extensive with bacon, chicken sausage, dumplings, congee and then a large selection of salmon/meat/cheese/fruit/cereal. In addition there was an egg menu (scrambled, poached, boiled or omelette) that you could order from your seat. There were also a nice selection of fruit juices which all did taste freshly squeezed. Free drinks were served from 5.30 till 9.30, desert came out with the main food (always appreciated) and they cleared the food (excluding desert) at around 8pm, so a little later than specified. Whilst we could eat breakfast in the main restaurant we were more than happy with the lounge so never tried it.

Service
Where the hotel excelled - This was the first time in a Marriott where the staff across the board were aware of my name - particularly the concierge and lounge staff, they seemed to have a very good system as there were a number of concierges working at different times but still welcomed us by name when we walked in the lobby. The most impressive example of the service for me was when we came down to wait for a friend in the hotel lobby, we'd only just sat down when two towels and a bottle of water each were presented to us by name whilst we waited for 5 minutes. We were personally escorted to our room on arrival as well. I realise there is a lot of competition with a lot of Marriotts in this city but I'd come back for this level of attentiveness. The concierge also arranged train tickets for us (45CNY booking fee) and pretty much ran towards us when we arrived back that day to hand us the tickets (we paid/booked in the morning) and did offer a number of other things (rotating restaurant for example) that we didn't take up.

I think this was my 10th trip to Shanghai and I've stayed in a number of Puxi hotels (JW Marriott, Raddison Blu New World City, etc.) but I decided to stay at this hotel because it's new and the location is very good. We were not disappointed.

The hotel is located near People's Square (which is the closest subway stop) just a few blocks from Nanjing Road (Nanjing Lu) which is a famous shopping street. The hotel itself is beautiful with a very nice lobby, and the guest room on the executive level was much better than a standard US Marriott. We got a free upgrade for being Marriott Gold level members, but I saw the normal rooms and they looked very similar so I don't think there's a huge difference other than access to the executive floor lounge.

The staff was excellent and helpful. English is always a challenge in China even in the best hotels, but the staff at this Marriott spoke English better than most. The doormen were especially helpful and friendly. One was singing "Happy New Year" to guests opening doors -- he seemed to be having a good time.

Definitely print the address and the map in Chinese before you take a taxi. Because the hotel is new, the taxi drivers have no idea where it is. I found it helpful to go to Marriott's web site, switch the language to Chinese, and print the home page of the hotel which has the address and a link to a map in Chinese. Trust me on this -- you'll need it.

Internet was WiFi and wired, and speed was average for China (slow) but tolerable and free if you join Marriott Rewards program.

The fitness center was nice, but could have used better free weights. The sauna and steam rooms are free to guests and very, very nice (not to mention empty) -- much larger than normal for a hotel of this size.

We didn't eat in the hotel, so I can't comment on the restaurants. Overall, I'd highly recommend the hotel if you're staying in Puxi!

One tip: if you need a taxi call down in advance. It can take 10-15 minutes for them to hail a taxi because of the location.

Spent 6 nights at this hotel in November, right after it opened. Service was excellent and facilities top notch. The exercise facilities were a step above most hotels. I was very impressed with the locker room. It contained both a dry and wet sauna and the locker room itself was better than any gym I've visited. Staff is very attentive (sometimes maybe too much). The concierge service is great, and the food at the restaurants is very good. The executive floor staff did everything they could to make our stay enjoyable and stress free.

The hotel is across from People's Square and easy walking distance to the main shopping are. It's a good 20 minute walk to the Bund.