Grand Central Hotel Shanghai

The Grand Central Hotel Shanghai is located next to Nanjing road so it’s very central. The decoration of the hotel looks a bit outdated which lots of golden colors and palm trees in the lobby. Upon my arrival the concierge staff helped to take out my luggage from the car and as we were walking inside he wanted to store my luggage and telling me that check in was at 2pm. I arrived at 12pm. I told him I will go to the reception first and brought my luggage with me. The receptionist checked my booked and said the room isn’t ready and asked me to wait. As I was very tired I asked how long I need to wait and he said until 2pm. I asked if I could perhaps double check at 1 pm and he said ok. I checked again at 1pm and the room wasn’t ready. Finally I got the room at about 1:40. The room size was good and the maintenance of the room was ok although a bit worn out but the decoration looks very outdated and makes the room look more old. Moreover, they had some old brochures in the room which doesn’t really apply to today’s needs such as an old Shanghai yellow pages catalogue etc. Furthermore, there was two bottles of water in the room with tags and on the tag it was clearly stated that only two bottles of water is provided per day per room and additional water bottles will be charged at 10RMB per bottle. I think this makes the hotel seem stingy, supposedly stating that it’s a five star hotel. Haven’t encountered this at hotels with lower star ratings that I stayed at. Another issue was that the HBO channel on the TV didn’t work and that was the only foreign channel on the tv for movies so perhaps international travelers wouldn’t have much to watch. My stay was so so.. the most positive aspect being the central location.

Very helpful and friendly doormen who welcomed us everytime we stepped in and helped with our luggages etc. Cleaning lady was honest— we (deliberately) left behind a powerbank that is spoilt and she returned it to the luggage collection counter. Central location near Nanjing Road where there are plenty of shopping and food options.