sowhoisgeh
Google
Frankly speaking I didn't have high expectations for this property. There were a ton of negative reviews from last year when it first opened, and my stay at Park Hyatt Shenzhen left me with a less-than-favorable impression of Hyatt hotels in general. Needless to say, there were some concerns and doubts about the hotel before my stay, particularly so when the hotel didn't reach out to me for the pre-arrival checklist, despite reading multiple reviews claiming that the hotel does it. Although in hindsight, this was probably due to the fact that we booked this via Amex FHR, and the agent did not pass on our contact details to the hotel. ||There were a ton of guests on our check-in day, but the bellhop still enthusiastically greeted us, helped with our luggage and escorted us to the lobby above. We booked a Studio room and was pleasantly informed that we were upgraded to the City View Suite, despite Amex letting us know beforehand that this room type is not upgradable. The room wasn't ready when we arrived, but the front desk was incredibly helpful, constantly updating us on the latest status, and showed us around the property while we waited. They also informed us that since our room was just being prepared, welcome fruits and birthday decorations would be delivered to our room shortly, which couldn't have been different to the confusion during check-in at Park Hyatt Shenzhen. ||They went with a wabi-sabi inspired design in the guest rooms which I really enjoyed, and our room had a generous view of the Shikumen houses directly below and the skyscrapers in the distance. There was a sliding door that separated the bedroom and the living area, while simultaneously being connected through the washroom, and walk-in closet. Since both of our birthdays were nearby, they sent us not one, but two cakes on the house, and guests will also enjoy a daily restock of the complimentary minibar. We were also provided with two eye masks, earplugs, and pillow sprays at turndown, which was very thoughtful as most hotels will only provide one set of turndown gift despite the double occupancy. Light-blocking was excellent and we had a good night of sleep on our first night. We also didn't hear any noises from the renovation site directly below the hotel that other guests complained about. There were however, some problems on our second night: there was a water-dropping noise in the middle of the night that was super annoying, and I was woken up by the TV in the living room, which magically turned on by itself. ||Breakfast was extraordinary, offering a semi-buffet and à la carte menu with a wide selection of Shanghainese specialties. The pastries were also excellent in both variety and quality. A la carte items were served very quickly, which was very accommodating for someone with zero patience like me.||Our stay was short and we were mostly outside, so we didn't get to fully enjoy the hotel's facilities. The hotel had a cozy living room and library on the lobby floor, but they were infested with influencers taking photos, which wasn't to our liking and we prefer hotels that are more private. ||Alila Shanghai blew it out of the water and I really enjoyed being pleasantly surprised. I'll definitely be back.
