Novotel Shanghai Hongqiao

Not too many things - this is an odd place * This hotel has space - though it is used mainly for common areas such as hallways * Basically clean

It seems the hotel is mainly there right now to secure the space - probably also for employee training. The hotel was sourrounded by a huge construction site that looked like it will go on for several months - very unpleasant and unknown to us. Regarding the "walkable distance" from/to the metro - we were covered with dust and sweat at arrival (there is also no walkable path to the entrance) - avoid with luggage. Plan for some time in the morning - you might need to wait for a taxi 10-15 minutes. We got shooed away from the otherwise empty open space lounge area when waiting when the lobby was too crowded to sit down. The general novotel design, and this one in particular, seems to aim at low usability. Our room had a 5 meter hallway that contained basically nothing - no mirror, not even light switches (i.e. you have to walk through the dark when you come in at night). The bathroom in the low-rise building has floor to ceiling windows - you might want to put on a show for the construction workers outside, but we preferred to have the blinds down all day. The "gym" was a small room with a handful of machines, which probably would be acceptable for a small hotel but not a 300+ room 4-5 star hotel. I tried to get a towel, but the guy at the entrance was to busy using his mobile phone. Western breakfast options are poor. Breakfast made me remember my last winter trip - freezing cold air blown on my head. Staff recommended "to sit somewhere else". When we later ordered one of the two (! that's a 2!) red wine options at the bar, the reply was "No". After some discussion we found out that the option was not available. Not sure how the star ratings are done - at the time of booking, the hotel was listed having 5 stars, now it is listed having 4 stars. Probably novotel calculates 2 star service + 2 star facilities =4-5 stars?