The Place to Stay when in Shanghai

Four Seasons Pudong (Shanghai) 

Choosing a Hotel in Shanghai can be a challenging task, however, based on your location it's best to split the choice between one side of the Bund (being the Huangpu river)) or the other. Should you find yourself in need of a Hotel on the Pudong side, then while there are many good choices there remains a Hotel that well and truly stands out from it's peers.

Location

Over on the other side of Shanghai, in the high rise quarter of Pudong, the Four Seasons is nestled yet well located in this part of the commercial hub and vast array of Hotels. From the moment one arrives at the Hotel, the immediate attention guests experience, sets the tone for the quality of the stay. A colourful array of beautifully arranged flowers stands at the entrance and the Lobby is both swish and attractive. 

The Rooms

The rooms are on the upper floors and all provide a staggering view of Pudong and Shanghai. The Room is high tech with an iPad on offer providing access to various Hotel and in Room features along with a built in TV in the bathroom mirror. Most welcome is the Nespresso Coffee and Coffee Machine and choice of drinks in the most stylish Mini Bar Cabinet ever. Overall the room is very well and tastefully appointed in a modern yet comfortable manner, and the layout is excellent. Of note is the very stylish interior that one would expect from a Four Seasons. The little things mean so much and on my visit a card and handwritten note from the General Manager was a thoughtful touch. Excellent service and stay and I look forward to a return visit.

Positives

Quality,Quality and more quality.

Comfort

Attentive of staff

Bickbats

No dedicated stand alone Bar (but a great one in the Room)

Food Hong Kong- Review Classifieds and Press Room Central

Hong Kong and food go hand in hand in this dynamic city that truly is east meets west in style culture, fun, love and money! A classic example of this is the rapid or should I say rabid proliferation of restaurants (I use the term loosely) perhaps eateries is a better term. One such duo of establishments is Press Room and Classifieds on Hollywood Road Central. Both only two years young it seems that time has still not done any justice to either. While I will go into more detail on the Press Room later; today I would like to focus on Classifieds their sister Brassiere for the glitterati of HK and locals / expats living near by. (Sadly I just fall into the latter) First it must be said it's well laid out, with top marks for style, niche, product and presentation. That also sadly is where the good points end. This lunch time was another entertaining event, my very good friend G and I braved the waters to satisfy our food cravings. Simply put I will just state the details. Drinks: We ordered Ice tea and a Latte, simple enough and they got this right but I was somewhat bemused to find my ice tea served in wine glass. Food: Soup of the day Minestrone, Greek Salad and Wild Mushroom Risotto were ordered. This is where it gets really interesting. 1. The soup- watery, tasteless and as far from Minestrone as it could ever be. Greek Salad-Troy himself would have slayed to avoid this one! No lettuce of any type, all Cucumber and onion however, we did manage to find one lone tinned black olive. Risotto,-great flavor, creamy and well presented, shame the rice was not properly cooked. One may wonder why we go back....well often because it's near by but lately mostly because we just want to give them one more try and to see what else they can truly muck up while passing themselves off as high end. Please note these comments are my personal thoughts only based on genuine paid dining experiences. Also note that I have been involved in the Hospitality industry for 15+ years. Next blog La Piazzetta opening party!