Donghu Hotel, Shanghai - Shanghai, China     

The Donghu owns several buildings on this block. One of them is the large luxurious boutique hotel to which it seems most of the reviewers are referring. We stayed at another, which seems to be more targeted towards domestic travelers. I wanted to stay near HuaiHai Road because in the past that's always been my favorite part of town. I used to love how quiet the neighborhood was, the small shops, cafes, and boutiques. Boy have things changed. Well, first about the hotel. We paid about $45/night for the place, so overall I think we got a nice value there. The lobby was small, but professional staff and very friendly. The hallsways were narrow with low ceilings, and the room was quite small-- just big enough for a full sized bed, and small desk table. Flat screen TV on the wall because honestly I don't think any other TV would have fit. Tiny bathroom walled off from the rest of the room with frosted glass was an interesting feature. All in all for the price and for Shanghai I think it's not a bad choice. Now for the neighborhood... I can't say how disappointed I was at the way this area has changed over the past 5-6 years. I went out one evening in search of some fruit and juice, and found nothing by Irish pubs, western dance clubs, and high end boutiques (Coach, Bulgari, Rolex, etc). Was I still in China? Hard to tell. Late night club music permeated the air, and various stragglers and hangers-on permeated the streets. Really disappointing. Anyway, I'll rate it 3-stars since the Hotel itself was a good deal, and the luxury wing did look pretty nice.

Just returned from 9 fabulous nights at the Donghu. We had done lots of research and the hotel more than exceeeded our expectations. The rooms are all quite different so it is a good idea to check the room out first. The hallways and public areas are filled with antiques and historic photos of Shanghai. The staff were very helpful, friendly and spoke English. The grounds are beatifully landscaped and well maintained. A large breakfast buffet with about 100 items is available daily. We enjoyed tasting lots of new dishes while we read the complimentary Shanghai Daily News. I am so glad we were staying at the Donghu because it is one of the most classic and charming hotels in Shanghai with all the modern ammenties.