The Park Hyatt Shanghai hotel occupies floors 79-93 of the Shanghai World Financial Center, and is touted as being one of the highest hotels in the world.

Location/Arrival/Check-in

The hotel is located in the Lujiazui business district, and 25 miles away from Shanghai Pudong International Airport. I had arranged in advance for a hotel car to transport me from the airport to the hotel, which was 800 CNY (about 123 USD). A bit pricey, but the 45 minute ride was clean, quiet, and efficient. The hotel lobby is on the 87th floor, so after reaching the hotel I was shown to the elevator.

Check-in was quick, and I was given a Park Deluxe King Room, which is what I had reserved. After I was given my room key I was shown to a second set of elevators, which are just for the guest rooms.

Room/Suite

When first entering the room, there was a narrow hallway that led to the either the bathroom or bedroom. There was hardwood flooring in the entryway, but the bedroom had a thin layer of carpet. The bed was supposed to be a King, but oddly it felt smaller. Still, the bed was comfortable and the sheets were soft. A panel of buttons near the bed made switching off the lights easy, once I figured out how to work it.

Bathroom

The bathroom was well appointed, with a marble countertop and double sinks. The room featured a TV embedded in the mirror, so you could watch TV while brushing your teeth. The bathroom amenities were by Aromatherapy. There was also a full set of neatly organized items in case I had forgotten anything. The bathroom’s highlight was the Oriental bathing area which included a large tub, and there was a bath loofah, salts, and soap. The water pressure was great, and the tub filled up quickly. The bathroom was arranged so that even if the tub overflowed, it simply went into the rain shower area in the lower level.

Sitting Area

The room had a day bed next to the windows, which was intended for in-room wellness and spa treatments but also made a nice place to sit and enjoy the view. The room seemed very spacious for just 750 square feet. There was a desk, and large windows. The walls were bare, perhaps in keeping with a modern Chinese decor. Closets in the hallway swung open to reveal space for bags. Across from the closets was a coffee maker, and the minibar.

Facilities

The hotel has an infinity pool and heated whirlpool on the 85th floor, and Tai Chi classes are offered every morning in the courtyard at the end of the pool. The Water’s Edge Spa offers treatments and also has a sauna. The breakfast buffet was expansive, including yogurts, Bircher Muesli, Japanese bento boxes, meats, cheeses, chinese pancakes, eggrolls, insalata caprese, and fresh egg tarts. Several types of smoothies were available by the pitcher, which was convenient. I tried all three, and for me it was a tie between the refreshing grapefruit-red grape-watermelon-mint, and the creamy banana-orange-strawberry-soy milk-almond.

Elite Status Recognition & Benefits

Rather than the points, I chose the food & beverage Diamond amenity, and waiting for me in the room was a unique assortment of eclairs, with pistachio, caramel, and a nutty flavored one. There was also fresh fruit in a bowl. As Hyatt Diamond, I was able to enjoy a complimentary buffet breakfast at the restaurant on the 91st floor, which featured enormously high ceilings.

Cost & Summary

I enjoyed my stay at this hotel. The staff was helpful, the room was large and clean, and the location was good. As I was checking out though, suddenly the hostess frowned and said that there was a problem. My Hyatt credit card on file was declined. I travel often so my credit cards don’t typically give me problems overseas. Embarrassed, I requested she try again, but to no avail. I tried a card issued by a different bank, and that one didn’t work either. I called the first card company to inquire in case it had been flagged for fraud, and they said everything was absolutely fine on their end.

Knowing the issue was not on my end, after spending about 30 minutes with the front desk staff, I told them that I had to leave as I had a plane to catch. They were not happy with that and wanted me to stay and try more credit cards, but I didn’t have any more time and didn’t feel like offering up even more credit cards when I knew there wasn’t an issue with the ones I had already tried. I never heard what happened, but later that day my original Hyatt credit card was charged for the proper amount so they must have figured it out.

It was a little bit of a stressful departure with an uncomfortable situation, and the front desk staff was not understanding about something that was not within my control. Otherwise, I found this hotel to be a really good property and loved the breakfast and views.