The Peninsula Shanghai

This hotel is absolutely stunning, fantastic and will be a treasured memory for the rest of our lives. The staff are wonderful and spoke great English, which we really appreciated being Canadians. The staff gave us a wonderful Anniversary gift in our room, as it was our 6th wedding anniversary. The restaurant on the 13th floor was also stunning, with amazing staff who took the very best of care of us. We were fortunate to also get the opportunity to use the terrace bar, on the 14th floor, with a romantic view of the city at night. This hotel is worth the price and I highway recommend staying here if visiting Shanghai. It will make you trip to the wonderful country a trip you'll remember forever. Thank you to all the great staff at the Peninsula, for your kindness and care.

True luxury is not defined by beautiful properties, impressive architecture, or even flawless service, it is defined by how a hotel responds when something does not go as planned. Following an unfortunate situation with an external dinner reservation arranged through the concierge, Mr. Chon and the team at The Peninsula Shanghai demonstrated a level of hospitality that reflects the very highest standards of luxury hospitality. What stood out most was not simply the thoughtful gestures, the wine, fruits, or the gracious offer of the hotel’s Rolls-Royce transfer to the airport, but the genuine personal attention. Mr. Chon personally took the time to speak with us, apologize with sincerity, and ensure that we felt cared for throughout our stay. This is the kind of leadership that defines truly exceptional hotels. The Peninsula Shanghai is fortunate to have professionals who understand that authentic hospitality is about presence, grace, and genuine care for the guest experience. In an era where many luxury hotels feel transactional, experiences like this are what continue to set The Peninsula apart.

My wife and I really enjoyed our, far too short, stay at this wonderful hotel, with a fabulous location on The Bund.. Our River View room was beautiful, and beautifully appointed with everything could need and more. We loved the excellent cocktails and service at the Roof Terrace bar while enjoying the truly amazing light show river view, before experiencing a truly exceptional meal at Sir Elly’s restaurant - and what a privilege to be able to meet the chef. Unfortunately, we needed to depart early for our flight on the final day and discussed this on the previous evening with the excellent concierge who arranged for us to pre-order a cooked breakfast to be available in the Lobby restaurant as soon as it opened at 06.00 - perfect, and perfect service. Thank you

My wife and I have looked forward to our short weekend getaway to celebrate her birthday. Despite the Peninsula was quite a bit more expensive than comparable five star hotels around town, the location on The Bund and the Peninsula brand warrant the premium. The first glitch happened at booking. It was good that the issue was resolved quickly after I complained over email. I then utilised the concierge service extensively, having them help arrange restaurant bookings and hair appointments for my wife, all done swiftly and followed through diligently. Our arrival at the hotel was seamless and efficient. Service was impeccable as most of the staff greeted us by name and with a smile. The room was beautiful and housekeeping flawless. Admittedly breakfast was a bit of a disappointment as the buffet spread had very few choices (I had to buy my own berries from outside so we could have more variety of fresh fruits the following day!) and the ordered items were not really up to par. But the surrounding was elegant and service swift. It was all going very well… but then came a second glitch. This one I thought was really “dumb”: I ordered a birthday cake which arrived absolutely plain, with no birthday greetings and/or candles!! We mistakenly thought it was just a simple dessert. We were gravely disappointed and fired another complain email at 2am. Luckily the hotel managed to redeem itself at breakfast, presenting us with a “proper” cake with the appropriate trimmings. Thus, despite this ought to have been a five star rating, a point had to be taken for these glitches. Hope that won’t be the case in our next stay.

Firstly, I do not regret booking this hotel though I had hesitations after reading the many mixed reviews here. Our rooms were beautiful, incredible impeccable design details, so thoughtful, with very comfy beds. I didn’t have the highest expectations and really that encapsulates the rest of our experience outside of the rooms themselves. It took over 40mins for our luggage to come up to our room after we arrived- I would have to carried it myself but the bellhops grabbed it from the cab as soon as we pulled up. We had requested a rollaway bed and when I asked for it there was some back and forth where we were told there wasn’t one and then there was one and then wasn’t and was- with one of our rooms booked for 3 people- how else was that going to work?!?! Breakfast was great and we were not bothered that it was in the lobby- BUT we were led to a large table and when we got there it wasn’t set up, so had to stand awkwardly amongst diners waiting for it to be set up- a basic service error that really isn’t acceptable at a 5-star hotel. The kids coloring placemat is a kids menu but no one pointed that out and we didn’t realize until our last breakfast. One night the staff came to turn down the room and I said to please come back in 10minutes. We left and went out for dinner and came back hours later and they had only just come to do the room…! I asked the concierge about the courtesy cars and wanted to know how they worked and felt like the response was very patronizing when he responded that it might be easier for me to set up WeChat and order a Didi car- like I have my apps set up and know how to order a car- I was enquiring about the courtesy cars and wanted to know how those worked but he was extremely unhelpful and I felt like he was gaslighting me. A simple polite explanation of the process was all I needed. So my conclusion is that the hotel is stunning but service is spotty. 5 stars for the hotel but 3.5 for service. As others have said- the pool does not feel heated at all but it’s gorgeous. The narrow footpaths in front of the hotel are bonkers busy at night with tourists… luckily the hotel is set back but you still have to navigate that coming back. There was one great staff member that recommended an awesome dinner restaurant to us- across the road and left of the hotel entrance driveway - at number 27 (up a few steps from the street and the doorway is left through a plastic curtain) we had our fave meal there of amazing noodles with crabroe/shrimps- highly recommend!!