My niece mentioned she wanted to stay at a hotel for a photo shoot when she came back to China, so after some research, I chose the Waldorf Astoria Shanghai on the Bund!
Actually, we brought her here for her birthday six years ago, so it was our second time staying at the Waldorf.
Back then, we booked a River View Suite without doing much research. Later, we found out that was in the new tower, and the hotel actually has a century-old heritage building—the former Shanghai Club (a British gentlemen's club) built in 1861, where all the rooms are suites: the Waldorf Astoria Suites. I fell in love with it back then, and this time we finally got to check it off the bucket list!
Huge thanks to Aaron from the Waldorf concierge team. He reached out a few days in advance, and when he learned that we wanted a suite with a staircase for my niece's photo shoot, he said he would try his best to make it happen if the previous guest didn't extend their stay. At the time, I thought it sounded quite difficult.
We arrived at the hotel around 1 PM that day and were checked in immediately with zero wait time. To our pleasant surprise, our wish came true! We were even upgraded to room 407, which is larger than room 307. The heritage building only has two suites with this specific staircase, and I heard that these two rooms will soon be priced and sold separately, potentially costing 8,000 to 9,000 RMB a night (and true enough, during the National Day holiday, they were sold separately at a hiked price of over 10,000 RMB a night).
This suite is genuinely amazing for photos: the living room features an ornamental marble fireplace, dark hardwood floors, vintage patterned rugs, crystal chandeliers, dark solid-wood furniture, and velvet sofas... It exudes an effortless "old money" vibe, feeling like a stylish, upscale old Shanghai mansion rather than the cold luxury of a modern hotel. The bedroom has a classic, retro four-poster bed draped with white sheer curtains, creating an incredible atmosphere! It is insanely photogenic!
There are two bathroom areas—the one inside the smaller bedroom off the living room is smaller, while the one in the main bedroom is huge. The bedroom bathroom walls are completely covered in large slabs of marble, featuring dual vanities, a vintage clawfoot bathtub, and a Dyson hairdryer. The toiletries have now been switched to large pump bottles (which is a bit of a downgrade; I honestly dislike these large dispensers—I remember they used to provide Salvatore Ferragamo miniature sets). Oh, and there are no smart toilets, which is likely due to the architectural limitations of preserving a historic building.
Room 407 also features a massive, pure-white walk-in closet, and the vanity table there is also great for photos.
Complimentary bottled water in the room consists of large glass bottles of Evian. When the welcome fruits and pastries were delivered, they also included two large glass bottles of VOSS water, which is much more generous compared to the Schweppes at The Library! However, both the welcome fruits and pastries were a bit disappointing. The fruit consisted of just a few grapes and cape gooseberries (cape gooseberries aren't something most guests enjoy—welcome amenities should really be crowd-pleasers!). The pastries included just two pieces of cake and a handful of nuts. I remember the desserts delivered during our last stay were phenomenal; how did things regress after six years?!
The service was fantastic, feeling even more attentive than six years ago, especially when minor issues arose and were handled with a very prompt response! Besides Aaron, who communicated with me before check-in, a young man named Danny also deserves a special shoutout! That day while we were taking photos on the second floor of the heritage building, a security guard came over to stop us (we later learned that because too many people come just to take photos, commercial shoots are banned on the second floor and only phone photography is allowed). Since Aaron was off duty that day, I contacted him via WeChat, and Danny came over and accompanied us through the photo shoot. Later, when we ran into a small hiccup while dining at the restaurant, he was also the first to rush over and resolve it. Also, Coco, the young lady who escorted us to our room upon check-in, was extremely thorough and professional! Yolo, the young lady at the Grand Brasserie, was also very warm and attentive. True to its reputation, Hilton's top-tier luxury brand delivers exceptional service.
Breakfast was quite good as well. The newly introduced crab roe Eggs Benedict from the à la carte menu was a stunning highlight—delicious! The hot food section showed genuine sincerity; the asparagus with squid left a deep impression. The fruit quality was top-notch, and everything was quite sweet!
The hotel's Long Bar is a must-visit, boasting a 33.7-meter-long bar counter! It's said that during the Waldorf's restoration, the entire space was meticulously recreated based on old photographs, preserving the British gentleman's club vibe of old Shanghai's bustling trading era. I love how quiet and elegant it is—not like a noisy, rowdy nightclub! The cocktails were both gorgeous and tasty, absolutely wonderful! Just keep in mind that live jazz performances are only available from Wednesday to Saturday.
This time we also experienced The Library. Unlike a typical executive lounge, it only serves guests booked in the Waldorf Astoria Suites and above categories. Last time we stayed in a suite in the new tower, we didn't have this privilege.
The overall design is very consistent with the rest of the Waldorf: a retro library-living-room aesthetic with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, leather sofas, and crystal chandeliers. The ambiance is great, though there is no view to speak of.
I really have to complain about the food offerings! Even during afternoon tea time, they only served five or six different desserts, with only one or two pieces of each... And once they ran out, it took a very long time to be replenished... The picture practically shows all the edible items available that afternoon!
For fruit, they only had green jujubes, longans, and small apples—not even half the variety available at the breakfast buffet!
The self-serve drink fridge only offered cheap Schweppes, Coke, and Sprite!
I couldn't fathom why a place exclusively for VVIPs would only provide these items?!
I didn't even see any tea options, and the staff didn't introduce any either! The only saving grace was that it was very uncrowded and quiet. Still, I feel like The Library is the Waldorf's Achilles' heel—an executive lounge like this is almost better off not being offered! I hope the Waldorf makes some improvements!
Original TextTranslation provided by AI
