OPARTMENT The Far Eastern Hotel

The room is relatively new and very clean, with modern facilities. The service is excellent; they offer coffee, tea, and toast in the lobby every morning. It's only a five-minute walk from the metro station. However, both rooms in the two-bedroom suite face northwest, looking out onto old residential buildings that are very close by. There's no view to speak of, and the rooms are dark with no sunlight.

The hotel's environment and location are excellent, and it's very new! It has a vintage style, and the washing machine and toilet are international brands, showing the owner's thoughtful attention to detail. It's clean and hygienic, and they even deliver takeout right to your door. There's free coffee in the lobby, and it tastes really good.

The location and decor are great, retaining the charm of an old building and French design style. However, the room details aren't very user-friendly. For example, the bedside table's power outlet is located between two shelves, so you have to duck down to find it behind the upper shelf, which makes charging difficult if you want to use your phone in bed. Also, the shower door in the bathroom has no handle on the inside, making it inconvenient to open. Overall, it's full of design flair but not very practical. The room came with various utensils but not even a single tea bag. There were surprisingly few trash cans. The hotel room was very cold, and the heating wasn't 24/7, so much so that my son and I both caught a cold on the first night. It got better after the hotel provided a heater on the second day. The shower water temperature wasn't consistent; it fluctuated between hot and cold, and the water flow and temperature were overly sensitive, really testing one's fine motor skills. Rooms facing the street suffered from noticeable car noise from the main road. There's also a bar or entertainment venue upstairs, as we could still hear noise after midnight. Light sleepers should definitely be cautious. The staff were very enthusiastic but not very efficient. For instance, we bumped into staff who said our room could be cleaned when we went out, but it still hadn't been cleaned when we returned. The front desk only provided one set of toiletries during check-in. We had to wait a long time and prompt them before the heater was brought up. It seems there's room for improvement in their standardized service training. On the positive side, the lobby staff were very proactive in bringing up food deliveries and would remind us about the hot coffee when we left, which is commendable. In conclusion, the hotel is certainly not bad; it's upper-mid-range for a hotel apartment. However, considering the price of 3500 a night and its ranking as 8th on Shanghai's luxury hotel list, it's definitely not worth it.

The smart control system and complimentary fruit were delightful surprises, offering excellent value for money. Combined with Candy's outstanding service and the great environment, it was truly a fantastic deal!