The Okura Garden Hotel in Shanghai was a very pleasant stay. Located in the French Concession area of Shanghai, it was only a quarter mile from Metro Line 1 and a major shopping area. The rooms were very nice, clean and well-appointed. The lobby, bars, and fitness facilities (3 treadmills, 2 bicycles, stairstepper, rower, freeweights, and benches) were excellent. For over $250/night U.S., it should be good! Majority of the guests were Japanese.

The write-ups and reviews of the Okura Garden led me to believe I was in or something truly special. The reality fell short of this. As a westerner perhaps I am not this hotel’s main targeted demographic, (this is a Japanese chain aimed very much for that market), but my expectations were not met.

First, let’s review what the hotel did well:
- The staff are all polite and friendly and many are multi-lingual,
- the views from the rooms are impressive,
- the food in the three in-house restaurants is good and the rooms are kept clean.
- the hotel is also conveniently close to a station on the excellent underground Metro system, which I used several times and found by far the cheapest and safest way to get around the city. (Taxis are plentiful but they drive like utter lunatics, and with seatbelts almost unknown here you risk much!)
- There is the grass garden area out front – which is pretty unique in the city. The area is not vast and the proximity of traffic and the associated smog (in sunny weather especially) means this is not quite the oasis they describe, but it is still a nice feature.


Now for the bad news:
All the talk of 5-stars, best hotel in town, etc. both on this site and others made me expect the very best hotel experience, which this was not. For this money I expected an iron in the room, not a pressing service you have to pay extra for. The air conditioning was rather old and worn out, it taking most of the day to modify the room to be comfortable, as well as taking a day or so to clear the musty smell from the system. The promised internet access proved too mysterious for my laptop to handle, which was annoying for a business trip. My minibar contents had not been replaced in so long that not only were they all well past their use-by dates, but one glass bottle shattered in my hand when I just tried to lift it – a casualty of being in the very cold fridge for months if not years!

The bed’s mattress was very firm and on one morning I found that my bedsheets had been replaced with a set that was very over-starched and that made my skin crawl. Not a good move.

I also wish the staff would learn the difference between being attentive and being pestering. I didn’t need a maid to come in for a second time in the evening to “turn down” the bed and rearrange all my things gratuitously. Maybe this is a service others value and expect but it’s the first time I’ve encountered it and I found it intrusive and rather patronising.

I don’t want to give the impression this is a bad hotel, because it is certainly a good one with service levels above many I have stayed in before. It just, in my view, does not justify the deluxe price tag -- especially when it has the competition in Shanghai from a wealth of other chains: Hilton, Four Seasons, Hyatt, etc., some of which I visited and was *very* impressed by.

I enjoyed my stay at the Okura Garden very much. The garden is large and welcoming -- an oasis of peace and tranquility in a noisy city. The food was excellent and quite diverse, though pricey in the upstairs European and Japanese restaurants. Not especially fashionable but the service and wonderful location more than make up for the slightly worn quality. Rooms not large but well equipped, clearly aimed at Japanese customers. Bathrooms lovely, with old marble and huge bathtubs. Easy walk to best open air market in Shanghai as well as many other sights - wonderful spot in middle of French concession.

This is hotel was presumably was built to welcome Japanese guests during Asia's go-go 80's. While it remains well cared for by the daily staff, the only way to reverse the aging of a hotel is to renovate. In the case of the Okura Garden, one can't help but notice the dated decor and tired carpets. Its older ambiance stands in contrast to the many newer addresses in the world's most dynamic city. All that said, the staff are superb, the facilities (including restaurants) entirely correct for the price. Rooms are clean. If you want Shanghai chic, stay at the Westin. If you want a good deal and good service, stay here.

A major bonus with this hotel is its location near Shanghai's best outdoor marketplace. Louis Vuitton's worst nightmare, no doubt, but a really fun place to stock up on snobby brand knock-offs and nice silk items for friends back home.