Location:
If you need to be in northwest Shanghai, as I did for a weekend recently when attending the Formula 1 GP at the Shanghai International Circuit, this place is excellent. The hotel is about a 20-30 minute walk from the track. With all the traffic congestion that the event causes, a walk along beautiful scenery (to me, anyway) is far better than a taxi sitting still in a jam. If you're not in the area for the track, from what I understand, it's not far from industry, such as the Volkswagen plant, etc.
Transportation:
The hotel concierge service can help arrange a taxi/limo for you or otherwise assist with your travel plans and a number of the staff speak passable English. You can also tell them where you want to go in English and they will tell a driver in Chinese. I would highly suggest their in-house drivers, as the hotel charges a fixed price and the drivers were (during my stay) far more knowledgeable and reliable than the local taxi drivers.
Accommodations: I was in the suite and the infamous heroine of the "Princess and the Pea" could likely find fault with the accommodations, but for the rest of us, you'll live and sleep like a king. Truly fab.
Complaints: No complaints about the hotel itself whatsoever. Beautiful, western-style accommodations. The only downside is the location if you're going anywhere outside northwest Shanghai. If you take the metro, expect about an hour to the Bund area with the main tourist attractions (Pearl TV Tower, People's Square, etc) and plan 2 hours for travel to Pudong Airport. The hotel is much closer to Hongqiao Airport, so that wouldn't be quite as bad.
Who's Likely Not to Like It: Those who plan on spending much or all of their time in or near the city center; those who are hoping to take the metro back to the hotel after a night out (at the time I went in 2012, the metro closed around 10-11pm); those who prefer strictly tourist areas (the hotel is quite the tourist style, but not exactly in a tourist district as of April 2012).
Surrounding Area: The local neighborhood is great for someone who is very outgoing and learning a bit of Chinese, as the locals are very friendly. Right behind the hotel, there are local (non-tourist) restaurants and (some) shopping areas that are not tourist areas at all, but have great food cooked in or outdoors at excellent prices. I was able to get a very good haircut, some great food and made some new Chinese friends all within .5 km of the hotel.
Conclusion: All in all, I loved this place, if you can't tell, but I understand not all will be in the same situation as I was. I chose the hotel for its location (close to the track) and was lucky to find local Chinese food nearby. If I had stayed for the entire week, I would have switched hotels to somewhere closer to downtown following the race.
