Shanghai's BEST Secret Hotel? (Jinjiang Inns Hongqiao Hub Review!)
Shanghai's BEST Secret Hotel? Jinjiang Inns Hongqiao Hub: A Frankly Honest Review (With a Few Rambles)
Okay, so, "BEST Secret Hotel?" That's a big claim, even for a place like Shanghai, where secrets are as common as dumplings. I'm here to tell you, after a recent stay at the Jinjiang Inns Hongqiao Hub, that it's… well, it's something. And for the price, and for the airport proximity, it's definitely worth a closer look. Buckle up, because we're diving deep. Full, unfiltered, and probably a bit messy.
Accessibility: The Good, the Bad, and the Escalator (Oh, the Escalators!)
Let's get this out of the way: the Accessibility situation is… evolving. The elevator exists, thank goodness. That's a win! While the hotel does advertise facilities for disabled guests, I didn't personally experience them, but based on my (admittedly limited) observations, it's probably best to call ahead and get clarification. I’m talking, like, really get clarification. Especially if you need, say, a wheelchair-accessible bathroom.
Getting There & Getting Around:
- Airport transfer: YES! A HUGE plus. I landed at Hongqiao Airport (SHA, because let's be real, navigating PVG is a whole other level of stress), and the hotel's free airport shuttle was a lifesaver. Smooth, efficient, and saved me a taxi fight. Pure bliss after a long flight.
- Car park [free of charge] and Car park [on-site]: Yup, they got 'em. Free parking, which is basically a national treasure anywhere in Shanghai.
- Taxi service: Available and easy to hail. Although, a word of warning: learn a few key Mandarin phrases if you're planning on using cabs regularly. It'll save you some… interesting conversations. (Just sayin'.)
On-site accessible restaurants / lounges: This is where things get a bit murky. I didn't see any dedicated accessible spaces, so best to inquire.
Rooms & Creature Comforts: The Essentials Got Right (Mostly)
Okay, let's talk rooms. They ain't the Ritz, but they’re clean, functional, and… well, they work.
- Cleanliness and safety: Spot on. The room was spotless. Seriously, I'm a bit of a germaphobe (don't judge!), and I felt comfortable. The hotel is clearly taking the Anti-viral cleaning products, Daily disinfection in common areas, and Rooms sanitized between stays seriously. Massive kudos for that.
- Wi-Fi [free]: Hallelujah! Free Wi-Fi in all rooms! And it actually worked! (Unlike some hotels where it's a constant battle.) You could get some work done or, you know, binge-watch something on Netflix.
- Air conditioning: Essential in Shanghai, especially during the humid months. It worked like a charm.
- Internet access – wireless: Included. So convenient.
- Blackout curtains: Crucial. Seriously, these were a lifesaver for sleeping off jet lag.
- Bed: Comfortable enough. Not the most luxurious, but definitely fine for a good night's sleep.
- Bathrooms: Basic, but clean. Pressure was good. There's a shower, no fancy rain showers here, but it did the job.
- Additional toilet: Check.
- Coffee/tea maker: Always appreciated. Especially for that crucial morning caffeine hit.
- Desk, Laptop workspace: Absolutely perfect.
- On-demand movies: Who needs them?
- Refrigerator: Handy to keep some water and drinks cold.
- Mini bar: I didn’t see one.
- Hair dryer: Present and accounted for.
- Ironing facilities: Yup, iron and ironing board.
- Safety/security feature: The in-room safe box made me feel safer.
- Non-smoking rooms: Yes! A must.
- Soundproofing: Decent. Didn't hear too much noise from the hallway.
- Smoke detector: Essential.
- Toiletries: Standard, but functional.
The Dining Scene: Breakfast Adventures and Snack Bar Survival
Alright, let's talk food.
- Breakfast [buffet]: The Asian breakfast buffet was… an experience. Let's just say it's an adventure in culinary exploration. There’s a strange, slightly gray congee, a selection of noodles, some intriguing, and often unidentifiable, options. And then the noodles. You're going to be there for a while.
- Breakfast service: Available. If you don't fancy the adventures, I'd suggest the ready-to-eat dishes.
- Room service [24-hour]: A lifesaver for late-night cravings. And for the days I didn’t want to face the breakfast buffet.
- Coffee shop: Exists, serving the basics.
- Snack bar: The perfect place to grab a quick bite.
- Restaurants: The hotel also features other restaurants!
"Things to do" and "Ways to Relax": Limited, But…
This isn't a resort. Don't expect a spa day.
- Fitness center and Gym/fitness: I peeked in. It's small, but it had a couple of treadmills and weights. It'll do the trick if you really need to work out.
- Things to do: It depends on what you want! Shanghai has everything!
- Smoking area: There's a designated smoking area.
Services & Conveniences: The Small Stuff Makes a Difference
- Air conditioning in public area: Essential.
- Business facilities: Basic, but they've got what you need.
- Cash withdrawal: Convenient.
- Concierge: Friendly and helpful. Helpful in figuring out public transit.
- Contactless check-in/out: Thank goodness, in this day and age.
- Convenience store: A lifesaver for snacks and essentials.
- Currency exchange: Saves you the hassle of finding one.
- Daily housekeeping: Rooms are always clean!
- Doorman: Available.
- Elevator: Yup, the all important elevator.
- Facilities for disabled guests: It is best to inquire.
- Laundry and Dry cleaning: Essential.
- Luggage storage: No issues here.
- Smoking area: Always good as a smoker.
- Car power charging station: Wow, so cool!
The Not-So-Secret Secret: Is this Hotel Worth Your Cash?
Here’s the brutally honest truth: The Jinjiang Inns Hongqiao Hub is not a luxury hotel. It’s not going to blow your mind with fancy amenities. It’s not going to give you a poolside bar with endless cocktails.
BUT… it’s clean, safe, convenient (especially for the airport), and the price point is fantastic. It's perfect for a layover, a quick business trip, or even as a base for exploring Shanghai if you're on a budget and don't need to splurge on your accommodations.
The "Offer" (Because You Deserve One!)
Okay, here’s my pitch:
Tired of overpriced airport hotels? Need a clean, comfortable, and convenient base for your Shanghai adventure? Book your stay at the Jinjiang Inns Hongqiao Hub NOW and get:
- FREE Airport shuttle! (Save on those crazy expensive taxi fares!)
- High-speed Wi-Fi! (Because you need to Instagram those Shanghai skyline views!)
- Seriously Clean Rooms! (Peace of mind, guaranteed!)
- Breakfast Buffet? (Because, well, you gotta try it… at least once!)
- 24-Hour Room Service! (Those late-night cravings, sorted!)
Click the link below (or do your own research on Booking.com, Expedia, etc.), find the perfect price on the market… and prepare for your Shanghai adventure! Don't expect perfection, but do expect a solid, reliable stay that won't break the bank. Just remember, research is the key!
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Alright, buckle up buttercups! This ain't your sanitized travel brochure, this is the real deal: a messy, honest, and probably slightly hysterical account of my stay at the Jinjiang Inns Hongqiao Hub Tianshan West Road in Shanghai. Pray for me.
Day 1: Shanghai Shenanigans - Or "Why Did I Pack So Many Pairs of Socks?"
- Morning (ish, let's be real…9:30 AM): Landed in Pudong ("Pudong" sounds like a cartoon character, doesn't it?), feeling like a crumpled piece of paper. Jet lag took me hostage. The airport chaos was delightful, a symphony of hurried footsteps and unintelligible announcements. Found the Metro… eventually. Took the wrong line initially. Realized this after about 20 minutes of staring blankly at maps. Cue internal panic.
- Mid-Morning (11:30 AM, after a near-meltdown): Re-routed myself (with the help of a VERY patient local, bless her rice-filled heart). Made it to the hotel! The Jinjiang Inns… well, it's a perfectly functional, clean, and air-conditioned box. My room? Tiny. But hey, it has a bed. A very firm bed. Like sleeping on a marble slab, but hey, I'll survive.
- Lunch (1:00 PM): Adventure time! Wandered out in search of food. Ended up in a hole-in-the-wall dumpling joint that reeked of deliciousness. Pointed at the menu (all in Mandarin – my Mandarin is currently "non-existent"). Ended up with about 30 dumplings (was I hungry? Yes. Were they incredible? HELL YES). My mouth is still burning (in the best way imaginable).
- Afternoon (3:00 PM): Tried to walk the Bund. Got lost. Again. Ended up wandering down a side street and stumbled upon a tiny, hidden tea house. I'm a terrible tea drinker, but it was calming. The owner was this sweet old woman with the most amazing laugh, even though we didn't understand each other. I swear, in her eyes, I saw a lifetime of wisdom.
- Late Afternoon/Evening (6:00 PM onwards): Dinner at a place that looked like it was straight out of a Wong Kar-wai movie. Ordered something that looked vaguely like chicken. It wasn't, it was some kind of tripe (I think) but was unexpectedly delicious. I spent a decent amount of time staring, chewing, and deciding whether I was brave or stupid. I decided that it was the best dinner of my life. Then I wandered the streets of the french concession and I watched the lights come out. Beautiful. Then I realized that the hotel shower was cold, and after a day of adventure, that was rough.
- Night (10:00 PM): Collapsed in the bed slab with a bag of potato chips (I don't even like potato chips). Realized I'd already gone through one full roll of toilet paper. Wondered where I could get more.
Day 2: The Temple That Broke Me (and My Budget)
- Morning (9:00 AM, after a surprisingly good sleep, thanks to the firm bed): Breakfast at the hotel: bread, hard-boiled eggs, and instant coffee that tasted like sadness. Note to self: find better coffee. Immediately. Found an AMAZING bakery by the hotel, and consumed a croissant the size of my head. Regretted it five minutes later.
- Mid-Morning (10:00 AM): Visited the Longhua Temple, thinking it would be all serene contemplation and tranquility. Wrong. It was crowded, noisy, and absolutely overwhelming. But BEAUTIFUL. The incense smoke, the chants, the vibrant colours… it was sensory overload in the best possible way. Bought a string of prayer beads that I will definitely lose in a week.
- Lunch (1:00 PM): Found a small noodle place. I was determined (and famished). Ordered the noodles. They were amazing. Then noticed the bill. Had to do some emergency budget juggling. Note to future self: Learn some basic Mandarin, or at least how to point at a picture of a budget meal.
- Afternoon (3:00 PM): A total disaster of a shopping spree in a local market. I swear, I was haggling, and the vendors were all speaking in Chinese, and all I could do was point. I am very easily distracted. I ended up buying: a scarf that might be a tea towel, a pair of shoes that don't fit, and a small statue of a cat that I think might be cursed (it stares). My wallet is crying.
- Late Afternoon (5:00 PM): Went back to the tea house. Just sat, listened, and felt a little less lost. The old woman smiled at me. I think she knew.
- Evening (7:00 PM): Tried to find the Pudong skyline lights, but ended up on the wrong side of the river. Felt like a complete idiot. Got spectacularly lost again. Saw some street musicians playing absolutely beautiful music, and the whole experience was pure magic.
- Night (9:00 PM): Pizza. A small, slightly burnt pizza. I had a massive craving. The best pizza I've ever had in my life! I needed a treat.
Day 3: The Humbling Experience of Public Transport and a Surprise Culinary Adventure
- Morning (9:00 AM): Rode the metro. Survived. Didn't get lost. Victory! Felt like I could conquer the world.
- Mid-Morning (10:00 AM): I decided to try a cooking class. I'm no chef, I can barely scramble an egg, but I thought…why not? The class was, I believe, meant to teach me how to make dumplings. Well it turns out, I was a horrible student. Apparently, I'm incapable of pinching the dough in the correct way. The dumplings looked like sad, misshapen blobs. Then, the teacher gave me a small bowl of sauce, and I dipped the blob-dumpling into it, and it tasted like heaven. The class was a disaster, but the BLOBS were amazing.
- Lunch (1:00 PM): Ate a bunch of the blobs.
- Afternoon (3:00 PM): Went to a museum. Got bored. Then got lost in the park next to it.
- Evening (6:00 PM): A culinary adventure. I was invited to a real Chinese dinner. I went, completely unprepared. I ate chicken's feet. I ate fish heads. I ate something that resembled a sea slug, but tasted like the ocean. And I loved it! It was an experience. The conversation was delightful and totally unintelligible, but I just watched, smiled, and ate. The people were incredibly kind, and made me feel like family. The best day by far.
- Night (9:00 PM): Packed. Slightly. Still have no idea how I'll fit everything in my suitcase. Wondered what I'm supposed to bring back to my life. Then I went to bed and dreamt of dumplings.
Overall Impression: Shanghai is a sensory explosion. It's beautiful, chaotic, overwhelming, and utterly captivating. The Jinjiang Inns? It's a hotel. But a perfectly functional base. The people? Incredibly kind and patient with a lost, slightly bewildered tourist. Would I come back? Absolutely. Am I a changed person? Maybe slightly. Still unsure about the cursed cat statue, though. And I should probably learn Mandarin. Mostly, I'm a little obsessed with blobs. And the feeling of being a complete idiot and loving it.
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Okay, so... what *is* this thing anyway? Like, the *actual* thing?
Ugh, alright, alright. Deep breaths. So, the "this thing" you're talking about? Well, it's… complicated. Let's just say this: one moment you're merrily humming along, thinking you've got life figured out, and the next… BAM! You're staring down the barrel of a whole new set of questions.
Basically, it's everything and nothing. It's the existential dread of choosing a grocery store, the crushing weight of laundry day, the sheer joy of finally finding your keys. It's a messy, beautiful, and profoundly annoying rollercoaster.
How long until I get it? Is there a timeline? Do I need a calendar?
Oh, honey, if I had a dime for every time *I* thought there was a timeline, or a cheat sheet, or ANY kind of rule book for this... I'd be sailing the Caribbean on a yacht made of single-malt scotch.
Look, the "getting it" thing? It's a lifelong project. Some days you’ll feel like Einstein. Other days you'll be staring blankly at the microwave, wondering if you can microwave a banana (don't). There's no finish line, no definitive "ah-ha!" moment. Just a series of tiny, sometimes glorious epiphanies, and a whole lot of "wait… what was I doing?" moments.
What are the biggest challenges? (And can I avoid them? PLEASE!)
Challenges? Oh, where do I begin? The biggest ones, in my humble, often-wrong, opinion? Fear. Doubt. The *inevitable* realization that you’re probably messing things up *constantly*.
Avoiding them? HA! Good luck with that. Seriously. The goal isn't to *avoid* the challenges, but to learn to awkwardly stumble your way *through* them. Like, remember that time I tried to parallel park a minivan? Disaster zone. Total carnage. But, you know what? I learned a valuable lesson: always check the blind spot (and maybe take a driving class again).
What about the good stuff? What are the actual perks? Is there free coffee?
Okay, the good stuff. This is where it gets interesting. Free coffee? Not always. Sometimes there are tiny, fleeting moments of pure joy, like...
* The feeling of the sun on your face.
* That perfect song that just hits all the right feels (don't even get me started on the 80s...).
* A really, *really* good taco.
The perks? Well, there’s the constant opportunity to learn, to grow, to mess up spectacularly and then laugh about it. The ability to love fiercely. The chance to look at the world with a sense of wonder. And, you know, occasionally, the sheer delight of finding a parking spot right in front of the grocery store. It's the little things, people!
Is there a secret to success? Like, a hidden code? Like a cheat code?
Oh, you want the cheat code? I wish! I've spent a lifetime searching for a secret formula, a magic key, an easy button. I’ve read self-help books, meditated in caves (mostly just got bitten by mosquitos), and tried every diet under the sun. Here's the truth: there is no secret.
The "secret" is the grind, the ups and downs and everything in-between. It's the willingness to keep showing up, even when you're tired, even when you've royally messed up (which, trust me, you will). It's about accepting that you're a work in progress, a glorious mess of contradictions and dreams, and embracing the chaos.
Okay, so... I still don't quite get it. Can you explain it with a story? A real, actual story?
Alright, alright. Fine. Story time. So, there was this one time… Oh, *God*, let me get a coffee first. Okay. Alright, picture this: little me, maybe eight years old, all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, convinced I was destined for Broadway stardom. I was going to be a star! I even had the sparkly headband to prove it.
So, my parents sign me up for a local talent show. Big deal, right? Weeks of practice, voice lessons, the whole shebang. I was *ready*. I picked "Tomorrow" from Annie (clever, right?). Night of the show arrives. My stomach is doing the salsa. I get on stage, everything sparkly and bright, and... my brain just… *blanked*. I froze. I opened my mouth. Nothing. Just a weird, high-pitched squeak. Mortification.
I ran off stage, tears streaming, convinced my life was OVER. Dad, bless his heart, comes backstage, gives me a hug, and says something like "Hey, not everyone is ready. Now is not the time to force it, and you certainly do not have to be this hard on yourself!". See, I felt embarrassed not because I messed it up, but the fact that it was not as perfect as I wanted to it be. The whole show was a mess, everybody was struggling, the microphone would cut out. I realized at this moment that I was not born for perfection. I was born to be me. The quirky, imperfect , and somewhat embarrassing me.
Years later, I look back on that squeak-filled performance and I cringe... and laugh. The whole thing was a disaster. I didn't become Broadway famous. But, I learned something. I learned that failure doesn't mean the end. It means you tried. And in the grand, chaotic theatre of life, that's what really matters.
How do I deal with the bad days? The really, really BAD days?
Ugh, the bad days. The ones where the world feels like it's actively trying to crush you. The ones where you want to hide under the covers and never come out. Listen, those days happen. And honestly? Sometimes, hiding under the covers *is* exactly what you need.
My go-to survival kit:
* **Ice Cream**. Lots of ice cream. (And maybe a whole pizza).
* A good cry. Letting it out is *necessary*.
* A mindless TV show. Don't judge me.
* Talking to a friend (or a pet - they're good listeners).
* Remember that it's okay to not be okay. And it *will* pass.
Oh, and here's a secret: Even the "strongLow Price Hotel Blog
