Review: American Airlines Business Class LAX - PVG Review: PVG Cathay Pacific Lounge Review: Dragonair Business Class PVG - HKG Review: Andaz Xintiandi Shanghai Review: Grand Hyatt Shanghai Review: Hyatt Regency Suzhou I fly out of Shanghai Pudong International (PVG) on a pretty regular basis these days (5 times in the past year and counting) and since I'm flying Business on either American or Cathay Pacific/DragonAir, I receive access to the Cathay Pacific Lounge. The lounge can be found near gate 68 after you make it through security in Terminal 2. You'll see plenty of signs for the lounge and will take an escalator up one level to get to the entrance. Upon entering the lounge, you'll notice a long main hallway with seating to your left, along with a small kitchen area, another seating area, and a "business center" with computers available for use. When the hallway comes to an end, the lounge opens up to reveal another kitchen area and a large open seating area which is all open to the terminal below. I find the roof of the terminal to be rather impressive, but that's really where the feeling ends. The lounge is usually quite crowded and this day was no exception. It can be tough to find a seat, but it's even tougher to find one next to an outlet and it's nearly impossible to find one next to an outlet that actually works! The food is unfortunately not the best that I've seen in Cathay lounges and as such, I've never actually eaten anything in the lounge. I also rarely find myself drinking anything, but you'll find a selection of hot and cold items available, including noodles, sandwiches, fruit, instant noodles and some small dessert. Drinks are serve yourself and include soft drinks, juices, wine, and liquor.
There is wifi in the lounge, but remember that you are in China, and you won't be able to get anything beyond the great firewall, so it's essentially useless. If you decide to use it, the password, as always for Cathay lounges, is "cathay1234" and you'll find that posted throughout the lounge. The lounge is a bit of a nicer place to sit than the terminal while waiting for your flight, but it's really not much to write home about. Review: American Airlines Business Class LAX - PVG Review: PVG Cathay Pacific Lounge Review: Dragonair Business Class PVG - HKG Review: Andaz Xintiandi Shanghai Review: Grand Hyatt Shanghai Review: Hyatt Regency Suzhou I have already written about my flight experience on American after being upgraded from Business class to First class on the reverse of this flight (Shanghai to Los Angeles) here, but despite the fact that I've flown this flight in Business multiple times now, I haven't had a chance to review it yet. I took this particular flight back in March and it was my second time flying this route. In all honesty, I do my best to fly Cathay Pacific when traveling to Shanghai, but sometimes it isn't within my budget, so I resort to flying American. American Airlines #183 Los Angeles (LAX) - Shanghai (PVG) Friday, March 20th, 2015 10:55 AM - 4:10 PM (+1) Boeing 777-200: Seat 11H (Business Class) I fly to Shanghai for business quite often and since I am loyal to oneworld, I will often get stuck flying American Airlines metal internationally. I will admit that in some cases, i.e. when a route has a 777-300 or uses the newest American Airlines Business class layout, flying American internationally is not bad, but this particular route is a bit rough with the extremely dated 777-200. American Airlines boards even this international flight directly out of American's terminal 4 at LAX, which is a bit of a nightmare to begin with because none of the boarding areas are really large enough to comfortably support such a large group of people. It's also disappointing because Tom Bradley International is the nicest terminal at LAX and terminal 4 is probably the worst, but I digress. Once boarding, the first thing you will notice is how extremely old the airplane looks. The seats are caked in years of grime and unfortunately, nothing ever looks very clean. American's Business class on this route has a 2-3-2 configuration, which is less than ideal for an extremely long flight when you know you'll either have to disturb your seatmate to get up or they'll disturb you depending on where you're seated. Additionally, instead of being lie-flat, which is the standard for Business class seats on international flights, the seats are angled lie-flat, which is basically the worst when flying more than 12 hours internationally and preferring to spend a majority of the flight asleep. So, not only does every seat not have aisle access (standard in most international Business class cabins), but you'll be sleeping sitting halfway up as well. It should be said that as an objective reviewer, I need to point these things out, but I am honestly really appreciative that my employer will pay for Business class when flying to China - much appreciated! I grabbed my seat in 11H, which is an aisle seat next to the window and settled in. At some point during the boarding process, the flight attendants came by to offer orange juice, water, or champagne. I had some water and perused the menu. Due to the timing, this flight offers a "dinner" served at lunch time in the US shortly after takeoff, and a "breakfast" served in the middle of the night in the US about an hour and a half before landing. While waiting for takeoff, I had a look at the entertainment system and the seat controls. As you can see, everything is extremely dated. The remote controls for the in-flight entertainment are usually somewhat crusty and can be found to the left of the seat. The televisions themselves are pretty small compared to standard international Business class offerings and are completely stationary, so no adjustments can really be made. The good news is that American's movie offerings are quite good and on flights to China, there are usually around 40-50 (my estimation based on flipping through) movies available each flight. As I mentioned, the seats are angled lie-flat and the seat controls found near the armrest in the middle of the two seats are quite complicated given there's not really anywhere for them to go! I usually have a bit of a hard time getting my seat as flat as it will go, but then again, I usually struggle with seat controls, so maybe it's just me! Prior to takeoff, the crew will come by to take meal orders and sometimes will introduce themselves. Service on these flights is usually hit or miss, but I'd say more often a miss. The first time I took this flight, I had service items sit on the table at my seat for no less than 6 hours without being taken away even though I had given all indications they were no longer needed. After ringing the call button, no one came for more than 20 minutes, so I had to wait for my seatmate to get up, then finagle my way out of the seat without knocking things over, then just took the glasses to the galley and put them somewhere because it was clear that a flight attendant was never going to do it. Generally, US airlines never have service on the same level as Asian airlines, which I find very disappointing, but it's something I accept as a given. Shortly after takeoff, drink service began and we were offered warm nuts along with our drink of choice. The "dinner" menu read as follows: ... Starter Thai Chicken with grilled five-spice pineapple, watermelon, and Asian mint dressing Salad Mixed greens with artichokes, roasted tomatoes and feta cheese Entrees Peppered Beef Filet with thyme jus, smoked mac and cheese and haricots verts Cashew Chicken with ginger garlic sauce, egg fried rice, stir-fried vegetables, and baby bok choy Soy Glazed Halibut with miso sauce, green tea rice, snap peas and baby carrots Stuffed Portobello Mushroom with mixed vegetables, wild rice, sauteed spinach and roasted red pepper sauce Dessert Traditional Ice Cream Sundae with your choice of butterscotch, hot fudge, or seasonal berry toppings Gourmet Cheese Plate Black Forest Mousse Cake ... True to form, I ordered the peppered beef filet as my entree. In general, I somehow think beef is better than chicken on an airplane (up for debate) and I don't eat fish or like mushrooms. The starter was pretty odd. The combination of chicken, fruit and mint was a bit too weird for me, but I at least finished the fruit and some of the chicken - separately. I really enjoy this salad and have seen it on multiple American flights. They love to pile on the dressing, which is more than I would have liked, but it has a lot of flavor with the artichoke and feta, which is great. The beef is honestly never great, but somehow it's the lesser of the evils for me, so beef it is. In this case, it was suspended in a pool of watery liquid and the mac and cheese was a bit too smoked for my liking, but it was edible so I'm not complaining. For dessert this time around, I went with the ice cream, but I've since found that my stomach is happier if I skip dessert while flying for long periods of time - imagine that! As soon as meal service was complete, the flight attendants turned down the lights and straight up disappeared for the next 7-8 hours. Rarely have I seen them stroll the aisles to check and see if anyone needs anything and it's almost always the case that I won't see them again until the lights come back on and it's time for the "breakfast" service to begin. This is disappointing to me as someone who does not like to ring the call button and hates to be a bother, but would definitely appreciate it if the flight attendants came by every once in a while so that I could feel comfortable grabbing them if necessary. About an hour and a half before landing, the lights come on and the flight attendants begin beverage service. "Breakfast" meals are on the cart, so they pass them out after you order your drink. I decided to pass on breakfast on this flight, but the menu read as follows: ... Salad Fresh Seasonal Greens with bell pepper, radish and pepper cream dressing Entrees Broccoli and Red Pepper Strata with smoked chicken sausage and roasted potatoes Dim Sum roast pork bun, chicken gyoza pot sticker and shrimp shumai with e-fu noodles Dessert Triple Chocolate Cheesecake ... I have ordered the Strata before and it's really not appetizing at all. The egg is always over-cooked and all of the items kind of blend together, so it all has the same flavor. In general, I just don't eat anything before landing when flying this route, but I think it would be really nice if they could offer some sort of a la carte fruit or yogurt as an additional option.
Once the meal service is complete, it's usually about 40 minutes until landing, so I'll use that time to freshen up and collect my belongings. It should also be noted that American passes out Bose headsets at the beginning of the flight, which is very nice, but they start collecting them right about now. So a word of advice here is to always have a backup pair of headphones ready in case you want to finish watching that movie that was almost over before landing. All in all, this flight could certainly be worse, but I'm always so underwhelmed. Flying between San Francisco and Shanghai in Cathay Pacific Business is truly a world of difference and it's unfortunate that American doesn't even try to step up their game. Despite this, it should be noted - I have been told that in November, the aircraft will finally be upgraded to a 787, which I honestly think will make this a MUCH more pleasant flight due to the much nicer, newer aircraft and the fact that it offers a 1-2-1 configuration with lie-flat seats in Business. As of now, my recommendation is to avoid flying American international on the old 777-200 aircrafts if you can. Review: Park Hyatt Shanghai City Guide: 5 Things to Do in Shanghai Review: Grand Hyatt Shenzhen Review: HKG Cathay Pacific “The Bridge” Lounge Review: Cathay Pacific Business Class HKG - SFO Last November, I spent several nights at the Grand Hyatt Shenzhen and I returned to spend two more nights there in March of this year. Shenzhen is a surprisingly beautiful city and it's full of high-end shops, beautiful manicured plant-lined streets, and fun architecture that becomes a neon lover's dream each night. The Grand Hyatt Shenzhen is located about 5-10 minutes by taxi from the border with Hong Kong, so it's pretty conveniently located if arriving from the Hong Kong (HKG) airport. The Shenzhen airport (SZX) is about 45 minutes away with no traffic. As with many hotels in China, the Grand Hyatt is attached to a mall (in this case, the MixC Shopping Center), which features all the luxury shopping you could ever want. The hotel is housed in a 38 story building and has 471 rooms and 8 restaurants, which offer a pretty good variety of foods. Somewhat oddly, the lobby is located on the 33rd floor of the hotel, which is above all of the guest rooms. So upon arrival, you will get into an elevator to the 33rd floor and then will need to transfer to another elevator once in the lobby that will take you down to your room. The lobby itself is quite dramatic, with extremely high ceilings and floor to ceiling windows. Each time I arrived, my check in was processed quickly and my Diamond status was recognized. I always opt for the points rather than the amenity when traveling by myself as I spend most of the time in my room working or sleeping. During my first stay last November, I had leftover suite upgrades that would go unused, so for fun, I applied one to that stay and was upgraded to a Grand Suite King. For my second stay in March, I had a Standard King room and I actually preferred it to the suite. More on that later. The halls in the Grand Hyatt are extremely dark, which is something I honestly don't love when traveling alone, although the room numbers and doors are somewhat lit up. You will notice upon arrival that the entire hotel is accented with a reddish wood throughout, including the guest room doors, but the wood somehow lends an odd smell to the hotel hallways and rooms. It's nothing terrible, but it's noticeable and since the hotel is several years old now, it doesn't seem like it will be going away anytime soon. Standard King As I mentioned, I preferred the Standard King room over the suite that I had on my first stay, although the layout of the Standard rooms is extremely odd, to say the least. I have never encountered this before, but upon walking into the room, you'll find yourself in the bathroom. No kidding. Immediately, you will see the shower right in front of you, which is centered in the bathroom and surrounded by glass (imagine if you forgot to lock the door and a housekeeper walked in while you were in the shower! omg, the horror!), then the toilet has a separate compartment on the left, and on the right is a closet area and the sink and minibar. The entire bathroom is covered in what I consider to be a hideous sort of green material (marble?), but it's still quite nice regardless. Amenities are June Jacobs, which actually smell really nice. You'll proceed through the bathroom into the bedroom which is nicely appointed and looks like your standard hotel room (albeit a luxurious and modern one). There's a bed, a desk, and a chair with floor to ceiling windows and the room is nicely accented with wood and glass doors which can be closed all the way to separate the bathroom from the bedroom. As with many of the Hyatts in China, the window coverings are controlled by a switch next to the bed, which is always a nice touch.
Review: Park Hyatt Shanghai City Guide: 5 Things to Do in Shanghai Review: Grand Hyatt Shenzhen Review: HKG Cathay Pacific “The Bridge” Lounge Review: Cathay Pacific Business Class HKG - SFO Shanghai is one of the most beautiful and interesting cities I have ever visited. When I first arrived in mainland China, I was absolutely shocked at how manicured and beautiful the large cities are (I've so far visited Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Suzhou in mainland China). The roads are lined with flowers, trees, grass, and all kinds of foliage and it is all very well maintained and extremely beautiful. The architecture is really just incredible. China really seems to love pushing the envelope when it comes to architecture and the accompanying lights that adorn said architecture. The city is really a treat for the eyes and is at its most stunning at night when everything is lit up and you can fully appreciate the architecture in all its glory. All of this being said, there isn't a whole lot to actually do in Shanghai unless you're eating or shopping. During my first visit last November, I had a free day between work and decided to venture out into the city to see what it had to offer. I actually had a pretty difficult time finding things to do and since that visit, I haven't really done much on free days other than sleep or catch up on things back home. This is honestly a bit disappointing to me, but I haven't felt compelled to see anything other than what I will mention here. Pudong Pudong can be found on the "other side" of the river from the rest of Shanghai. When you're looking across the water at the Pearl Tower and surrounding buildings, you're looking at Pudong, which is essentially the financial district of Shanghai. Really, there's not much here other than some malls and the three tallest buildings in the city. It's not quite worth the trip unless you're already staying on this side of the river, but it sure is pretty to look at! Yuyuan Bazaar The Yuyuan Bazaar was actually something I found by mistake because it's directly outside of the Yu Garden. If you want to visit someplace with traditional looking buildings and what you probably think of when you think of China, the Yuyuan Bazaar is a fun stop. It's full of bustling shops and restaurants and has a beautiful huge koi pond. It's definitely a massive tourist trap, but don't worry, it's full of Chinese tourists too! Yu Garden The Yu Garden is hands down my favorite attraction in Shanghai and one that I always recommend to friends and colleagues. It's the most beautiful traditional Chinese garden and I honestly could spend hours getting lost inside. Admission during low/high season is ¥30/40, which is about $5-7 and it's completely worth it. The garden is huge and winds around for quite a long time. It's full of traditional looking temples, bridges, beautifully intricate carvings, walls, doorways, windows, and ponds and water features full of koi fish. I visited on a cloudy, rainy day and while the garden was full of people, it was still peaceful inside - especially compared to the extremely busy Yuyuan Bazaar just outside the walls. Once inside, it's so easy to forget you're in the middle of a massive metropolitan city with huge skyscrapers and a visit is one of the best ways to decompress after a long week. Tian Zi Fang A coworker recommended we check out Tian Zi Fang and I really enjoyed it. Tian Zi Fang is a collection of old houses that have been converted into both low- and high-end shops, galleries, studios and restaurants in the French Concession neighborhood of Shanghai. You'll wander through many small alleyways and see all kinds of shops, foods, and people while visiting. If you're shopping for gifts to bring back home, I would definitely recommend stopping here, because it's full of souvenirs and interesting items. Honestly, even if you're not shopping for anything, it's still worth a visit just for the novelty. The Bund Perhaps the most famous vista in China can be seen when looking across the Huangpu river at Pudong while walking along the Bund. Located in the heart of Shanghai, the Bund is a walkway along the river with many restaurants and shops running alongside it. If you can, try to visit on a clear night, which will make it much easier to take photos and take in the view. BONUS: Ride the Maglev
The Shanghai Maglev train is a comically excessive addition to Shanghai that cost $1.2 billion to build and is currently the world's fastest train in regular commercial service. The Maglev runs from Shanghai Pudong Airport (PVG) into Shanghai city center (which is honestly not close to anything) in 8 minutes and 10 seconds most of the day and in only 7 minutes and 10 seconds during special operating hours. The max speed for the 8 minute ride is 301 km/h (187 mph) and the max speed for the 7 minute ride reaches 431 km/h (268 mph). If you can, try to catch the quicker ride, which runs from 9:00AM–10:45AM and 3:00PM–3:45PM each day. Shanghai is a gorgeous city and if nothing else, it can truly be described as a feast for the eyes. No matter where you look, there's something unique and interesting and I am so impressed each time I visit. I honestly believe that you can catch most of the highlights in a day or two, but I like to run through things quickly, so take that for what it's worth. Enjoy! Review: Park Hyatt Shanghai City Guide: 5 Things to Do in Shanghai Review: Grand Hyatt Shenzhen Review: HKG Cathay Pacific “The Bridge” Lounge Review: Cathay Pacific Business Class HKG - SFO For the beginning of the first of many business trips to China last November (yes, seriously behind in posting this), I spent 7 nights at the Park Hyatt Shanghai. The hotel is located in the Shanghai World Financial Center, which, until the Shanghai Tower was completed this year, was the tallest building in Shanghai. The World Financial Center building is part of a cluster of three super tall buildings (including the Shanghai Tower and the Jin Mao tower) located on the Pudong side of Shanghai, which you can enjoy a view of while walking along the Bund. The Park Hyatt occupies floors 79 to 93 of the World Financial Center and it's absolutely breathtaking in every sense. I had stayed at the Park Hyatt Tokyo the month before I checked in here, which is a favorite hotel of the travel blogging community, but there was no comparison for me. The Park Hyatt Shanghai is perfection. I have found Park Hyatts to be a bit stuffy and somewhat old-fashioned in their decorating style from time to time, which I definitely thought was the case at the Park Hyatt Tokyo. However, the Park Hyatt Shanghai was just the right mix of modern and minimal. Upon arriving at the hotel, you'll walk in a set of glass doors and wind around a bit to elevators that only go to three floors: floor 1, floor 87 (the lobby) and floor 91, which is where the hotel's restaurant, 100 Century Avenue, is located. From the lobby, you will take another set of elevators down to the guest rooms, gym, and pool area. Unfortunately, the lobby area doesn't photograph very well, and there are so many employees standing around in case you need anything at all (seriously, there are usually like 5 or 6 just lingering around), getting good photos was nearly impossible. Once you come out of the elevator, you will see the front desk in front of you and lots of seating arranged behind it along the windows for the bar and "pantry". Since the lobby is on the 87th floor, the views from the windows are stunning. Check in went very quickly. The front desk agent was extremely polite and efficient. I presented my passport and credit card and confirmed I wanted the points rather than the Diamond amenity and before I knew it, I was off to my room. I had been upgraded very slightly to a Park Deluxe King, which as far as I could tell, just meant that I had a few extra feet in my room which fit a long and very random table and two chairs. The guest rooms are on floors below the lobby, so I took the elevator down a few floors and found my room. I really loved the abundance of dark wood throughout the hotel. It was used for accents and was all over the place, making everything look very rich and contrasting nicely to the white walls. The hallways were very dark but had dramatic lighting which made things very cozy. Once I entered my room, there was longish hallway with a closet on my left, then the main room straight ahead. The hallway also housed the minibar and coffee machine as well as the bathroom and the toilet, which was separate and several feet away from the bathroom itself. The bedroom was minimal, beautiful, and comfortable with a TV, a desk and chair, a long somewhat random table, a chaise lounge, and the bed. All of the lights and window coverings were controlled next to the bed, which is something I love in hotel rooms. It's so much easier to push a button once you're already in bed rather than having to bump around trying to find all of the light switches. Pure luxury.
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