Happy Valley Amusement Park

(Huānlè Gu; adult/child/child under 1.2m ¥200/100/free; 9am-6pm) Happy Valley has the best rides in town, including the epic wooden roller coaster which runs for over 1km, a 90-degree Diving Coaster and a stomach-churning Turbo Drop, but queues can get seriously long, especially during weekends and school holidays. It’s huge, so prepare to do some legwork, and it’s not much fun in the heat. To reach Happy Valley, take metro line 9 to Sheshan metro station and hop on the free shuttle bus.

Sleeping

There has never been a better time to find a bed in Shanghai. From ultrachic, carbon-neutral boutique rooms to slick five-star hotels housed in glimmering skyscrapers, grand heritage names and well-run, down-to-earth backpacker haunts, the range of accommodation in town is just what you would expect from a city of this stature.

Hotels

Top-end stays tend to fall into three categories: trendy boutique hotels, historic heritage hotels where guests can wrap themselves in nostalgia and top-of-the-range modern tower hotels, bursting with the latest amenities and sparkling with highly polished service (and often glorious views).

The less well-developed midrange hotel market, which includes some handy chain hotels, also has some boutique and heritage offerings. Neat, comfortable, but largely soulless express hotels are a budget option, sometimes offering bigger rooms than hostels, but without the Western-friendly facilities or language skills.

Be prepared for reasonably rudimentary English-language skills, except at the very best hotels (and youth hostels). Almost all the hotels we’ve listed have air-conditioning, and usually have wi-fi (sometimes at pricey daily rates) or broadband.

Learn to treat star rankings in Shanghai with a raised eyebrow. Some Shanghai hotels have acquired five-star rankings (despite not having a swimming pool).

Hostels

At the budget end, Shanghai has a decent choice of youth hostels. Usually staffed by competent English speakers, they offer well-priced dorm beds and private rooms as well as wi-fi, communal internet terminals, bike rental, kitchen and laundry rooms and even the odd table tennis or pool table. Most have small and cheap bar-cafe-restaurant areas. Hostels also provide handy travel advice to guests.

Rates

Rack rates are listed here, but expect discounts of up to 50%. Discounts are offered at most hotels, except during national holiday periods or the Formula One grand prix weekend. Rates can be bargained down at many budget and midrange hotels, but not at express hotels or hostels.

Dorm beds go for around Y50 or Y55, but double rooms under Y200 can be hard to find. Expect to pay at least Y500 for a midrange room. The fancier boutique hotels will charge more. A standard room in a top-end place will almost certainly top Y1000, even after discount. Many of the better hotels, especially those aimed at business travellers, have cheaper weekend rates.

For an explanation of the symbols used in this chapter, see How to Use this Book on the inside front cover.

Дата добавления: 2015-11-14