Sofitel Shanghai Hyland

Rooms and decor

Sofitel Shanghai Hyland stands on Shanghai's main shopping street, just 50 metres from Exit 1 of East Nanjing Road metro station. The 30-storey tower first opened in 1993 and had its latest renovation in 2019, and the lobby leans into 1930s Shanghai Art Deco — stained-glass windows and brass lamps. The Luxury room runs 32 sqm, with emerald-green carpet, wine-coloured velvet curtains and black-and-white photos of 1920s Shanghai hung over the bed. The King bed comes under a thick European-style duvet rather than the thin Asian kind, and there is a Nespresso machine with 6 free capsules. The minibar throws in free water and Wang Wang snacks, and the white-marble bathroom has a rainshower, a separate tub and the jasmine-scented Lanvin soap you find at Sofitels worldwide. Rooms start around $115 a night, and real guests rate the place 9.2/10.

Food and amenities

The French restaurant Le 25 sits on the 25th floor and runs a breakfast buffet from 6am to 10am — freshly baked croissants, eggs benedict made to order, and xiaolongbao brought out hot, one steamer basket at a time. The view runs down Nanjing Road all the way to the Bund, and it is the kind of breakfast you sit over for two hours. The Sofitel So SPA on the 7th floor does Thai and Chinese massage, 60 minutes for about $90. There is also a small outdoor pool on the 7th floor, open only April to October and heated to 26°C.

Location and getting there

Turn right out of the hotel and 100 metres later you hit the pedestrian stretch of East Nanjing Road, 1.6km long, lined with M&S, Uniqlo and a second branch of Din Tai Fung where the tables stay full. Keep walking another 12 minutes and you reach the Bund, with its row of 1920s European bank buildings; reviewers point to 18:30 as the moment to photograph the Pudong skyline, just as the gold light comes up and the sky is changing colour. The East Nanjing Road metro on Lines 2 and 10 is right there, and for Pudong Airport you change to the Maglev at Longyang Road — about 35 minutes in all.

Things to know before booking

This is a genuinely central spot, which cuts both ways: Nanjing Road is busy and crowded all day, so quiet is not part of the deal. The building shows its age a little — it dates to 1993 — and street noise can carry. Starting rates also sit on the high side, as you would expect from a luxury hotel, and in high season rooms fill fast, so book ahead.

Our take

Sofitel Shanghai Hyland fits couples who shop and travellers who love French food best of all. The address right on Nanjing Road is the number-one selling point — open the door and the stores are right there. We give it 9.2, knocking off a little for the building's age and the noise, but the careful French-style service and that breakfast at Le 25 are the kind of thing reviewers say brings them back.