Atour Hotel Nanjing East Road, Shanghai on the Bund

We travelled as a family of 4 (2 adults and 2 very young kids). We chose the hotel based on all the positive reviews and also onsite free laundry service. Maybe we had really high expectations so the stay was disappointing. First of all, on the day we checked in they could only find one room (we booked 2 rooms under the same name but 2 different bookings). We were stuck at the reception for 45 mins or more because of this. This is despite I already updated the hotel on the second booking that we have booked 2 rooms and wanting them to be next to each other if possible. We arrived at around 8pm on the check in day, and none of the staff at reception could speak English. They did use a translating app on a phone but that didn’t work well with slightly complex situation. We were not explained anything about checking out time/wifi or other services available at check in. The staff made me felt like she was in a hurry and just wanted to move on. We were also handed a pouch with 2 toothpaste and toothbrush inside, and said that they are not “single use item” so should last throughout our stay (we were staying for 4 nights). At this point I really felt like I was checking into a motel with minimal service. When we finally got our room it was very smelly (potentially someone smoked in the room or just the smell from the drain hole in bathroom). Some stains on the floor and also on our bedsheet. We just put up with that because we were tired. Breakfast was ok but we got bored after 3 days as they served pretty much the same food. So we skipped breakfast on the last day. They only have 1 and only coffee machine to serve all the guests staying in. Often long queue (15-20 mins wait) for a mediocre coffee as the machine needed clean and change of milk very often. Laundry service was ok but when I went back to collect my clothes in washing machine, someone already put my clothes into a dryer with HIGH heat which damaged my clothes. They gave you a sheet to specify your options (high heat, low heat, gentle cycle etc). Our toilet also stuck and flooded so we had to ask for a service during our stay. Overall the stay wasn’t a positive one so I would reconsider if I would stay at this hotel again as it wasn’t very cheap.

Hotel was clean. Location was a bit weird that we had to walk in an alley where parking was difficult (one lane). But it is located near the main destination. Staff mostly dont speak English.