Hotel KIMPTON a Shanghai

This Kimpton hotel is really-really cool: opened in September’23, it has fresh amenities, sleek contemporary design, beautiful scenery from the upper decks and remarkable dine & drink options. The staff is friendly and helpful, with fair level of English, which is not that common even in Shanghai. Rooms have spacious bathrooms, high-tech control system and comfy bed with orthopedic (!) pillows. The surrounding areas are fresh from the reconstruction, conveying nice Singapore-style staycation feel - great choice even for those living in Shanghai. The only major area of concern was the pool. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a really beautiful rooftop pool at a scenic spot of Huangpu river, but it’s regulated by the most ridiculous rules you can possibly think of. First, there is no service by the pool, so forget about the joy of having a coffee, a cold beer or a juice at your sunbed. There’s a forced shower at the entrance which cannot be turned off - protecting your phone an belongings would require agility. And the most stupid of all - you must wear a swimming cap even if you don’t dive. There is no information of it ahead of check-in, so you can either rent a cap at the place, or enjoy the pool in observer’s mode if they’d ran out of those (happened to us). Having stayed at over 30 hotels across all China, it was the first time I met regulations like that. It’s not a sports pool, where caps and absence of service could be assumed. It’s a really nice rooftop leisure pool, beautifully furnished and with pleasant soundtrack. Well, could have been. Dear Administration, please benchmark the other hotels in town. A properly serviced rooftop pool is not just a source of joy for your guests, it’s also a revenue stream for the business.