Park Hotel Shanghai

The Park Hotel is one of the landmarks of West Nanjing Road, an 83.8-metre tower facing People's Park. It was designed by the Hungarian-Slovak architect László Hudec and opened on 1 December 1934 as the Joint Savings Society Building, intended as a rival to the Cathay Hotel on the Bund. It was the tallest building in Asia until 1963, the tallest in China until 1966 and the tallest in Shanghai until 1983, and it is now protected as a national cultural relic. The building is also the reference point for Shanghai's survey coordinate system.

Much of the original interior was altered in the 1950s, partly restored in the 1980s and remodelled in Art Deco style in 1997, with the lobby restored in 2001. The hotel, run by Jin Jiang, has an in-house museum on the building's history. Room types run from a compact 12-square-metre single to deluxe rooms of 30 to 35 square metres, some with views over the park, and suites of up to 58 square metres.

There are two Chinese restaurants: Fengze Lou, serving Beijing-style food with Shanghainese influences, and Yun Lou, which cooks Shanghai, Beijing and Cantonese dishes with local techniques. The Lobby Lounge serves pastries, tea, coffee and cocktails, and the hotel's butterfly crackers are famous across the city, sold from the bakery counter.

This is a good-value choice for budget-conscious travellers who still want a historic building and an excellent location, and it suits solo travellers and couples. The smallest rooms are compact, so check sizes when booking. Check-in is from 2pm and check-out at noon, and the hotel is non-smoking, with free Wi-Fi, a breakfast buffet and luggage storage.

The hotel also has a 260-square-metre meeting hall on the ninth floor, and the Lobby Lounge serves tea sets alongside its pastries and cocktails.

The location is one of the most convenient in the city. People's Square station on Lines 1, 2 and 8 is close by, East Nanjing Road leads straight to the Bund, and the Shanghai Museum is a short walk across the square. The Jia Jia Tang Bao dumpling shop on Huanghe Road is nearby.