Long taxi rides are a fact of life in Shanghai so arriving at one’s destination is often something to be eagerly awaited – even if the trip entails travelling a short distance - from my flat to the four-day old Peninsula Shanghai. Or perhaps amid the hype, one should approach the end of this journey with breathless anticipation, traffic notwithstanding.

I was warmly greeted at the Hotel entrance by the usual array of Peninsula style Associates. They speeded me to the Front Desk where Lilian checked me in. She walked the talk as she so very eloquently explained the facilities of the hotel while escorting me from the Front Desk to my room.

She showed how the MARLOK (metal) room key needed to be inserted into the lift control panel to access my floor. In the room, Lilian asked if the temperature was fine, and whether she could make me a coffee using the in-room espresso machine. She also showed me the room safe, and how to make those free VOIP calls. Great training! I listened in rapt attention since she had a pleasant way of unraveling the mysteries of these gadgetries. I was made to feel that this was a sincere gesture to make me feel welcome and comfortable rather than an expectation of a gratuity at the end of her spiel. “Nice start”, I thought.

Although I was tempted to try the Compass Bar or Yi Long Court [Chinese Restaurant], chilling out in my room appealed more so I can focus on what this hotel can truly offer. I called Room Service. They took my order for a Peninsula Club sandwich and Apricot Baba saying it would be delivered in 30 minutes. At just a tad over 27 minutes, the Room Service waiter arrived. He laid the trolley expertly in front of the TV (where I had requested it to be placed) so I can enjoy the delights of warm homemade style potato chips, which accompanied the meal. The special order of a side green salad was met. It was crisp and lightly tossed with an oil and vinegar dressing, but no drink was offered when taking my order, neither was any ice water brought with the food.

At 9.30pm turn down took place and the attendant noticing my shoes were still waiting to be picked up and polished, offered to take care of them. As part of the service, she re-set the lights in the bathroom, dimming them to a low level. Later in the night, when I used the bathroom, the illuminated dials on all the electronics gave a warm amber glow – almost magical. (I must be a techie!!!).

A colleague of hers delivered some drinking water, which I’d requested moments before as none was in the room, and she kindly removed the room service trolley before the waiter who should have been on his way arrived. The shoes were silently returned to me via the Butler box nicely wrapped in a bow-tied velvety bag complete with shoe-trees – these I could not resist keeping as a souvenir (oops, did I really say that – sorry Mr. Tchen – Hotel GM). I knew they were there – the shoes, I mean, because the Service Delivery button lit up. My shoes must have felt really good to experience that Peninsula touch.

Moments later, the illuminated fax-waiting button caught my attention. It was a message from the Concierge reminding me of my transportation arrangements.

A good night’s rest was pretty much assured by the Simmons bed, thick pillow top mattress, goose down pillows and linens by Frette.

Waking up to the natural light of Shanghai was easy by pressing the Curtain Up button by the bedside, and the thought of a freshly brewed Nespresso coffee made it even easier. That feeling of being at home was even more within reach as I have the same system there – which is extremely fortunate as many people would not know the meaning of the three differently colored capsules (FYI – red is DECAF). Pity though there were no warm milk and cookies or those famous Peninsula chocolates to help send me off into deep slumbers the night before. Having said that, I thought of that biblical line “and lead us not into temptation” so my waistline thanks you!

Helping me tackle those early morning emails while I savored the espresso, was background music (courtesy of Barbra Streisand) being streamed off my USB stick inserted into the DVD player. It’s a wonderful way to ease into what always turns out to be a stressful day.

My morning was made even more special by the powerful rain shower, and water temperature that was just on the button… spot on! Oh, the shower controls are manual. The amenities in the room were in oversized bottles – the better for helping me prolong the enjoyment of my stay. Dapao is Chinese for “take-away” and I happily did just that.

A little after 9am, I strolled into the lobby where breakfast was being served until 11am. The place was not busy and had a slightly cold and empty feel to it. I am sure the ambience would be better once the room teems with people wanting to be seen.

Since American Breakfast was included in my room rate, I placed the order and requested fresh carrot juice - this was easily accommodated by the Server. Although I needed to work at the same time, the offer of a freshly ironed newspaper with my breakfast would have been a nice touch.

Soon the coffee arrived, and my breakfast size china cup was half filled. Hot milk was placed on the table, but the silver jug did not exactly look like it was just working 4 days old. Examining the cutlery more closely, made me wonder if some of this had been transferred from another property in the group. I’ve no issue with that, except it did not look as brand new as the rest of the décor.

Moments passed and my Granola arrived – which was sprinkled on top of the yoghurt that had some fruit puree buried beneath it. It was delicious, but the presentation slightly strange as it was in a standard cup and saucer with a teaspoon. A separate fresh fruit plate was also provided.

After polishing that off, the three choices of bakery items appeared (Danish, Brioche and an English Muffin) shortly followed by my main course. The scrambled eggs were great – not too runny.

Breakfast was leisurely, and most enjoyable.

So as to walk off the calories, I strolled round the public areas of the Hotel noticing that the shopping arcade is yet to open, probably a few weeks more, and so I ventured to the Function Room spaces, Business Center and F&B outlets.

The Function rooms were impressive. Most rooms have digital signage outside to explain what’s happening in the room, but they were all in standby mode when I walked through.

A walk past the Chinese Restaurant was one of the highlights as I caught a glimpse of many smaller private rooms very tastefully decorated in old Chinese style. Sadly my pictures don’t do them justice, so a look at the Hotel website should be a great way to see what I’m talking about. There is even a dedicated room called Chef’s Table, where 8 people can sit round an aluminum style table with large windows looking into the Kitchen as they watch their food being expertly prepared. I remember many years ago doing such a thing at the Peninsula Hong Kong, where along with my wife and two friends we literally sat in the kitchen and were hand-held all the way through the menu by the Executive Chef of Gaddis. That was a memorable meal!

So it was back to my room, and time to do a few more emails before taking the car service that came with my room accommodation. Part of me was hoping for the green Rolls Royce, but instead I got a Mercedes. Actually, the Rolls was being filmed with some of the staff, so I guess it wasn’t available for me – ha ha.

I very much enjoyed my 20 hours at the Peninsula Shanghai. The Team have done an excellent job in bringing to market a Grand property, with good hardware and software. You can tell that a lot of time and effort has gone into staff selection and training.

I suppose if anyone can do it – The Peninsula folks can.

© terence @pertlink.net ISHC

Terence Ronson
+852 946 80848
Pertlink Limited

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