▲ 1.1k r/aviation
A Plane Spotter’s Hotel at Shanghai Hongqiao Airport
Room 811 has a partial runway view, and you can even watch planes from the pool!
u/AncientWoodpecker316 — 1 day ago
▲ 92 r/Hilton
Hilton Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport
Hilton Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport — a Hilton where you can watch planes take off and land right from your room. ✈️
u/AncientWoodpecker316 — 1 day ago
▲ 11 r/Hilton
DoubleTree by Hilton Shanghai Hongqiao — a surprisingly relaxing suite stay in Shanghai, China
I recently stayed at the DoubleTree by Hilton Shanghai Hongqiao in Shanghai, China, in a Deluxe Garden View Suite, and thought I’d share the experience.
Hilton status: Diamond
Room: Deluxe Garden View Suite
Suite size: about 73 sqm / 785 sq ft
Arriving in Shanghai
The stay started after arriving at Shanghai Pudong International Airport.
The hotel itself is not new, but the suite was in pretty good condition. The living room, bedroom, and bathroom are all clearly separated, so it feels like a proper suite rather than simply a larger standard room.
There is no executive lounge at this property, although complimentary drinks are available during part of the afternoon.
I also have to give the hotel credit for being very responsive through Hilton’s in-app messaging before arrival.
Welcome amenity
There was a welcome setup waiting in the room with fruit, pastries, and bottled water.
Nothing extravagant, but the presentation was thoughtful.
The pastries were cute.
Living room
The suite has a genuinely separate and fairly spacious living room.
There is a sofa, armchair, coffee table, desk, and a large entertainment unit, and even with all of that furniture the room still feels open.
This is also where the age of the property is probably most obvious.
The dark wood, traditional furniture, and large built-in TV cabinet definitely belong to an older generation of upscale hotel design.
But I actually think it works reasonably well here.
Compared with a lot of newer hotels in the U.S. that lean heavily into minimalism, this room feels more residential and relaxed. It also fits the quieter, lower-density surroundings of the property.
Bedroom
The bedroom is completely separated from the living room, which is something I always appreciate in a true suite.
There is plenty of room around the bed, plus a chair by the window.
Natural light is very good during the day.
The design is conservative and clearly not brand new, but the room feels comfortable and well maintained rather than worn out.
Bathroom
The bathroom is probably the part of the suite I liked least.
Functionally, it is excellent. It is very large and includes a separate walk-in shower, standalone bathtub, and double vanity.
The shower area in particular is huge. Even with two people staying in the room, space would definitely not be an issue.
But the problem is not the size.
It is the design.
There is a lot of light-colored stone, and the cabinetry, fixtures, and overall layout feel very much like an older generation of luxury hotel bathroom.
Everything works perfectly well, but considering how much space there is, it feels a little under-designed.
The bathtub area in particular could have been much more interesting. There is no view, no real focal point, and not much atmosphere.
So my overall take on the bathroom would be:
excellent size and functionality, but this is where the suite feels its age the most.
The garden view
The view was easily my favorite part of the room.
There is a small balcony where you can actually step outside.
When a lot of Americans picture Shanghai, China, I think the first image that comes to mind is skyscrapers, neon lights, dense streets, and the massive skyline around places like Lujiazui.
So this was not really what I expected to see from my hotel room.
From the balcony, the foreground is mostly trees and low-rise development, with the actual Shanghai skyline much farther away.
I was lucky with the weather that day.
The combination of the trees, rooftops, clouds, and distant city buildings looked especially good around sunset.
It is not the classic high-floor CBD view, but it is also not a resort completely separated from the city.
It sits somewhere in between.
And that is what I liked about it.
You can still see the skyline in the distance, which reminds you that you are very much in Shanghai.
But because the foreground is dominated by greenery and low-rise buildings, the city feels much less dense from this room than I expected.
For a hotel in one of China’s largest cities, it was surprisingly peaceful.
Overall
Overall, I enjoyed the Deluxe Garden View Suite quite a bit.
The strongest points are the space, separate living room, quiet environment, and especially the view.
The property is clearly from an older design generation, but the suite has been maintained well enough that I would not call it tired.
The bathroom was definitely my least favorite part. It is large and very practical, but the design feels dated and does not really take advantage of all that space.
Still, I would happily stay here again.
This is not a suite that tries to impress with flashy luxury or cutting-edge design. It is more about space, comfort, and a surprisingly relaxed side of Shanghai, China that I did not expect to experience from a city hotel.
For me, the most memorable part was simply sitting by the window and looking out over all that greenery while knowing I was still in one of the biggest and busiest cities in the world.
A little travel bonus
I flew to Shanghai on Asiana Airlines, connecting through Incheon, and I figured I’d include a few travel photos at the end as well.
By the time I arrived, the Korean Air lounges and dining areas were already serving breakfast.
And since airline food is always part of the experience:
The Korean option was bibimbap.
And the Western option was a beef dish.
Thanks for reading!
u/AncientWoodpecker316 — 3 days ago
▲ 34 r/Hilton
DoubleTree by Hilton Kyoto Higashiyama — one of only two suites in the hotel
Just wanted to share my recent stay at the DoubleTree by Hilton Kyoto Higashiyama. This is my first post here, so hopefully some of you will find it useful!
There are already plenty of reviews covering the location, breakfast, public areas, and standard rooms, so I’ll focus mainly on the highlight of my stay: one of the hotel’s two suites, according to the staff.
For reference:
Hilton status: Diamond
Room: Suite
The suite
The first thing that stood out was how well the space was laid out. Large hotel rooms are not exactly common in Kyoto, so having a proper living room, separate bedroom, bathroom, and dressing/closet area felt especially spacious.
The living room has a modern Japanese design with plenty of wood, but it never feels overly traditional or like a ryokan. It is understated and contemporary.
The living room itself is not enormous, but it is more than comfortable for one or two people. There is ample space between the sofa, coffee table, and TV, and the large windows allow for a lot of natural light.
The bedroom is completely separate from the living room. The design is fairly restrained, with warm wood paneling and lighting that fits Kyoto very well.
The best part: a private sauna
This was easily the most memorable feature of the room.
The bathroom already has a separate shower and bathtub, but right next to it is a private sauna built directly into the suite.
This is not a shared hotel facility and there is nothing to reserve — it is exclusively for the room.
The sauna is finished almost entirely in wood and, while it is not huge, it is easily large enough for a private in-room sauna.
I also really liked the layout:
sauna → shower → bath → changing area
Everything is right next to each other, so you never have to leave the privacy of your room.
For me, this is what really makes this suite stand out from a typical larger hotel room.
Bathroom and dressing area
The wet area is surprisingly spacious. The vanity, bathtub, shower, and sauna all have their own space instead of being squeezed together.
I personally much prefer this to hotels where the bathtub and shower share the same enclosure.
There is also a separate closet/dressing area next to the bathroom, which makes the suite feel more like a properly designed residential space rather than simply an oversized hotel room.
Service
Service was probably the other highlight of the stay.
The front desk staff spoke excellent English, so communication was effortless.
I was in Kyoto to take an exam, and the hotel manager knew about it beforehand. When I arrived, they had prepared a welcome setup in the room.
What impressed me most was that, because they knew I had an exam the following day, they had replaced the alcoholic drinks that would normally have been part of the welcome amenity with non-alcoholic ones in advance.
It is a small detail, but exactly the kind of personalized service I remember long after a stay.
They also prepared cheesecake and a fruit plate.
The cheesecake was unexpectedly excellent, and the fruit presentation was beautiful as well.
A few other notes
Breakfast was quite extensive.
The hotel does not have an executive lounge, although there is a period in the afternoon when complimentary soft drinks are available.
Overall
There are already plenty of detailed reviews of this property, so I did not want to repeat everything about the location, breakfast, or common areas.
But I thought this particular suite was worth sharing because it is quite unusual.
It is not a suite that tries to impress with enormous square footage or flashy luxury. The whole room is actually quite understated and calm.
But between the thoughtful layout, the private sauna, and the personalized service from the staff, this ended up being one of the more memorable DoubleTree stays I’ve had.
Sometimes those small details make the biggest difference.
u/AncientWoodpecker316 — 5 days ago