Best Shanghai business hotels for every budget

Shanghai has many things in spades: expensive cocktail bars, xiaolongbao stands and hotels -- boutique, luxury, business, you name it. Whether a Fortune 500-listed company is footing the bill or a penny-wise businessman is pay out of own pocket, here are the best Shanghai business hotels to suit a range of budgets. Shanghai Marriott Hotel City Centre (上海雅居乐万豪酒店) This 720-room hotel just north of Shanghai's commercial heart, People's Square, is built for corporate goings-on. The fifth floor features 2,000 square meters of meetings and events space, as well as a business center with its own conference room. For presentations, the grand ballroom has an enormous LED screen measuring nine by five meters. The 48 Executive Suites, each of which features two bathrooms, a bedroom and a living room, are ideal for more intimate small meetings. Every room's 42-inch LCD television can connect to a laptop, and each desk holds a connectivity kit with all manner of cables. Guests staying at the Executive Suites can book the conference room free of charge for up to two hours at the Executive Lounge on the 37th floor. The lounge serves a full breakfast, snacks all day and an ample spread of canapés after 5:30 p.m. 555 Xizang Zhong Lu, near Fengyang Lu西藏中路555号, 近凤阳路; +86 21 2312 9888; nightly rate from around RMB 1,380 (US$222) plus 15 percent; official website InterContinental Shanghai Pudong (上海锦江汤臣洲际大酒店) InterContinental has three locations in Shanghai, but this branch is the most convenient for business travelers, providing easy access to Shanghai's Lujiazui CBD, four metro lines at the Shiji Da Dao station and a short trip to the international airport. Each of the 398 guest rooms has an LCD television, DVD player, iPod dock and wireless Internet access. The rooms' workspaces have been thoughtfully designed, with bright lighting and a slew of outlets at varying levels so busy bees can plug in all their gadgets. Adapters and converters are available at the concierge desk free of charge. Meetings are a breeze here, with 3, 576 square meters of meetings and events space divided over 16 rooms. Host up to 750 people for a massive conference or go more intimate in a 30-person boardroom. The hotel has plenty of AV equipment for all the rooms, including digital, LCD and overhead projectors, modem lines and DVD players. 777 Zhangyang Lu, near Laoshan Lu 张扬路777号, 近崂山路; +86 21 5835 6666; nightly rate from around RMB 1,180 plus 15 percent; official website Swissôtel Grand Shanghai (上海宏安瑞士大酒店) Who says business travelers can't squeeze in wining, dining and shopping? With its location just off jam-packed Nanjing Xi Lu, guests at this Swissôtel are a stone's throw from a bevy of malls, restaurants and Jing'an Park, where elderly locals practice tai chi each morning. The hotel is right next to Shanghai Pudong Airport's city terminal, which hosts direct airport shuttle buses. Each of 467 rooms comes with wireless Internet access, daily newspaper delivery, a big flat-screen TV, a Nespresso machine and a tea station, which carries local and imported blends. Meeting and events facilities include the 575-square-meter Grand Ballroom, the 390-square-meter Junior Ballroom, which can be divided into three smaller rooms and six multi-purpose function rooms that work for corporate events or smaller meetings. The hotel's website displays floor plans and capacity charts. 1 Yuyuan Lu, near Jiaozhou Lu 愚园路1号, 近胶州路; +86 21 5355 9898; nightly rate from around RMB 1,100 plus 15 percent; official website Holiday Inn Pudong Shanghai (上海浦东假日酒店) With its location right in Lujiazui, Shanghai's financial district, this is one of the city's best mid-range hotels for business travelers. Rooms are well-appointed, with wireless Internet, fax machine and printer access and a sizeable desk with plenty of power outlets, computer cables and a reading lamp. The hotel's six meeting rooms can arrange corporate gatherings of 10-400 people, all of which come with necessary equipment like stage lights, projectors and moveable lecterns. It's practically a crime in China to let business associates go hungry. Holiday Inn serves bites from its all-day Chinese restaurant Bauhinia Court, which cooks Cantonese, Sichuanese and Shanghainese cuisine, and an Irish-pub style eatery, Flanagan's. Guests staying in the executive rooms can take in complimentary breakfast and evening cocktails in the bright, airy executive lounge. 899 Dongfang Lu, near Pujiang Lu 东方路899号,近浦江路; +86 21 5830 6666; nightly rate from around RMB 799 plus 15 percent; official website Hengshan Picardie Hotel (衡山宾馆) Business travelers looking to trade Lujiazui's gridlocked avenues for the French Concession's tree-lined streets would do well to shack up here, which is a quick stroll from Metro Line 1 Hengshan Lu Station. All 259 rooms have free broadband Internet, phones for local and international calls, safe deposit boxes and satellite TV. Ten meeting spaces can host 20-250 people, and the hotel's website provides floor plans and capacity charts for each room. There's wireless Internet access throughout the hotel's public areas, and all the meetings spaces are stocked with AV equipment -- sounds systems, DVD players, LCD screens in a handful of sizes and wireless microphones. Luddites can take advantage of flip charts, white boards and podiums. 534 Hengshan Lu, near Huashan Lu 衡山路534号, 近华山路; +86 21 6437 7050; nightly rate from around RMB 800 inclusive; official website Manhattan Bund Business Hotel (曼哈顿外滩商务酒店) Located directly behind the Fairmont Peace Hotel, this 100-room hotel costs only a fraction of the Peace to stay a night. Guests get the same Bund-side location, complete with glittering skyline. All facilities were built to meet the Chinese three-star hotel standard. The standard rooms are small, not all of them have windows, and the décor is a little 1970s, with red-paper lanterns in the lobby and lots of faux gold and marble. By the same token, suites are palatial and well-priced: for those who wants to feel like a king without spending like one, check in here. Every room has a computer with Internet access; 24 hours will run you RMB 40. The hotel's tour desk can help with faxing and photocopying, and there's a business center and two banquet rooms that can be used to host meetings. 81-85 Dianchi Lu, near Yuanmingyuan Lu 滇池路81-85号, 近圆明园路; +86 21 6888 8123; nightly rate from around RMB 328 inclusive; official website Source: CNN Travel By Sophie Friedman from China Travel & Tourism News http://www.chinatraveltourismnews.com/

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