The Pujiang Hotel, No, I mean the Astor House Hotel, no, I mean Richards Hotel...
I wrote this entry quite a while ago on the 27th of May, just bordering on two weeks now. It has sat idle until I had the chance to process and upload some digital snaps Linda and I had taken. It's a strange feeling looking back at what you wrote when everything was exciting and new. We've found out so much more about the Pujiang/Astor House Hotel since then, so keep on scrolling down after this backdated entry....
timmyb
[27th of May, 2005] My [gf] and I are staying in the schizophrenic, but grand old lady of Shanghai, The Pujiang Hotel. Over many years, the name of the hotel has changed, as has the location of the building. The 'hotel entity' goes back to 1846 when it was one of the first Western-owned and operated hotels in China, known at the time as the Astor House Hotel (otherwise known as Richard's Hotel after the owners). The current site, which is about a 2 minute walk to Shanghai famous Bund area, has hosted an Astor House/Richard's hotel since 1857. The building I am writing this entry in has existed only since 1907, when the old hotel was 'renovated' to make the hotel in a grand deluxe model that we see today.
Well, grand deluxe might be a little stretch for me right now. The hotel caters for a wide variety of clients which include backpackers, budget rooms (us!), mid-range and upmarket travellers. Our room is situated at the back of the hotel, accessed by a long winding corridor which is lined with sepia photographs detailing the history surrounding the building. Much of this history can also be deduced by looking at the hotel itself. While the Pujiang Hotel isn't entirely in A1 condition, considering the age of the building, we both reckon that the hotel retains a sense of grandeur. Think of Barbara Cartland wearing lots of brown, after a heavy night on the turps. You're almost there, trust me.
The building itself is a 'neo-classic English baroque structure'. Whatever that means. The first feature that struck me was the abundance of dark, heavily lacquered hardwood throughout the building. The floors of the corridors and rooms are a constant reminder of the age of the building. Of the rooms we have snuck a look at, they all have old wooden mantles over the fireplace (all of which have been either built in or sealed off). The same wood can be found on the grand window and door frames found throughout the hotel. Throw in thick thick thick walls, stained glass windows, double doors, chandeliered high (but poorly sound-proofed) ceilings (bloody elephants!), and you're starting to get a picture of what the hotel is like. The lobby has a marble floor (of course), with highly uniformed doormen & bell-hops, as well as a lobby bar & store. Check out the website for more details. Lin and I currently frequent the Richard Restaurant on the second floor for both breakfast and dinner, and well, we are generally stuffed full of Chinese cooking after each visit. You won't leave hungry. Its cheap too. The 640mL bottles of ice-cold Tsing Tao beer at ¥6 is an absolute bargain and has kept us from digging into our duty free booze. There's heaps of other features, but that's what the hotel website is for!
But like all my rants, there has to be a drawback. The hotel is currently being renovated, in fact we've been told this is part of a process initiated back in 2002 when the hotel was acquired by new owners (I think). Where we are staying is one of the wings that is undergoing work. Lin & I have both noticed transient, but strong kerosene-like fumes in our area. It has been a constant drawback of our stay. We think that they use some type of cleaning product or paint stripper where we are living, and it seeps through the ventilation system. Not nice, but bearable. There's not much that can be done about it though. That smell has now disappeared, but we did have to put up with it for a couple of days. The room features are all a bit ancient or ill-fitting with the rooms themselves. There is a sense of emptiness in our room, but we've done our best to compensate that by filling it up with goodies trophied from our unplanned shopping jaunts. The heating also isn't fantastic, but nothing putting on a jumper doesn't fix. The other food servery here (the Waitan Bridge Bar), while convenient at almost all hours, is expensive and isn't as good value as the main restaurant.
The Pujiang Hotel isn't the Hyatt or the Hilton. But it has served both Linda and I well. The service has been good, and the facilities met what we required. While we may not have stayed in the prima area of the hotel, all the same services were extended to us. I'd recommend staying here, even if its only for a couple of days.
Now... where to find an elephant gun for those creatures upstairs...
Interesting facts about the Astor House/Pujiang Hotel (or so they say...)
‚Ä¢ Visitors include British philosopher and mind-bender Bertrand Russell, ?ºber-nerd Albert Einstein, the little master Charlie Chaplin, and gun-toting U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant.
• The first electric light was lit in the hotel.
• The first telephone in China was installed here.
• The first stock exchange of China was declared open here.
We have later learnt from our new friends here in Shanghai that the Pujiang Hotel is one of the 'favourite' entry points for long time stayers in Shanghai. Seduced by a 'Barbara Cartland-esque' hotel?! Maybe we don't have such high standards after all. It might have been the charm of the persistent 'Lolex - Omega' watch sellers pushing their merchandise at you from outside the lobby windows, or the barber that was open past midnight (but couldn't quite manage it before midday). The service was ok, I think most people either staying or working there had their minds and hearts somewhere else. However, it truly was the Hotel that was the dominant figure in our collective days.
That place rocked!
You can see more photos documenting the Pujiang Hotel in my photo gallery. There's also a couple in my mobile snaps gallery.
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