Crowne Plaza Shanghai Harbour City Outdoors

July 8, 2013
Banyan Tree on the Bund TOPS
Crowne Plaza Shanghai Lakeside – Interior

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This article was translated from Chinese by AI.

First, let’s take a look at the renderings of this hotel:

Crowne Plaza Dishui Lake

I was completely drawn in by these pictures, so I decided to spend the weekend there for a vacation~~~~

I have to start by talking about how to get there if you’re not driving…. With Metro Line 16 not yet open at the time, getting to Dishui Lake was quite, quite a hassle…. First, you have to go behind the Maglev station at Longyang Road Station to catch the Longgang Express. It’s a direct highway route using airport-shuttle-style buses. As long as you don’t clash with the students from Ocean University and Maritime University, you won’t have to wait in line for too long… The whole trip takes only 40 minutes to reach the Hucheng Ring Road Shared Zone. It’s reasonably comfortable and costs 17 yuan… Then comes the tricky part… From there to the hotel is about 3-4 km, and there are absolutely no taxis… Only unlicensed cabs are available. Of course, you can also choose public transit, but only one bus goes there: Shengang Route 1, which runs about once every 40 minutes… Both directions are loop routes, so check which side is closer~~~ Actually, it’s not that far overall, and taking it as a sightseeing tour of Lingang New City isn’t bad either. Get off at Huanhu West 1st Road & Haigang Avenue Station, and right across the street is the bridge leading to the island…

After crossing the bridge, you can see the floor plan of the entire island:

Floor Plan

The island is actually quite large~~~ The hotel consists of 5 petals connected in the center, which houses the lobby~~
These 5 buildings correspond to Zones A through E. Each building has 4 floors; aside from functional areas, the rest are guest rooms. The functional layout is as follows:
Zone A, the bottom-most one in the diagram: Business Center and Meeting Rooms on the 1st floor; Chess & Card Room on the 2nd floor.
Zone B, the one on the right in the diagram: Restaurant on the 1st floor; Spa on the 2nd floor.
Zone C, the top one in the diagram: Executive Floors; Executive Lounge on the 3rd floor.
Zone D, the one on the left in the diagram: Gym and Indoor Swimming Pool on the 1st floor.
Zone E, not shown in the diagram… Sweat… Located between Zones D and A: Beer Garden on the 1st floor. This building can be quite noisy at night.
Additionally, the Grand Ballroom is located between Zones A and B, and the Outdoor Swimming Pool is between Zones C and D, though it wasn’t open yet…

Room types include:
Superior Room: Approx. 36 sqm. Windows cannot be opened, no balcony, but the room itself is quite spacious.
Deluxe Room: Approx. 40 sqm. Features a large balcony, making the interior space slightly smaller.
Lake View Room: Same layout as the Deluxe Room. These should be the rooms on the outer side of Zone B, very close to the lake with lake views.
Of course, there are also Executive Rooms in Zone C, which supposedly offers the best environment, though I heard the lounge isn’t usually open on weekdays?
Then there are Suites and such~~~

Although the hotel is on an island, there actually aren’t that many room types with lake views…
Especially if you’re unlucky enough to be on the first floor, you really won’t have any view at all…

On weekends, the hotel hosts tour groups and family activities~~ So it gets pretty crowded in the afternoon.
The swimming pool was taken over by kids~~~ But the gym was completely empty~~~~
The restaurant was extremely crowded, and since they only offer a buffet on weekends, if you want a quieter atmosphere, you might consider ordering room service.

As for the photos below, this post will focus on the outdoor scenery first~~~
Dishui Lake, a rare large lake in Shanghai… was created through land reclamation, so it could actually be made quite vast.
Currently circular in shape, it’s roughly the same size as West Lake~~~~
Early the next morning, after breakfast and before it got too hot, I took a stroll around. Having an entire island to yourself is awesome;
it keeps the crowds away and ensures high-quality scenery. The only downside is that the trees are newly planted and still very, very small…
So in summer, it’s probably better to stay indoors~~~~