Review: Conrad Shanghai – great lounge, great views, no late checkout

After my mattress-run nights in Shanghai for the 20-night Hyatt Globalist Fast Track, I wanted to try staying somewhere a bit nicer. Luckily, a Go Hilton Friends and Family rate was available at Conrad Shanghai, so I decided to stay one night there.

Funny enough, I also achieved my Hilton Honors Diamond status via some mattress runs in 2025, which I'll post about later.

Thankfully, with the launch of the Hilton Honors American Express® Card in Canada, it will be a bit easier to achieve Diamond status moving forward. It's even possible without a single stay: spend $40,000 on the card in a calendar year and you're upgraded to Diamond.

Booking (September 2026)

I booked a King Deluxe Room on the Go Hilton Friends and Family rate. It was 600 CNY for the night, or 699.60 CNY (about $144 CAD) with tax and the service charge.

That's way below the normal price. You can only book this rate if you've been added under the Go Hilton program.

The stay also earned 5,788 Hilton Honors points, bonuses included.

Location

Conrad Shanghai is at 789 East Nanjing Road. Hilton describes it as being "in the heart of People's Square", with views of East Nanjing Road, the Bund and Pudong's skyline.

I just took a DiDi to get there, as I did the next day when I moved to Pullman Shanghai Central.

Here's the Google Map, but once you're in mainland China, use Amap (高德地图) instead. Google Maps doesn't work well there.

1 / 2

Lobby & Check-in

Lobby

The ground-floor lobby is tall and bright, with a wavy gold installation on the ceiling and a pastry counter. There's also a big bear statue, and a smaller one was waiting for me in the room.

Elsewhere in the public areas, I passed a red bull statue next to a whisky shelf, a display of tea sets and even a China Construction Bank ATM.

1 / 6

Check-in

They gave me a real hard time about the Go Hilton rate at check-in. You can only have access to this rate if a Hilton employee who is your family member, friend or acquaintance has added you under the program.

I was legitimately added by my best friend's mother, who works for Hilton. She was adding her son, and since he's been spoiled on many trips by my miles and points, he was like, "Mom, could you please add Jason too?"

Still, they asked for details about the employee who registered me:

• Their name
• The location they work at
• Their role

I didn't really know these details, so I had to ask my friend in the middle of the night (Eastern Time). It was quite an uncomfortable situation.

I tried asking more, but they said something like it's a requirement for the finance department.

Anyway, check-in went through, and the room was ready even though I was checking in at about 2pm, an hour early.

I got upgraded to a King Executive Room on a high floor, room 4103 on the 41st. I'm not quite sure I can call that an upgrade, though, as a Diamond member who already has access to the Executive Lounge.

I wasn't able to get a late checkout approved 🥲 This is really the only downside of my Hilton stays, but it's a big one: late checkout approval is rare.

1 / 3

Room (King Executive Room)

My room was on the 41st floor, with floor-to-ceiling windows and a marble bathroom.

Foyer

Upon entering, there's a foyer with a bathrobe on a hook and a luggage rack. The mini bar runs along one side.

Bed

The king bed has a daybed at its foot and open shelving beside it. The TV is on the wall across from the bed.

1 / 3

View

From the 41st floor, the view was over a park and the city skyline.

Desk Area

The desk sits right by the window, with a phone on it.

Welcome Gift

My welcome gift was a Conrad stuffed bear, a box of cookies and two bottles of water. The room also came with a purple Conrad rubber duck.

1 / 3

Mini Bar

The mini bar has a capsule coffee machine, a kettle, teas and bottled water. Below it, there's a drawer with snacks and small bottles of spirits, and a fridge with soft drinks and beer.

1 / 3

Bathroom

The bathroom is marble, with a vanity, a bathtub, a walk-in shower and a separate toilet with a bidet seat.

The toiletries are Byredo Mojave Ghost (shampoo, conditioner and body wash) in pump bottles.

1 / 6

Executive Lounge

As a Diamond member, I had access to the Executive Lounge, which Hilton puts on level 44.

The lounge was awesome, with great views. It's spacious and modern.

The Lounge

It's a long room under a glass roof, with shelving along one wall and tables along the windows. The window seats face the Pudong skyline.

1 / 6

Evening Hour

The food spread wasn't big, but the quality was good.

On the centre island, there were salads, cold dishes, cheese and fruit. The hot side had fries, sausages, penne, a few Chinese dishes, pizza and fried rice.

1 / 10

Drinks

The drinks are self-serve, with spirits, vermouth and wine.

1 / 2

Desserts

There was a dessert table too, with cream puffs, tarts and small cakes.

1 / 6

Breakfast

Breakfast is at Lane 11, and it was complimentary with my Diamond status. My table had a sign that read "Hilton Honors Diamond Members Breakfast Exclusive".

I also received a bottle of red wine as a Diamond member. I'm not sure whether every Diamond member gets one, or whether they always do this.

Chinese

There's a Shanghai-style counter with crepes on the griddle, plus pan-fried pork buns and steamers of buns and dumplings. The noodle station has its own toppings and sauces.

Next to those, there was a meatball soup with green radish, wheat gluten stuffed with pork, stir-fried greens, fried rice and fried noodles with beef.

1 / 9

Hot Dishes

The hot section had pork, beef and chicken sausages, smoked ham, bacon and hash browns. Eggs came fried, scrambled and boiled, and there were tea eggs too.

There was also a row with flatbread, yellow rice, a curry and baked beans.

1 / 6

Cold Counter

A round counter in the middle holds cold cuts, cheese, cereals and yogurt.

1 / 4

Bakery

The bakery had croissants, palmiers, pains au chocolat, Danishes, donuts, muffins and rolls. There was French toast and pancakes too.

1 / 10

Salad Bar

The salad bar had leaves, toppings and dressings, plus six small salads.

1 / 3

My Breakfast

I started with congee, a soup dumpling, a pan-fried bun and fried rice. Then I went back for fried noodles, greens, a fried egg, a crepe and some watermelon.

Breakfast was great overall, and the spread was quite diverse. It just felt a little short on meat options. Dishes like braised pork belly, char siu pork or stir-fried beef would have been nice additions.

To be fair, my bar has been raised over the years. It's now difficult for me to appreciate a hotel breakfast unless it's outstanding.

Before I started the miles and points game, my jaw would have dropped at this kind of breakfast.

1 / 3

Amenities

Gym

I used the gym, which runs along the windows. It has treadmills, strength machines, a Smith machine and a free weights area.

1 / 4

Pool

I didn't use the indoor pool. There's a swim cap rule, which is common in Asia.

Final Thoughts

Conrad Shanghai was the nicer stay I wanted after my mattress run. The lounge was awesome, with great views, and breakfast came with a bottle of wine.

It wasn't perfect: they gave me a hard time over the Go Hilton rate, and I wasn't able to get a late checkout.

I'd return, but I'd also want to try other hotels in Shanghai.

If you've booked a Go Hilton rate, did the hotel ask you for the same details? Let me know in the comments!