If you are looking for a hotel near the HongQiao Airport in Shanghai, you can’t find one closer than the Argyle Hotel. In fact, some of the literature on the Internet is a little misleading about it, because it says it is actually in the airport, but it isn’t. If you take the subway to it, don’t take the terminal 2 exit; stay on the train and take the next exit west of terminal 2. I think it is called terminal 1. You will have to exit the airport and subway system, but the hotel is on the corner of the next block.
The lobby is nicely decorated and they have fresh flowers displayed. Also, they have some nice, large leather furniture is a waiting area. The staff at the front desk speak English well, so checking in and out is no problem at all.
The rooms are nice and clean, but if you want to use the Internet, you will need to plug in a small box and insert the network cable into it to get Wi-Fi into your room. It is becoming more and more common for hotels in China to provide Wi-Fi connectivity in this manner.
This hotel had a feature I hadn’t seen in any hotel in China before. There was a night light built into the lower wall near the bathroom door. The light stayed on all the time if you were in the room, and I found no way to turn it off.
The Argyle provides a free shuttle to the airport on the hour in the mornings. Since I was with a large group, they made a special run for us on the half hour, which we appreciated very much. The hotel also offers a small convenience store with good hours, so you can get a snack or bottle of water if you need one. I am thankful we stayed at the Argyle Hotel. It was so close to the airport, and right on a subway line. I hadn’t stayed there before, but it worked out much better than I thought it would when the hotel I wanted to use was booked.