Caption by Hyatt Zhongshan Park Shanghai [In-Depth Hotel Review]

Staying at a new hotel offers the opportunity to stay in rooms where nothing is broken yet. It also presents the risk of staying at a property still working out a few kinks. That was our experience at the Caption by Hyatt Zhongshan Park Shanghai, where we stayed for 3 nights in late June 2024.

The hotel had an interesting vibe and several great design choices, plus we loved its location. Things we didn’t love included the lack of staff who spoke English and the breakfast, which we wound up skipping after the first morning despite it being free.

Would I stay here again? Probably not, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t. This is how things unfolded when my wife and I visited.

Booking the Caption by Hyatt Zhongshan Park Shanghai

Presently, there are just 4 Caption by Hyatt hotels: Memphis, Tennessee; Osaka, Japan; and Caption by Hyatt Zhongshan Park Shanghai are currently open. The Nashville, Tennessee, location will welcome guests in 2025.

The Shanghai and Osaka hotels have the benefit of being Category 1 properties in World of Hyatt, meaning you can book them for 5,000 points per night on standard dates.

Paying 5,000 points per night during our stay was better than paying $107.32 after taxes and fees. This gave us a redemption value of 2.15 cents per point — well above our average value of Hyatt points at 1.5 cents each.

We also stayed here while the hotel was on Hyatt’s list of new properties, offering 500 bonus points per night during our stay — whether paying or redeeming points. If we had paid for our stay, I would’ve used The World of Hyatt Credit Card to get an additional 4x points per dollar from the card on top of the points I earn as a Globalist.

Hot Tip:

We put the first 2 nights of our booking in my name to enjoy my elite status benefits and give me the stay credit. We put the final night in my wife’s name to give her credit for Brand Explorer — something we always do when visiting a Hyatt brand for the first time.

Location of the Caption by Hyatt Zhongshan Park Shanghai

Shanghai’s Caption by Hyatt property was near Zhongshan Park, to the west of the main tourist areas in central Shanghai and the Bund. The hotel’s location on Google Maps continues to be wrong, but searching for the Hyatt Centric (which was next door to the Caption by Hyatt) provided the correct spot.

The hotel was very easy to reach, though, as it was conveniently just around the corner from the Zhongshan Park metro stop, which has service for lines 2, 3, and 4.

Checking In

We arrived in pouring rain, and a bellhop from the Hyatt Centric property next door ran over to offer us an umbrella as we headed for the door.

We entered a jump lobby on the first floor. Numerous umbrellas for guest use were available as we passed a pair of employees and headed to the elevators at the end of the hallway.

When we came out of the elevators, we were confused by the hotel’s layout. Where was the reception desk? Stepping out of the elevators, we entered into this café-style area and didn’t find any signs, so we just walked until something happened.

We passed several seating areas on this lobby floor, such as these chairs and stools around a table.

And we noticed this nook that would be great for sitting with friends.

Here, we followed an L-shaped bend into another area that was like a coffee shop with low tables and benches.

A nice nook was here with a bench along the wall, and this spot was popular for hanging out or getting work done.

Following our instincts, we arrived at the reception desk at the end of this second hallway after the L-turn.

The reception area was spacious, and the desk employee was friendly. She spoke limited English, but it was enough to help us check in and understand the hotel’s main amenities, such as breakfast hours and the location of our room.

While she scanned our passports, we noticed this information board with QR codes for visiting numerous tourist spots in Shanghai. It was laid out in a weekly format, helping you cover all the top sights in 7 days.

When we received our key cards, we were a bit surprised at the design. We felt like we were back home in California, not visiting China.

Elite Benefits

I hold the top status with Hyatt, but the Globalist benefits were minimal during this stay. First, breakfast was complimentary for all guests. Second, the hotel lacked its own parking facility, meaning parking (if we’d had a car) wasn’t complimentary. Third, the hotel had suites, but we received an upgrade only to a Deluxe room — not to a Premium, Junior Suite, or Caption Suite.

The hotel wasn’t at capacity during our stay, but we didn’t ask about these higher upgrades, as we were happy with our room and didn’t think communicating this question would be easy.

Hot Tip:

Wondering what it’s like to get elite benefits? Here’s a look at what it’s like to get Globalist benefits for the first time.

1 King Bed Deluxe Room

We stayed on the 15th floor, which was the top floor of guest rooms. The hallways had dark green walls and colored carpet that evoked college dorm vibes.

We stayed in room 1502. Rooms were easy to identify with a wooden sign and light near the door.

Inside the door, we had 2 coat hooks on the wall and a full-length mirror on the wall.

On the opposite wall, we had a panel of light switches.

There also was a digital thermostat on the wall.

Moving into the room, we had a small minibar and trash, plus recycling bins.

On top of the wooden stand, we had bottled water, a kettle, a pitcher, and drinking glasses. There were also 2 hand towels.

On the wall near the minibar, an adhesive that looked like handwriting told us water was available from a station in the hallway.

A drawer in the minibar had mugs, glasses, and tea bags.

Below, we had an empty minifridge.

The bedroom continued the hotel’s college dorm vibes with its palette, funky painting, and checkered rug. The centerpiece was a king bed. Other features included a headboard with backlighting and a loveseat at the foot of the bed. There also was a round glass table in the corner with a pair of mismatched chairs.

Each side of the bed had a nightstand and panel with both light switches and outlets. One side also had a clock radio.

The other nightstand had a phone and a notepad.

Across from the bed was a TV on the wall. Part of the wall also was a corkboard, furthering the dorm room motif.

Next to the bed was an open closet with a wooden bench and 2 drawers underneath.

On the outer wall of the closet, we found a QR code for hotel information.

The closet had multiple wooden hangers and a pair of embroidered bathrobes.

The closet also had open cubbies, one of which held a hair dryer. We also found a small safe here.

In the far corner, we found a full-length mirror near the window.

Pulling the curtains back, we were surprised to find mostly wall.

Bathroom

The bathroom was on the right after we entered our room, accessed via a sliding barn door.

While the bathroom was small, it had the necessities and didn’t require us to use it one at a time.

On the left, we had a sink with minimal counter space. A large, backlit mirror hung above the sink.

On what little counter space there was, we had a small bottle of lotion between a tissue box and a soap dish.

Under the sink, we found towels and a hair dryer.

A sign told us we could get fresh towels simply by leaving them on the floor for housekeeping.

On the right was a simple toilet.

We loved the black-and-white artwork above the toilet, though.

A small sign near the shower enclosure, above the toilet, warned about slippery floors and said we could call for a bathmat.

The glass shower enclosure felt spacious, occupying half of the bathroom’s total size.

The shower had both a rainfall showerhead and a handheld wand.

Views

We could look out over the surrounding buildings from our room. Unfortunately, we didn’t have views over Zhongshan Park itself, given what side of the hotel we were on.

Amenities

Fitness Center

The Caption by Hyatt Zhongshan Park Shanghai had a medium-sized fitness center on the sixth floor, which was open 24 hours a day. One side had free weights, benches, medicine balls, and a few cardio machines.

The other side of the gym had a studio area with mirrors, providing space for stretching and yoga.

The fitness center also had shelves to hold your belongings, plus towels and a water tap.

There were also complimentary lockers.

A small bathroom was inside the gym.

Elevators

The hotel had a pair of elevators near reception to access guest floors. They came quickly when called.

We loved the large, unique signs displaying floor numbers outside the elevators.

Signs near the call buttons indicated the location of amenities and guest rooms.

Elevators had funky, vibrant colors inside and could comfortably hold 4 adults with their luggage.

The best feature of the elevators, however, was an additional button panel within arm’s reach of those in wheelchairs or who have difficulty reaching for the higher buttons.

While the elevators to guest floors used green as the main color, the elevators to the jump lobby used orange.

Water Stations

Each guest floor hallway had a small water station for refilling your water bottle with purified water.

Meeting Room

On the same floor as the reception desk was a small meeting room.

Inside was a presentation screen and conference table with 8 chairs.

Camera Vending Machine

A camera vending machine — something I’d never seen at a hotel before — was near the elevators on the ground floor. It sold both film and disposable cameras.

Internet

Wi-Fi was available throughout the hotel, but it wasn’t great. Download speeds averaged just under 10 Mbps.

Food and Beverage

Taole Central

Taole Central was the main restaurant at Caption by Hyatt Zhongshan Park Shanghai. It was between the elevators to the jump lobby and the reception area.

Owing to its open-all-day marketing, the restaurant had a generous amount of seating in various styles. While it was indeed open all day, it offered just a small menu at lunch and dinner. Its key feature was breakfast, which was complimentary for all guests.

In addition to a very small buffet, the restaurant offered a limited number of hot plates for breakfast. Breakfast was available from 6:30 to 10 a.m. on weekdays and until 10:30 a.m. on weekends.

Unfortunately, the restaurant did not offer vegan options for breakfast. When we inquired whether they could customize something for us, we were told we could have plain noodles. We passed on that uninteresting option.

The restaurant also had a juice bar on the left, near the sandwich and noodle menu boards for lunch and dinner.

At breakfast, we found coffee and a limited selection of pastries.

Mugs, water, and a few types of juice were available, as well as soy milk.

Taole Central also sold snacks and drinks in a grab-and-go section, available around the clock.

Louie Cuisine

The entrance to Louie Cuisine was next to the reception desk. This fine dining restaurant was only open for dinner (starting at 6 p.m. daily) and felt very out of place compared to the young, college dorm-like feel of the rest of the hotel.

Service

Service had a few misses during our stay. First, most of the staff at breakfast check-in and at reception didn’t speak English — some not well enough to communicate with us and others not at all. That was surprising at a Hyatt property. That said, staff were friendly and did smile at us or greet us when we passed.

Additionally, we were surprised that staff couldn’t muster a vegan option for breakfast, not even a fruit plate. Thus, we skipped breakfast on our second and third days — despite hotel breakfast being a key benefit we actively seek out when choosing hotels.

We had the “do not disturb” sign on our door throughout our stay, and we returned to find a note from housekeeping one day to note that they would enter our room the following day, even with the sign, as part of their safety standards. I appreciate a hotel that wants to ensure guest safety.

Final Thoughts

On our final morning, checking out was simple, as we had paid with points and had no bill to settle. That was good, as we had a lot of communication problems with the desk agent when asking for a printout of the final bill to show a zero balance. I’m not sure how smoothly the process would’ve moved if there had been questions about items on the bill.

There were several positives to our stay at Caption by Hyatt Zhongshan Park Shanghai. We really liked the room’s layout and features, and the location was fantastic for accessing public transit. However, we were disappointed with 2 key things: breakfast and communication barriers throughout our stay that dampened the experience.