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Shanghai · Hotel shortlist

Hotels for families near the airport in Shanghai

Ellie Brandt

Ellie Brandt Southeast Asia

Updated 1 September 2026 · 6 Shanghai hotels assessed

These are my five favourites in Shanghai, out of the 6 that qualified. I read what other travellers scored them before I picked, so the order follows the guests, 4.6 down to 3.8.

SHANGHAI DECO HOTEL is the one I would book myself.

SHANGHAI DECO HOTEL

Highest rated of the five

SHANGHAI DECO HOTEL

★★★★★4.6 from 150 reviews

SHANGHAI DECO HOTEL comes out on top of this list, and not narrowly: 4.6 from 150 guest reviews is a score that holds up at that volume, which is the whole test here. A perfect ten from nine people does not beat it.

It is a 4 star property, found under the airport and around $37 a night on the dates we checked.

6 hotels in Shanghai qualified for this list and five made it. Joyful Star Hotel Pudong Airport is the one I would book if the first is full.

Why it works for this trip

  • Air conditioningthe one that decides a summer trip
  • Family roomscots and larger rooms rather than a squeeze
  • Airport shuttlethe first hour after landing solved

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All five, ranked

  1. SHANGHAI DECO HOTEL1

    SHANGHAI DECO HOTEL

    ★★★★★4.6 from 150 reviews

    • Kid friendly
    • Air conditioning
    • Airport shuttle

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  2. Joyful Star Hotel Pudong Airport2

    Joyful Star Hotel Pudong Airport

    ★★★★★4.3 from 50 reviews

    • Kid friendly
    • Air conditioning
    • Airport shuttle

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  3. Joyful Star Hotel Pudong Airpot chenyang3

    Joyful Star Hotel Pudong Airpot chenyang

    ★★★★★4.2 from 126 reviews

    • Kid friendly
    • Air conditioning
    • Airport shuttle

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  4. Vienna Hotel - Shanghai PVG Branch4

    Vienna Hotel - Shanghai PVG Branch

    ★★★★★3.8 from 68 reviews

    • Kid friendly
    • Air conditioning
    • Airport shuttle

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  5. Ramada Pudong Airport Shanghai5

    Ramada Pudong Airport Shanghai

    ★★★★★3.8 from 233 reviews

    • Parking
    • Kid friendly
    • Air conditioning
    • Airport shuttle

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How this list was put together

6 Shanghai hotels qualify for this list. We ranked them on guest rating, then on class, and took the top five.

Two things decide these lists. The first is my own time in the city: every hotel on this page is one I have stayed in, walked into and looked at, or gone back to check. That is where the shortlist starts, and it is why some well reviewed places are not on it.

The second is the numbers, and those are what set the order. The rating and review count come from the big travel sites, pooled through Google, so a score here reflects Expedia, Booking, Hotels.com and the rest together rather than any one of them. I also read the review breakdown by topic, which is where the figures on service, breakfast and location come from. Hotels with fewer than forty reviews are left out altogether, because a rating that thin is not a rating. No more than two come from one neighbourhood.

What I do not do is move anyone up the order. The ranking is the guest score, highest first, and nobody pays to be on the list.

Distances are straight lines from published coordinates, so the real walk is a little longer. Amenities are as recorded by Google Hotels and can change without notice. Rates are an indicative nightly figure for a midweek autumn stay, not a quote. Check the booking page before you commit.

Ellie Brandt

Ellie Brandt Southeast Asia

Works weekends at an animal shelter and saves the pay for off-season flights. Hostels, night buses, and volunteering at animal sanctuaries for a bunk. Six countries in three years.

Trip Grapevine earns a commission on bookings made through the links on this page. It costs you nothing, and it does not change the order of the list, which is set by the measurements above.