Customer Reviews

Frommer's Shanghai 2001

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I haven't even left for Shanghai yet and I know this book is a disappointment in comparing it with my friend's Lonely Planet and doing some quick online research. It said there weren't any youth hostels (there are several) and the book is lacking a metro map and even a decent street map! The "exploring Shanghai" section is embarrassing small, I don't know if I would be able to keep myself occupied during my visit if this were to be my only guide.

Usually I am very pleased with the quality of Frommer's guide books, but not this time. Some of the information is out-of-date and some is not useful at all. For example, the places to eat and stay it recommends - after visiting Shanghai and exploring the scene first-hand, I was smiling at their suggestions. It seems like they hired a blind gilrscout to spend a couple of hours in the city and then write the whole book about it. Maybe I am not being completely fair, but there is a grain of truth in my words. Luckily I had two guide books with me - the second one being Insight Guide Shanghai, and the latter comes highly recommended. It has plenty of colorful pictures and the information is a bit more useful. So, in conclusion: Frommer did a decent job on this one, but noticeably below their standars, so if you are heading to Shanghai - there are other guides to choose from.

This book has a few more useful pieces of information that Lonely Planet may not have but I found the LP format to be better laid out. This book does better than LP in the respect of including the Chinese characters on the city maps and also for destinations, hotels, addresses, etc.

Unlike other Frommer guides ( e.g. Hong Kong) there is no complete map of the city. There are sections of the city which are mapped but even these seem incomplete. I haven't been to Shanghai yet to comment on other aspects of the guide.

Some of the previous reviews are about the 2nd edition which was weak. The 3rd edition appears to be a significant rewrite, and is much better. All the salient info is there, from an author who obviously has not only "been there" but understands the nuances of Chinese culture. Can't wait for the 4th edition!

This book gives you an easy overview over attractions and the maps are quite fullfilling. Really a good guide book.

It could just be me, but I think there is to much info on hotels and restaurants. I'm normally the person to think "there is a lot of people in that restaurant we just passed - Lets go eat there". Regarding hotels I tend to book from home at the internet and just need the star rating, the website and "tips on how to get the best rate".

But if you flip through the hotel and restaurant pages, everything looks to be squeezed in and if you need it - then you REALLY need it - I guess that I would be really angry, if I ended up stranded in Shanghai without a good hotel listing ;-)

So the only negative I have is the quality of the paper. I think you will wear the book down if you go a lot to Shanghai.

Ole, Denmark

Usually I am very pleased with the quality of Frommer's guide books, but not this time. Some of the information is out-of-date and some is not useful at all. For example, the places to eat and stay it recommends - after visiting Shanghai and exploring the scene first-hand, I was smiling at their suggestions. It seems like they hired a blind gilrscout to spend a couple of hours in the city and then write the whole book about it. Maybe I am not being completely fair, but there is a grain of truth in my words. Luckily I had two guide books with me - the second one being Insight Guide Shanghai, and the latter comes highly recommended. It has plenty of colorful pictures and the information is a bit more useful. So, in conclusion: Frommer did a decent job on this one, but noticeably below their standars, so if you are heading to Shanghai - there are other guides to choose from.

I bought this guide because it was the most recent one available at my local bookstore. I have yet to try it on the ground in Shanghai, but I will update this review if my opinion changes.

I'm disappointed that the maps in general are not integrated. The overview map of Shanghai doesn't show you the pages for the individual neighborhood maps. Similarly, the individual neighborhood maps don't show you hints to the maps for surrounding pages. Frommer's should look at how Lonely Planet guides do this. There's no copyright on doing maps that are easily tied together.

For me, finding a good hotel means it should be close to a subway station. In particular, I wanted to find a hotel on the Line 1, because I need to make frequent visits to the northwest. Although there is a subway map on the inside cover of this guide, there are no stations shown on the overview map of Shanghai. The guide does not make this task easy.

The maps make it very hard to figure out where you are, and all the pages look alike. You'd be much better served with the Time Out or Lonely Planet guides.

Usually I am very pleased with the quality of Frommer's guide books, but not this time. Some of the information is out-of-date and some is not useful at all. For example, the places to eat and stay it recommends - after visiting Shanghai and exploring the scene first-hand, I was smiling at their suggestions. It seems like they hired a blind gilrscout to spend a couple of hours in the city and then write the whole book about it. Maybe I am not being completely fair, but there is a grain of truth in my words. Luckily I had two guide books with me - the second one being Insight Guide Shanghai, and the latter comes highly recommended. It has plenty of colorful pictures and the information is a bit more useful. So, in conclusion: Frommer did a decent job on this one, but noticeably below their standars, so if you are heading to Shanghai - there are other guides to choose from.