Somerset Xu Hui Shanghai — The Family Long-Stay Apartment in Xujiahui with Three Metro Lines on the Doorstep
If your Shanghai stay is going to stretch beyond two weeks — or you are travelling with children who need more than a hotel minibar — Somerset Xu Hui Shanghai is the name that comes up time and again in this segment. A score of 9.0/10 from more than 2,500 real guest reviews, the highest review volume of any serviced apartment in the city's long-stay category, tells you this property has been doing the right things consistently. At No.8 Jianguo West Road, Xuhui District, it sits in the Xujiahui district of southwest Puxi — a major transit and shopping hub rather than a scenic neighbourhood, but unbeatable for the practicalities of settling in for weeks at a time. Somerset is Ascott's family-focused brand, and the design shows: a children's pool, a kids' playroom, full kitchens and in-unit washers in every apartment, rather than a kettle and a coffee machine.
Picture the morning routine: you make coffee in your own kitchen, put a wash on, take the children down to the pool before noon, and then catch the metro from Xujiahui station to wherever you need to be that afternoon. This is the version of Shanghai that guests at Somerset Xu Hui describe in their reviews — and with more than 2,500 of those reviews averaging 9.0/10, it is clearly a version that works. The property delivers something quite specific: the infrastructure of home life inside a well-managed serviced apartment in a district engineered for convenience.
Units come in three sizes. A Studio at 40–50 sqm runs approximately ¥700–950 per night and suits couples or solo travellers on a longer assignment. A one-bedroom at 60–75 sqm (around ¥1,000–1,400) gives a separate living area and makes a two-to-four-week stay genuinely comfortable. The two-bedroom at approximately 100 sqm (¥1,500–2,200) is the family unit — and the most sought-after. Every apartment, regardless of size, comes with a proper kitchen: hob, microwave oven, refrigerator, dishwasher. An in-unit washing machine is standard. For anyone staying more than a week, these two features alone make a material difference to the daily budget and the sense of being settled rather than passing through.
"Families say it's exactly what they needed with two kids — the children's pool, the playroom, a real kitchen. Some stayed three weeks and could have stayed longer. Staff were consistently helpful and the metro connection is genuinely easy."
The children's facilities are what set Somerset apart from most competitors in the serviced-apartment category. The separate children's pool and the indoor kids' playroom and playground are not token gestures — they are used every day by families in the building, and multiple reviews from parents note they were a deciding factor in returning. The communal spaces are designed to feel more like a residential building than a hotel, which takes a little adjustment if you are used to hotel lobbies but becomes noticeably more relaxing after a few days. There is a residents' lounge and a gym on the premises, alongside the pools.
Xujiahui as a base deserves an honest assessment. An 8–10-minute walk from the property brings you to Xujiahui metro station, which serves Lines 1, 9 and 11 — three of the city's most useful routes from a single interchange. Line 1 runs north to People's Square and connects to the Bund area. Line 9 cuts across to Jing'an Temple and the World Expo site. Line 11 heads northeast toward Disneyland or, in the other direction, toward Hongqiao station for high-speed rail connections. The immediate neighbourhood offers Grand Gateway 66 mall — a large shopping centre with an international supermarket — Metro City Pacific Place, and plenty of food options. You will not need to go far for day-to-day shopping.
The honest trade-off with Xujiahui is atmosphere. This is a commercial transit district, not a charming neighbourhood. The streets around the station are busy with department stores, office towers and chain restaurants. Guests who want to step outside into the narrow leafy lanes of the former French Concession, or the stone courtyards of Xintiandi, will find those areas are a metro ride away rather than on the doorstep. For a short city break, that may feel like a limitation. For a month-long stay with a family — where the practicalities of cooking, laundry, schooling and shopping matter more than the view from the breakfast table — Xujiahui is one of the most functional locations in the city.
Pricing for a Studio starts at approximately ¥700 (฿3,500) per night outside peak seasons. Spring (March–May) and autumn (September–November) push Studio rates toward ¥950; two-bedroom units in high season can reach ¥2,200 or above. Golden Week in October and Lunar New Year are the periods of highest demand — book four to six weeks ahead for those windows, especially for two-bedroom units. Guests staying three weeks or more should enquire directly about monthly rates, which are typically meaningfully lower than the nightly rate compounded. Somerset properties in Shanghai generally carry this option for longer-term residents.
A note on expectations: this is a well-regarded four-star property, not a five-star one. Some reviews mention that certain units show wear that a 4★ renovation cycle brings — requesting a recently refurbished unit when booking is worth doing. Room service and on-site dining are not the experience here; the full kitchen is the point. If you need a lobby bar, concierge-led restaurant reservations or a butler floor, the Ascott IFC or Fraser Suites Top Glory will suit you better. But if the brief is a well-managed, family-tested serviced apartment with real cooking facilities, a children's pool and a three-line metro a manageable walk away, Somerset Xu Hui has built its 2,500-review reputation on exactly that.
Summary from Booking & Agoda
- ✓ Full kitchen with hob, fridge and dishwasher in every unit — makes weekly grocery shopping genuinely viable
- ✓ Separate children's pool and indoor playroom; the most family-ready serviced apartment in this Puxi district
- ✓ Lines 1, 9 and 11 from Xujiahui station cover the whole city; solid connectivity for a southwest Puxi address
- ✓ Consistent service scores across 2,500+ reviews — staff praised for responsiveness to long-stay residents
- ! Xujiahui is a practical transit-and-mall district, not a charming neighbourhood; expect commerce over character
- ! Station walk is 8–10 minutes rather than 1–2 — a minor issue for most, noticeable on hot days with luggage
- ✓ Two-bedroom units at ~100 sqm are genuinely spacious for a family of four on a multi-week stay
- ✓ Children's pool is separate from the adult pool — parents frequently cite this in reviews as the deciding factor
- ✓ Grand Gateway 66 mall and international supermarket Ole' within easy walking distance
- ✓ In-unit washer means no external laundry costs, a real saving on longer stays
- ! Some units show signs of wear — worth requesting a recently refurbished apartment at booking
- ! Main road-facing units can be noisy; ask for a room on the quieter side of the building
- 💡If you want a neighbourhood with character and walkable charm · Xujiahui is a commercial transit hub, not a scenic district · Fix → see Ascott Huai Hai Road (French Concession) or Fraser Residence Jing'an in our list
- 💡If you want to be one or two minutes from the metro on foot · Somerset Xu Hui is an 8–10 min walk to Xujiahui station — convenient but not adjacent · Fix → look at serviced apartments closer to a Puxi metro line
- 💡If you want 5-star service, a lobby bar or in-room dining · This is a 4★ family-focused property; no restaurant or room service on site · Fix → see Ascott IFC Shanghai or Fraser Suites Top Glory for a higher-service tier