A Magical New Home

Moving to a new city, let alone a new country with a new language is a big endeavour. Any help from a kind friend in making the transition into a new place easier is a life saver. That kindness is exactly what newly married Brazilian couple Ana and Helder found at Times Square Serviced Apartments.

For Ana Elisa Carvalho e Silva and Helder Monteiro Leite while looking for their first apartment together in Shanghai, service, quality, and location were at the top of their checklist. Helder is an engineer in the railway industry and had lived in Shanghai for a few years prior, but for fellow engineer Ana, it was her first time in China. It was a big move from her home in Brazil.

When thinking of where to live, she wanted to be in an international, centrally located neighborhood. The pair wanted their transition into Shanghai to be as easy as possible and the high-quality service at Times Square Serviced Apartments situated along the vibrant Middle Huaihai Road stood out during their first visit, and they have loved it ever since moving in.

After visiting 10 different locations during the apartment search, Ana kept comparing everything to the first place that made such a good impression. “Every apartment that I was checking I thought, ‘No. I prefer Times Square.’ My standard was always Times Square.”

They were impressed by Times Square Serviced Apartments' level of service, convenient four elevators, quality of furniture, luxury design, spacious apartment rooms, outdoor pool and high-quality tennis court on the large patio, weight room and sauna, and ease of transportation options including metro stations a short walk away.

Helder, who had previously lived in a different area of the city and knew all the challenges of adjusting to Shanghai life, added “The services here are amazing. It's really convenient because it's our first year here. You can pretty much solve any problem in less than one minute. It's like magic.”

It didn’t take long to put the Times Square service to the test. 

Ana doesn’t speak Mandarin and her English isn’t fluent either. To her surprise, she found a member of staff who could speak some Portuguese. The couple were also put into a handy group chat with a Times Square guest manager where any issue or questions they have are personally addressed and solved in a prompt manner, all with the help of digital language translation. 

When they first moved in, Ana found there was a problem with the fridge that she couldn’t solve herself. 

“I texted Poppy, the guy who always helps me. And in less than 30 minutes they changed my fridge, my whole fridge. They took out everything inside and put in another new fridge and then put everything back in the same place. I thought, ‘What? Wow,’” Ana recounts.

The quality of service at Times Square Serviced Apartments is evident from the first step into the first-floor lobby with a doorman greeting guests and opening the door. All residents are provided with the ease of shipping and receiving packages straight to each apartment. For non-fluent Mandarin speakers and readers like Ana and Helder, that includes help in ordering food delivery and shopping online on Chinese language apps, a major aspect of modern Shanghai life.

“It makes our life easier in China because this is very different for us from Brazil. So living in Times Square is much easier,” Ana said.

“It's 24/7. It's hassle-free. You have it all covered. That's the best part; you don't need to worry,” Helder added. “Even when we have friends over, we use the tennis court, we use the pool, and they can deliver our food to us there if we want. So, I think there's nothing that they cannot do.”

As the couple settle in smoothly to their new lives, home comforts from across the world aren’t so far away. Ana’s mother visited and stayed with the couple for the holidays and enjoyed a winter Christmas for a change from the South American summer. A Brazilian restaurant even opened in the Times Square Mall downstairs. Ana and Helder plan to stay in Shanghai long-term and have made their home at Times Square Apartments.

“There’s definitely no return ticket,” Helder said.