Shanghai Municipality Hostels

Shanghai is like any big city and it feels too Western. The old city and Yuyuan Gardens is touristy but beautiful and the area across the water from the Bund is beautiful. There is not much to do here, so after three days I was ready to move on.

The Phoenix Hostel in Shanghai … Ok, seriously! I've traveled a lot and I've never found a hostel employee waiting for me at the airport after my flight was late five hours! We arrived at 2:30 a.m. and, to our pleasant surprise, found the hostel employee waiting in the lobby of the airport, with our names (the pick up service is like $20, call/email ahead). We stayed one night in a private and two in the dorm. We found both to be spotless, pleasant, although the beds were a bit hard. There is a restaurant downstairs, really cheap and good. The hostel is more like a hotel unless you stay in the dorm. It's central and pretty easy to navigate. The day front desk staff are awesome, speak great English, and are really really helpful and nice.

Astor House (Pujiang Hotel) in Shanghai … A delightful experience. The list of rooms offered no longer lists any rooms cheaper than 420 yuan, which are the huge doubles with private bath. They do have, however, just 3 rooms at 165 yuan which are a great bargain. Room 607 is the real prize, with an unobstructed view of the entire bund stretching away into the distance -- glorious, especially at night. Ask, just in case any of these three 6th floor rooms are available.

HI - Shanghai Mingtown Hiker YH Hostel in Shanghai … absoloutly loved this place, and loving it more the more places we stay. has such a great atmosphere, you can walk out the door straight to the high street and to the bund. really easy to find, and close to the metro. great security, you locks on the door and lockers!!! the showers are clean, hot water is not 24hours, 7-12am and pm. but when its hot its hot probably a lot more quite now that we've left wouldnt recoment the ensuite 6 bed rooms as (and may have just been the people in the room) but they kinda smell of damp, in that "youve just found a swimming costume in a bag that you lost three years ago kind of way". the rooms with the windows were clean and great though. we miss you hikers

HI - Shanghai Easytour - Mingtown Etour Hostel in Shanghai … This place has now been refurbished and is very much open for business. I stayed here in April 2007. A very good choice this hostel. Everything is brand new. The location is fantastic, literally two or three minutes walk from People's Square. Rooms have electronic smart card entry. There's a fantastic bar that serves good and cheap food and drink. The bar area also has free wi-fi which is a real plus for those carrying a laptop. However, the wi-fi goes down intermittently yet it doesn't occur to the staff to reset the wireless router, so it's up to savvy customers to find the router and switch it on and off themselves! Also, they really need to publish some location maps for this place. I couldn't find this place when I arrived at People's Square. I phoned the hostel twice, but all they did was keep repeating the address rather than giving me directions! Not much help if you're lost in a strange city! I would have given this place five stars but the lack of initiative in customer…

Maggie Youth Hostel in Shanghai … This hostel has bright, spacious rooms and dorms with comfy beds and each room or dorm has an attached bathroom and shower (with a western toilet). There is a good social area; the only downside is it's quite far out of town, 20 or 30 minutes on the bus.

HI - Shanghai - Le Tour Shanghai YH Hostel in Shanghai … Hey. This is a great place! Friendly staff, very clean rooms, and a nice and cousy commenroom with dvd, sofas and a great atmosphere.

Koala International Youth Hostel in Shanghai … Very nicely decorated, clean, and stylish. But glass bathroom doors are maybe a step too far and offer little privacy to those who do not wish to stretch their intimacy so far. Very, very friendly and helpful staff.

Shanghai Ucool International Hostel in Shanghai … this was an excellent hostel. i stayed here in august 2007. shortly after arriving in shanghai my wallet was either lost or stolen. the hostel staff was sympathetic and let me hang out in the hostel pretty much my entire three-day stay in shanghai. the free beer-per-night policy was much appreciated. very clean hostel. beds are comfy with lockers right next to the bed -- a big plus in my book. staff were very friendly and courteous. i would definitely stay at this hostel again if i am in shanghai!

HI - Shanghai - Shanghai Captain Hostel in Shanghai … The Captain Hostel is a fine place. Unfortunately, I visited it during the SARS crisis and the hostel staff were as panicky as everyone else. Perhaps they shouldn't be blamed for that. The facilities are excellent for a low budget hostel, rooms are sparkling clean, bathrooms are a bit scrungy, but better than average. The location is prime, really central and closer to everything. A good place to stay.

Jinjiang Inn Shanghai Pudong Int'l Airport in Shanghai … A great bargain for Shanghai. Very convenient for late flight arrivals or early departures, just 5 minutes from the airport. Their shuttle does not run after 5 pm, but taxi fare is just 15 to 20 yuan. Nice buffet breakfast in lobby for just 15 yuan.