Overview It’s a two-minute walk from the iconic and mega-wealthy Bund and even closer to the bright lights of one of the city’s biggest shopping strips, East Nanjing Road. Plus, a heap of bars and restaurants are a stone’s throw away.
The nautical-theme lobby is full day and night with bright-eyed, excited travellers asking for addresses to be written down in Mandarin, demanding cups of green tea and trying to log on to the maddeningly slow internet.
The staff is pretty unhelpful on the whole, but that doesn’t put anyone off and the atmosphere is lively and upbeat.
Wow factor The bar on the seventh floor of the hostel is renowned as the only place with a roof terrace and views of the Huangpu River that won’t set you back a small fortune for a few beers.
The food is so-so – think doughy pizzas and fries – but it’s also inexpensive.
Rooms The hostel offers rooms with varying levels of luxury, but the dorms are by far the best value.
They look and smell more like a hospital ward than anything else, but at least you can be confident that they’re sparkling clean – seriously chilly in winter, though.
Bill please Dorm beds from £4.80pn.
Image: Getty
