Shanghai City Central International Youth Hostel- Shanghai, China

Address: 300 Wuning Road, Putuo district, Shanghai


Website: none


This UTEL hostel would most definitely rank as one of the top hostels, if not the top in China. Not that I've been to all the hostels in China but having all the amenities and services that this one had to offer, it'd be pretty difficult to beat.
Shanghai City Central is locatedis located about 5 minutes walk away from the Caoyang Road train station, down a quiet street off the main road. Several McDonalds and a KFC were closeby, as were local eateries. A Carrefour megamarket was also about 15 minutes away across the bridge which was very convenient, and there were numerous banks around the area.

Having booked via Hostelbooker for two nights initially to test the waters (40 yuan per dorm bed per night= A$6.50), we decided to stay for the remainder of the week after the two days but by that time we were advised that they had raised the dorm rate to 46 yuan per night which was still a decent price in Shanghai, reputably the most expensive city in the country.
The dorm rooms were all four bedders and together with the private rooms, were spread across five levels of this large hostel which was serviced by an elevator. We were pretty much in a private room as no one else was allocated the other two beds during our stay which was great as we had our own space and privacy. The room was sparkling clean and the bin was emptied daily by the efficient cleaners. Lockers were provided in the room but you needed to bring your own large lock. A heater was also provided but we slept comfortably without it as being in a building made the rooms quite warm already. There was ventilation through the window but the wi fi was only accessible in the lobby which was spaciously furnished with sofas and decorated with Chinese lanterns and paintings. The staff were able to speak basic English and were polite in assisting us with information and directions. A rare freebie was offered in the shape of breakfast from 7:30- 9:30am in the nice restaurant/bar area behind the lobby which contained a mixture of continental Western style breakfast (cereal, toast, cordial) and Chinese (steamed buns, red bean soup and pickled vegetables). The restaurant also served decent food, and by night the place turned lively with friendly fellow travellers frequenting the common area and a large projector screen and a large projector screen which showed the Winter Olympics in Vancouver.

Overall, this was one of the nicest and most relaxing stays of our trip so far, with every facility regularly cleaned, free breakfast which set us up nicely for the day and which sometimes even allowed us to skip buying lunch, and the friendly travellers who stayed there.

Rating: 10/10