SHANGHAI CITY CENTRAL INTERNATIONAL HOSTEL IN CHINA

When we arrived in China we needed a little rest time and the Shanghai City Central International Hostel was a good place to do just that. For three days we hibernated in our air-conditioned room and the comfortable bar/restaurant downstairs where we fueled up on good Western food and watched some World Cup.

Besides a quick trip to The Bund and Shanghai Old Town, we avoided the heat and smog and sheltered indoors, grateful for a spacious room, Western-style toilet and actual filling meals.

While there were some things we would have liked to see the hostel provide, our stay was quite comfortable and gave us the recuperation we needed. Here’s how Shanghai City Central International Hostel ranked for us.

Private Room:

Wonderful. So spacious, clean and cool with the largest, most comfortable bed I’d slept in for weeks. The air conditioning was free, television allowed early morning viewing of World Cup games, the bathroom was clean with a roomy shower and Western-style toilet, (that you could flush TP down!), and the room felt very secure with a solid lock. We made good use of the space, doing our laundry in the bathroom sink and hanging it to dry on paracord strung all about the room. This place was certainly once a fancier hotel that had seen better days, but it still provided us great comfort for a reasonable price.

Amenities:

I’ll admit, the staff didn’t come across as all that friendly during our stay, barely speaking a few words to us when we would try to make conversation or ask for assistance. The WiFi was crap, always slowing to a near standstill as the many residents attempted to use it at once and things like maps of the city and nearby sights were either nonexistent or impossible to find. On the other hand, the restaurant/bar was a Godsend. In desperate need of calories after so much moving around with heavy loads and eating small portions in Japan the previous weeks, big plates of Western food, three times a day, was just what we needed. Pizza, burgers and fries, pesto penne with tuna, the “American Breakfast” with a large coffee, it all tasted good and the setting was very comfortable, (with all World Cup games shown live early in the morning). Only downside of the restaurant, for a non-smoker, was the constant cigarette smoke.

Pricing:

A price of 186CNY per night, for the comfort we received, Shanghai City Central International Hostel seemed like a great deal in this giant city. Food in the restaurant was reasonably priced with large, filling meals costing between 30 to 40CNY and bottled water only 2CNY. Having free air conditioning in the room was also nice as we’ve since stayed at hostel’s that charge extra for its use.

Location:

Shanghai City Central International Hostel was located just a 5 minute walk, (depending on how good you are at dodging traffic on the wide, chaotic street outside), from the Caoyang Road metro station. And while it was situated close to many shops, restaurants and fast food joints, there wasn’t much more of interest to see within walking distance. Thankfully it was tucked back down a small side road from the noisy main street, providing a more peaceful setting amongst large high-rise apartments.

Next hostel on our route: ZHANGJIAJIE BAJIE YOUTH HOSTEL IN CHINA.