If you look for a decent place to stay in Shanghai, I can recommend you a youth hotel. It is in a nice old neighbourhood of Shanghai called ¨Wuning¨, in a calm area. But at the same time, the hotel is centrally located, with convenient transport at hand and proximity to metro station.
Quite a few foreign young backpackers stay here. The price is reasonable, with RMB188 for a double room, with internet connection. The hotel started operation in 2005, so the rooms are pretty new, and clean. My friend is staying there, and he has high praise for the hotel.
Well, though it is called ¨youth hotel¨, it is not like the youth hostel you will encounter in the West where you may find some fun. But it has several computers in the lobby for the use of hotel guests and offers ticket and travel service. It also has a restaurant/cafeteria where there are a few sofas for travellers to rest , use wifi, and have drinks/food. Don´t expect that you can sit here and use your laptops without ordering any food. The restaurant staff will come direct to you and ask if you want food and drink once you enter the restaurant/cafeteria.
The hotel is called Vtels-shanghai Wuning. In Chinese, it is literally called ¨ten thousdand mile road international youth hotel¨(wanli lu guoji qingnian jiudian). You can book it directly through the Chinese page of Elong, but not through the English page.
Click here for the English page, and here for the Chinese page.
