Shanghia Hotel
 

I am meeting my husband there on the 3rd of May who is currently in Baghdad for a much needed R&R.
From what I have read to be able to be near the markets and eateries we will need to stay in the Bund area. What I am asking is since we are on a tight budget can anyone recomend hotels in that area for the very budget concsious? While planning out trip to Thailand last year we booked with Late Stays which was WONDERFUL rates!!

Please help us find a hotel we can afford and still be able to do other things on our first trip to China.

I returned yesterday from a trip to Beijing, Shanghai (and Korea). To address your question, I would not say that you have to stay near The Bund in order to access markets and places to eat. There are fantastic places to eat in every area of the city. To reach most of these, as well as markets, you will likely take taxis most of the time..I cannot recall any markets that are within easy walking distance of The Bund. So where you stay does not matter all that much, in my opinion, since taxis are very inexpensive. I do not think I spent more than $2.00 US on any taxi ride except to outlying areas or to the airport. So concentrate on getting the best hotel for the price in any one of several areas..French Concession, Nanjing Road, etc...

Just my own opinion, although others will have much more detailed info on particular hotels...

3rd of May is right in the first week of May called the golden week (the other 2 are 10/1 National Day, and whenever the spring festival falls on), when the chinese have a full week's holiday time for 5/1 Labor Day. There will be quite a crowd of local travelers so please book your hotel right away. As EK said, taxis are so cheap you don't have to stay at the Bund area but I recommend you stay in Puxi (west of the river) instead of Pudong (east of the river where the international airport is).

Check the website www.Elong.com for hotels and let us know if you find something to fit your budget. Not sure if you want to stay at very low budget motels for packbackers, it won't be very relaxing.

Thank you both so much for your response!!! No, we are not wanting to stay in a backpacker place we a re a bit old for that (late 40's and early 50's!). Glad to know a taxi is that reasonable. Off to try and find a good rate on a hotel in those two areas you mentioned. Thank you again!

I meant backpackers.

I check Elong (it's an Expedia subsidiary), Yanan, Xing Yu and the YMCA are all decent hotels in excellent locations, you should be able to book around $50/night. Didn't know how many days you were staying in Shanghai, were you planning to visit Beijing too?

You can sometimes find a good rate at the Peace hotel. This is a fun place to stay, right on the Bund, with live music in the lobby.

However, May 1-7 is a national holiday and many Chinese are traveling. Most companies in China don't give their employees a block of floating vacation days - everyone in China goes on vacation at the same time. You'll be hard pressed to find discounted rates anywhere. Most hotels actually raise rates during this season. Unfortunately, you'll either have to drop your expectations or raise your budget.

In my search for Shanghai hotels I found this Yesinn hotel, which has branches in Shanghai and Hong Kong for ~$50 double:

http://www.yesinn.com/sh/shroom.htm

If you want to stay close to the Bund, try the Shanghai YMCA - I believe it is also in that price range, maybe $10 more.

Close to the People's Square and the Bund,the Y's location is far more superior than the Yesinn.

Johnmango! Have you decided where to stay?

Shanghainese - we have decided to stay at the Astor (Pujiang) Hotel, just north of the Suzhou Creek behind the Russian Embassy.

My choice is based on the following factors: the location (slightly away from the madness of Nanjing Lu), the moderate price, and the larger room (450 sq meters) and the history of the hotel.

Thanks, John, that's a good location and huge room.

BTW..I tried to enter to take a peek at the lobby of the Peace Hotel last week and there was a sign saying they were closed due to renovations....

You guys are awesome!!!! My goal for today is to find a hotel. I will let you know.

I am sorry I failed answer the question about our stay. we will be in China until the 21st of May. We have no set plans on how long to stay wherever we travel there. But yes, we would like to go to Bejing sometime while there. About how much should I expect hotels to drop the rates by after Labor Day? Is there anything we should see during this Labor Day period?

You can afford many hotels in Shanghai, we have found one great site , the price is starting from 23 USD per room per night, you might check the list of hotels here :

http://www.hotelsguru.com/china-shan...ce-hotels.html, it is around 110 Hotels in there. It depends on how long you stay there, you can save the money on room and spend for good food and travel.

Thank tozz, it does look like it has some great rates as well!