Laoshan Hostel — Hotel in Shanghai

I stayed at Phoenix Hostel throughout July 2019 whilst on a month-long internship program. It’s safe to say that I couldn’t have picked a better place to spend my time.

Location: 2 minute walk from the nearest metro (Dashijie Metro / 大世界地铁站）

2 minutes from various bus stops (Line 71 takes you to the bund from Xizang (M) Road)

Located on an entire street of food (to try local and authentic Shanghai food, visit the green restaurant 3 or 4 doors down the road on the same side with the chairs outside)

Located NEXT to a convenience store and minutes away from Family Mart (think breakfast buns, water, beers, snacks, umbrellas, personal hygiene etc)

Located 4 minutes away from a massive food court (which has Starbucks and Maccas, search “Yalong”)

15 minutes away from Nanjing East Road which then takes you to the Bund

Atmosphere: The rooftop bar is the best place to go up for a solo beer. Before long, you’ll find yourself making mates that you’ll be talking to for a lifetime! Extremely cozy feeling upstairs. Don’t expect anything fancy. If you’re up here on a Friday or Saturday night, chances are you’ll find mates to go out with. A great place to start is Found 158 (huge underground bar area with clubs, pizza, a western and Chinese crowd as well as good music)

Rooms: I had a very spacious and homey double room with my own en-suite bathroom and shower. I had the choice of getting my room made up with fresh towels, toilet paper and a general wipe down everyday (although try to be eco friendly and do this every couple of days!). The bed was large and soft. No complaints here.

Hostel Activities and Staff: I did the weekly dumpling class and it was a lot of fun. Easy ice breaker and great way to initiate yourself into Chinese culture. Would also recommend the bike tours, food tours and walking tours.

Can’t recommend hostel staff enough. Most of them are there because they love their job and want to meet people / make your stay enjoyable. Special shoutout to Celine who made special efforts to help out a guest medically during her stay. Also enjoyed the companies of Peter, Desolata and Sean.

Hot tips for Shanghai:

Money - Everything seems super cheap compared to your home countries. If you’re spending the dollar (AUD, USD, CAD or even GBP) and staying more than a week, make sure you spend Chinese RMB as you would your home currency. For example, if you wouldn’t buy a vodka shot at a bar for $90 back home, DON’T do it for 90¥ in China. A 1:1 conversion ratio is a great way to spend money like a local.

Bars - Go to Windows on Huahai Rd to make friends, play darts and pool.

Go to Vue Bar on the Bund to see a panoramic shot of Shanghai’s Bund from a rooftop bar with a jacuzzi. Cannot recommend...

The Phoenix was a great home base in Shanghai. Great location off the subway (and close to People’s Square with more lines), local restaurants down the street, Starbucks nearby and 20 minute walk direct to the Bund.| |Dorms are clean, modern and have a bathroom attached, which is a great perk. Lockers are also spacious, although the keycard lock is noisy.| |Beds are soft and comfy and good size for one person and a few bags (in case you sleep with your day bag). Privacy curtain was SUCH a nice feature too for some privacy. You are in a neighborhood so there can be some noise outside but not really any street noise, which is nice.| |Breakfast is available, both Western and Chinese, but the former is a bit expensive (although available). Laundry is available too but it’s line dry and not really well organized to give peace of mind that no one will steal your stuff. But again, available.| |My only real complaint was the front desk staff. They weren’t able to answer some basic questions or not provide any real food recommendations (outside of the hostel restaurant). Perhaps they were short staffed but any time I asked questions, they generally looked disinterested or like they needed to get something else done. That was a bit disappointing because they were really helpful and responsive via email.| |Despite that, I would absolutely stay here again. This place was a great location...

So I have stayed here before and enjoyed my stay so the next time I was in Shanghai I was sure to make a reservation at The Phoenix! We had a mix up with my reservations as I had booked my private room 3-4 months out but upon checking into The Phoenix they were completely out of single private rooms. They offered to put me up in a local hotel but after some chatting, I was upgraded to a double private room which was much nicer. ||||The place is clean and definitely does the job for the price you pay. The staff is super helpful and always willing to help as they helped direct me for a SIM card and ordered a taxi for me upon my departure. The rooftop bar is a great place to chill and have a few beverages as well as meeting other travelers. The restaurant downstairs is great too as well as having some incredible food within the vicinity. ||||The Bund is a 20ish min walk from the hostel and you land right in the heart of it. Definitely hit up a rooftop bar while you are here for the evening! Taxis are 200RMB from the hostel to the airport but there are other modes of transportation (and much cheaper) to and from PVG. ||||I will for sure be back at The...