Crowne Plaza Fudan
 

[QUOTE=MSPeconomist;18705779]There's a western four star property across the main road from Fudan University (not convenient for subway) that looks new and attractive with lots of outdoor space and IIRC an outdoor pool. It tends to get a lot of university business, including international academic conferences. My guess is that it's a Crowne Plaza, but i'm not sure, with maybe five hundred rooms.

Yes, it is a Crowne Plaza. I've stayed there three times this year, and would recommend it to people with reasons to be near Fudan University. The rooms are reasonably nice, the service is good - especially on the 19th Floor Club Room, and the food in the main restaurant is more than acceptable (hand pulled noodles!).

The Crowne Plaza is, as MSPeconomists implies, some distance from the main attractions of the city - 20 minutes by cab to the Bund; 30 to the former French Concession depending on traffic. But I might disagree about subway access - a 15 minute walk down Gouquan Lu brings you to a station for the #10 line. The #10 has stops at Nanjing Lu, Yu Yuan (ancient garden), Xintiandi, the Concession, and JiaoTong University.

[QUOTE=pseudocrow;18721284]I remember it as being more than a fifteen minute walk. In fact, you're about halfway between the old elevated subway line closer to the Howard Johnsons and the new line (a couple years old) at the new shopping center that goes very close to the Bund.

Does anyone have any central Shanghai BUDGET hotel recommendations?
Online booking would be nice.
I will be there in February.

Thanks!

Yan'an Hotel
Jing'an Hotel
Shanghai Hotel

They are all near the Hilton, and cost less than $100 per night. If you go with the latter, be sure to get one of the better rooms because the lesser rooms are really tiny.

If you want to spend a little less ($50 to $60), focus on some of the budget chains like 168 and Jinjiang. Some of these are in decent locations (e.g. there is a 168 near JA Temple).

Thank you!
 

Great!
Yes. I definitely want to keep it under $60USD if possible.

I recently started a thread on budget hotels in Beijing in the budget travel forum. The insights there are also applicable to Shanghai, although some of the chains are different.

But, my big Shanghai tip is to stay somewhere central, preferably near a metro station. Here is my ranking of districts:

1) Jing'an (as close to the temple as possible)
2) Xuhui (Fuxing Road is a really nice street for walking and taking pictures)
3) Luwan
4) People's Square
5) Xuijiahui (this might be part of Xuhui, but it is its own beast)
6) The Bund area
7) Gubei (a bit off the beaten path, but there are nice restaurants out there, and you get a bit more of a nature feel)

I would avoid: Zhabei, Putuo, Minhang, and anywhere on the east side of the river (Pudong).

If you do end up at a 168 or similar budget chain, buying a VIP card upon checkin (regular level for short stays, or gold card for ~5 days or more) is a complete no brainer.

The motel168.com website seems to be a bit of a disaster (e.g. they make it difficult to search for hotels that aren't in Zhabei, Putuo, or Pudong), but you could always call them, or use a third party site like ctrip (in this case, you might not get the VIP rate/benefit on your first night). Have a Shanghai map (e.g. smartshanghai.com) loaded during the booking process because you will have a miserable time if they stick you in a bad location.

Budget hotels:

http://www.homeinns.com/
http://www.998.com/eng/

I'd just go to ctrip.

The Holiday Inn Express Zhabei can be had for about 270 RMB ($45). I spent a couple of nights there my first time in China and would return. I'll be staying at the Holiday Inn Express Putuo next month for 2 nights ($52 per night) before heading on to Yichang.

There's a 168 on Jingling Dong Lu, well located.

An FT'er I know stayed at the Captain Hostel on Fuzhou Lu, also well located, meets your price point.

What does the 168 VIP card cost and what do you get for it?

There are 3 different tiers. The cheapest one is usually a wash after just one night, while the 2nd two require longer stays in order to get in the black. You can do the math when you check in; make sure you buy the card during check-in (as opposed to during your stay or at checkout); otherwise you won't get the discount. All of the budget chains I've aware of use a similar system.

The card(s) is (are) no longer available, AFAIK. Existing cards can, however, be used indefinetily.

It seems that all of the budget hotels I know of in Beijing (e.g. YoYo, Home Inn, Super 8, Starway, Orange) still offer them, but I can definitely see the flaw in the business model because they are basically giving away money that people would otherwise pay them without thinking twice.

Off topic (but, very slightly related), I learned just yesterday that KFC has a lunch menu, which offers a sandwich, 2 pieces of chicken, and a drink for y15. I've spent y15.5 for the sandwich itself during lunch hour many times (and occasionally y28 for the "meal deal") in the past, and nobody ever bothered to direct my attention to the lunch menu.

Do they have discount cards like McD's?

Anyone know anything about the Paramount Gallery Hotel? Seen a reasonable offer for it, curious about quality and if it is as convenient to the Bund as it sounds.