Dengba Inn (Shanghai Flagship)

It’s an interesting hostel for foreigners since most locations only accept Chinese resident card holders to book - except this location. The service is good and it is a clean place. Albeit I stayed in the ten person dorm so you simply just accept some amount of messiness. But they supply slippers and very nice storage with electronic locks. The bedding is good enough and it is clean. I found it easy to take a shower and there’s a large lobby front room area that is nice to hang out in. The location is great. It’s only a short bike ride to Zhongshan park. As far as hostels go, it’s a pretty good one. And much cheaper than many hostels in the city.

The location was in a lively part of Jing'an, although a little far from Jiangsu Road Station. I enjoyed the bicycle ride to the temple nearby, as it was a pretty neighborhood. Unfortunately, that is pretty much all the good things I have to say about this place. The facilities, the entire place in general, was old and run-down. I was assigned a bed at the far end of the room where my cell service cut off. Not really the establishment's fault but something worth mentioning in my opinion as the wifi was often slow. A section of the wood of the opposite bunk bed was black and seemed to be rotting. The air smelled moldy. The bed was huge though, which was nice. The place did not seemed to be getting the love and care it needed. The bathroom facilities were tiny with two shower stalls and a toilet (plus another separate one some distance away). It wasn't dirty necessarily but it wasn't exactly clean either. I did not feel comfortable using it however. None of the staff I interacted with spoke English (my fault for not learning some basic Chinese at least). I was disappointed by the quality I was met with since this is apparently the flagship? It wasn't cheaper compared to other hostels either. I felt bad but had to shorten my reservation and moved to a different place. But your standards might vary.

I enjoyed my time here. Staff were welcoming. It was clean, good lobby area. Toilets/showers could be better but decent