Astronautics Hotel - Shanghai

Stayed here as part of a tour but would have avoided otherwise. On the dingier side of budget hotels, although it was manageable. The location was convenient, but the room smelled very strongly of stale smoke. The washroom and shower were not bad, although all that separated them from the sleeping area was some frosted glass. The carpet looked as though it was in desperate need of a cleaning and there was paint peeling from the walls and ceiling. Not a terrible stay, but not very comfortable either. I would recommend looking somewhere else.

I am a student who stayed in this hostel for a 3-month-long study trip by virtue of the University of Hong Kong, Faculty of Architecture. Located midway between two metro stations. Neighbourhood under redevelopment. Not many shops but lots of ruins. A large food mall is nearby but they dont serve good food. The other reviews are right about the entrance of the hostel, which is facing a quiet secondary street and quite hidden from view by a parking area crowded with vehicles. Since the area is full of vacant shops and gets very dark at night, there might be security risks. The facade of the hostel looks shabby and old-fashioned. Luckily, its interior is better than expected. The dunny is an issue, because it doesn't flush well. You cannot dump toilet papers into the dunny or else it gets clogged. For people who have huge poops good luck. My room has a TV and table big enough for me and my roomate to work on. I heard some rooms are moldy but mine is ok. Also my room doesn't have a glass see-through bathroom as mentioned in some reviews(they are on 6/f and I live on 5/f). But my bathroom is quite small with inadequate spaces or hangers for placement of towels and clothes. The heater performs quite well though. They also provide hair dryer, paper slippers and coat hangers stored in cabinets. Staff are nice and helpful but they don't clean rooms well. Dusts and dirts in toilets and furnitures were left unattended. Unless you make requests they don't really change bedsheets, pillow cases and vacuum. I once visited the back stairs only to find towels discarded everywhere on the floor. Fortunately I did not bump into any cockroaches or bugs, although mosquitoes did appear sometimes. No gym. No canteen for breakfast. Very expensive laundry service which charges guests based on quantity instead of weight (an underwear costs 6 RMB and staff changes the prices according to their mood). There is a secret recreation club on the 29/f of Yuhang Building, an office tower next to the hostel. In order to stay and appreciate the nice view of Shanghai there, one has to buy a drink which is unreasonably expensive. There is a piano. I asked if I can play, and they said the piano is a disturbance and only allowed me to play when there is no one present. Last but not least, they got really poor and unstable wifi which will disconnect every hour.

This hotel is ok. Location isn't too bad. It's not really clean, the room is an ok size. The bathroom is see through which isn't great if you are sharing with someone you don't know. Next time I would stay in a nicer hotel.