Shanghai Budget Hotels 2026: 3 Best Nanjing Road Stays

Thinking about booking a flight to Shanghai?

If you've started planning your 2026 trip, you might have noticed two things: finding reliable travel information for China can be a bit tricky, and the city's hotel prices are surprisingly steep!

To help you save time and money, I'm sharing my absolute top recommendation for which neighborhood to base yourself in, along with three fantastic, budget-friendly hotels I personally stayed at.

💡 Read to the end to find out how to book these rooms at a discount!

Where to Stay: Why Nanjing East Road is King

If it's your first time visiting Shanghai, I highly recommend booking your accommodation right on 📍 Nanjing East Road.

Think of it as the Times Square or Oxford Street of Shanghai. It's a bustling, vibrant pedestrian street packed with tourists and locals alike. Because it's so lively, it offers incredible convenience for sightseeing and feels very safe to walk around at any hour.

I sketched out a quick map of the Nanjing East Road area to give you the lay of the land.

The long street highlighted in yellow is Nanjing East Road itself, lined end-to-end with massive department stores, boutiques, and endless dining options. Because there is always a crowd, both day and night, it's one of the safest areas in the city.

On the western end of the street, you'll find People's Square Station, and right in the middle is East Nanjing Road Station. Having immediate access to the subway makes it incredibly easy to travel to attractions further out.

I've marked the locations of the three budget hotels I'm reviewing today in green on the map. Keep this in mind as you read through the reviews below!

1. Jinglai Hotel Nanjing East Road

The first hotel on our list is the Jinglai Hotel Nanjing East Road.

📍 It's located just a 5-minute walk from People's Square Station (Lines 1, 2, and 8), which made it the perfect launchpad for our day trips to Disneyland and the Wuzhen Water Town.

It's tucked away in an alley, which might look a bit dark at night, but it's situated right next to a school, so it's actually a very safe neighborhood.

The guest rooms start on the second floor. You simply check in at the ground-floor lobby and take the elevator up.

Even though there were two of us, we booked a single room. It's compact, leaving little floor space for large luggage, but the bed was incredibly comfortable and it came stocked with all the basic amenities.

One feature we really appreciated was the separated shower and sink area, which made getting ready in the mornings much faster for two people!

Out of the three hotels we tested, 👉🏻 Jinglai easily wins the award for the best overall location.

When we booked, a weekend night cost around ~$77, making it a highly reasonable choice for a premium downtown spot.

You can check the current rates and more details below:

> View Jinglai Hotel Nanjing East Road <

2. Hotel Fish Inn East Nanjing Road

Our second stop is Hotel Fish Inn East Nanjing Road, which is situated much closer to the famous waterfront promenade, The Bund.

📍 It's very close to East Nanjing Road Station (Line 2), which is perfect for airport transfers, and you can easily walk to The Bund. If you're someone who wants to see the iconic Shanghai skyline lit up every single night, this location is unbeatable.

The hotel is located just a block or two off the main Nanjing East Road strip. There's plenty of foot and vehicle traffic late into the evening, so we never felt uneasy walking back.

We booked the Basic Double Room, and it was surprisingly spacious. The bed was massive, and there was even enough room for a table and sofa setup—perfect for enjoying some late-night takeout.

Another big plus was the bathroom. It was spotlessly clean and featured a sleek, modern design.

Overall, the room layout was excellent, making it a very comfortable place to unwind after a long day of exploring.

I snagged a room at Hotel Fish Inn for around ~$62 per night.

Given the generous room size and the incredible proximity to The Bund, 👉🏻 I highly recommend this spot if nightly skyline views are high on your itinerary.

> View Hotel Fish Inn East Nanjing Road <

3. Seventh Heaven Hotel

Our final recommendation is the aptly named Seventh Heaven Hotel.

Slap-bang in the middle of Nanjing East Road, this hotel leans heavily into traditional Chinese aesthetics, giving it a unique, historic vibe.

From the striking exterior architecture to the bold red tones of the 7th-floor reception lobby, the cultural immersion starts the moment you walk in.

We stayed in a Standard Room, which featured a quirky layout with a long entrance hallway. Despite being a budget option, the amount of floor space was genuinely impressive.

The bathroom was well-maintained and clean, though having the shower head fixed directly to the wall was a minor inconvenience. Aside from that, the modern sink and toilet fixtures worked perfectly.

As a bonus, if you look out the window from Room 1503 (where we stayed), you get a pretty cool view of the bustling street below!

While Seventh Heaven definitely shows its age more than the other two hotels on this list, it easily offers the largest room size for the price.

If you prioritize having plenty of space to stretch out without breaking the bank, this is the hotel for you!

> View Seventh Heaven Hotel <

Final Thoughts

Shanghai can be an expensive city, so locking in a budget-friendly hotel is crucial for keeping your travel costs down.

All three hotels I've reviewed here put you right in the heart of the action on Nanjing East Road, offering maximum convenience for around ~$77 a night.

I hope my honest pros and cons help you pick the perfect base camp for your upcoming Shanghai adventure. Safe travels!