New Space Huiyuan Apartment

New Space Huiyuan turned out much better than I had feared, having an hour earlier bailed on a hotel that had failed to live up to its promises. About $40/night for three of us bought us a small duplex studio apartment. My daughter got the loft, my wife and I a double downstairs. The Internet was truly high speed, widescreen TV worked (all Chinese programming) and there was a full kitchen. A useful desk, a big shower room/toilet with plenty of hot water, big and small towels and lots of little soap bottles, tooth brushes and so on. The shower room also included a washer (a few drying lines and clothespins had been thoughtfully placed over the bedroom window; we chose the express cleaners in the basement, instead). The only downside was having to lug our baggage a couple of floors up an outside stairway (the escalator was out of service, perhaps per permanently). We were also fairly far from wherever downtown Shanghai is, not that I saw any particular point in being centrally located. There were a handful of funky restaurants within a few blocks, plus Stabucks and the usual chains in another direction. An elevated train stop was about 200 meters away. These units--situated within an office building--are excellent for individuals, couples and small families. They are not designed for business travelers and, though in generally good condition, the kitchen sink faucet had been uprooted from its base and swung around like a loose canon whenever we used it. Despite these minor flaws, New Space Huiyuan proved a very pleasant surprise and made our Shanghai stay far more pleasant and affordable.