Located inside a housing compound. GPS navigation brought me to the door, which was fortunate as it would be hard to find otherwise. They could do with a sign in English – meanwhile, look out for the Chinese characters 观海. It looks like you're arriving at the back door of a ground floor apartment. The receptionist was friendly and helpful, using a translation app where necessary. The atmosphere is cheerfully scruffy and youthful, with hundreds of visitors' signature all over the walls. Facilities are basic – the showers are over squat toilets (plenty of water though), and there are no drinking water refill machine (buy plastic for 1 yuan at the reception). The lobby area is tiny – they actually advertise the sofa bed in the lobby as a single-occupancy. Not a great idea – don't confuse it with a tiny single room as I did. They upgraded me to a dorm room. The mattress is not soft. The location is good for a visit to May 4th Square and the seafront. Overall, it was okay to doss here one night, but I found Kaiyue Hostel much better value.
