Five love hotels to try in Shanghai

Looking for something a liitle different this Valentine’s Day?

We've taken a look at five of Shanghai's love hotels to sort the sexy from the seedy.

Upon entering the 8 Colors Hotel on Changshou Lu, subtly located on the third floor of a tower block with minimal signage, it seems that this Japanese-run property has decided to betray their name by decking everything out in black. Even the shagpile carpet in the lift is black and grey. Other bands from the colour spectrum are brought into play by the guest rooms however, with red, yellow, green, blue, purple and pink themes on offer. 

Completing the eight room types are the ‘Plus’ and ‘X’ deluxe suites, with the latter representing a lack of imagination with names rather than anything risqué. With most of the 32 rooms occupied upon our visit, we’re forced to go for a pink one (number 7), which turns out to have been embellished with a decidedly un-sexy Hello Kitty theme. There are Hello Kitty stuffed toys on the pink chaise lounge, a Hello Kitty rug and Hello Kitty stickers on the glass divider between the bed and the twin showers. Thankfully the cutesy cartoon character doesn’t appear on the bed itself, which is surrounded by pink lace curtains underneath a circle of dangling faux-crystal beads, but the motifs are nevertheless all a bit off-putting. The facilities are comfortable and the hotel in general is smartly presented, if not exactly romantic, but if you are checking in here, specify a coulour other than pink for your stay.

8 Colours Hotel is at Third Floor, 479 Changshou Lu, near Jiaozhou Lu, Jingan district (3253 0188; www.8colors.net).

Rates From 446RMB per night, 218RMB for three hours

Located on a drab corner of Wuning and Changshou Lus, opposite the Haopu ‘Lady Plaza’ shopping mall, Aisen (as with many love hotels in the city) labels itself a ‘fashion hotel’. There’s certainly a unique sense of style here, with the path to the reception desk leading you through a series of disorientating corridors covered in mirrored panels and brightly coloured floral carpet. 

The reception area itself is even more bewildering, with red rose-patterned tiles on the floor and a ceiling covered in faux-crystal beads (another common feature in love hotels around town). Given this entrance, the rooms are surprisingly okay. We’re shown a few different options, all of which feature circular beds with red heart-shaped spotlights shining upon them and large spa tubs in the bathrooms. Beside the circular beds are small controllers that enable you to adjust the lighting, including a ‘romantic’ dimmer setting. Unfortunately there isn’t a switch to make the beds rotate, Austin Powers style. 

As with most love hotels, there’s a ‘short stay’ rate aswell, but on our visit most of the guests seem to be young couples looking fora reasonably priced bolthole rather than sleazy old men or ladies of the night.The hotel also operates similarly-themed branches in Minhang, Yangpu and Zhabei districts, see their website for full details.

Aisen Hotel is at  Fifth Floor, 988 Changshou Lu, near Wuning Lu, Putuo district (5239 2356; www.aisenhotel.com)

Rates From 388RMB per night

With two branches in Shanghai, four in Qingdao and one in Beijing, plus anot er in Nanjing, Fashion Home is one of the country’s leading love hotel chains. Not that it really sees itself that way however – the brand sells itself as a hip ‘theme concept hotel’, aimed at young couples on citybreaks. As a result, some of the rooms at the People’s Square branch (located next door to a middle

school) have the feel of a brightly coloured business hotel, though they’re at l ast more comfortable than those at the similar, but seedier, Weibo Hotel chain (http://wbo-hotel.com), whose ‘romantic rooms’ have a maximum six hour stay.

However, some of the rooms feature classic Chinese love hotel characteristics such as dangly faux crystals, circular beds and shared showers or tandem bathtubs. Some are even quite stylish, though be sure to see a room first if you want to avoid Hello Kitty and Winnie the Pooh (and Optimus Prime in one room) staring at you while you’re in bed. And if you do decide to check in, bear in mind that all guests will need to show a valid Chinese passport; Fashion Home does not allow foreigners to stay.

Fashion Home is at  68 Huaihai Dong Lu, near Yunnan Nan Lu, Huangpu district (6326 6777)

Rates 398RMB per night

Sounding like a Japanese lager with special powers, Magical Kirin is the most centrally located of Shanghai’s love hotels, occupying the corner of Fumin Lu and Yanan Zhong Lu. The leaflet at reception and photos on Dianping.com show rooms with circular beds surrounded by lace curtains, a bed which looks to be on some sort of mock boat and a minimalist 2001: A Space Odyssey-style room. However, on our visit we’re told none of these are available, and are ta en instead to a far less salubrious offering that wouldn’t be out of place in a se ond-tier city motel. The rectangular four poster bed is hard and rickety, while th e glass that separates the bedroom and the pokey couples bath has small ‘erotic’ pictures on it. 

It’s all a bit tawdry, but at least there’s a branch of Sarnies directly downstairs (you have to walk through the sandwich shop to access the hotel) if you fancy a bit of extra nosh.

Magical Kirin Hotel is at Second Floor, 1007 Yanan Zhong Lu, near Fumin Lu, Jingan district (6279 0222)

Rates 288RMB per night

With three branches around town, We Love Hotel has some of the best facilities of all the options featured in this article. It’s about as classy as Shanghai’s love hotels get, with spacious rooms and large baths that  make their short stay rates (for three hours) seem less like an encouragement for some off the radar philandering and more like an invitation to enjoy your own private bathhouse for a few hours.

The rooms at the Taopu Lu outlet, found beside a large Carrefour store near Zhenbei Lu, all feature comfy circular or four poster beds, often adorned by heart shaped cushions. But it’s the bathing facilities that really make the hotel stand out, with the deluxe suites’ stylish interiors embellished by generous Jacuzzi-like tubs set in the floor, making the rooms feel like mini-New Star bathhouses. Even the cheaper rooms, such as the ‘Ingenious Suites’ or ‘Elegance Suites’, feature far bigger tubs than your average business hotel.

We Love’s other two hotels are on Wuzhong Lu, near Caohejing Hi-Tech Development Park, and a little further west on Hongzhong Lu, near Wuzhong Lu. Both offer similar accommodation to the Taopu Lu branch.

We Love Hotel is at Fourth Floor, 306 Taopu Lu, near Zhenbei Lu, Putuo district (3360 6582; www.welove-hotel.com)

Rates From 400RMB per night