I first stayed at this Da Zhong Pudong Airport Hotel Shanghai (上海大众空港宾馆) in April 2015, arriving at Pudong at midnight. I have been back 2 more times since: once in April 2025 (before morning flight) and again in April 2026 (night arrival). 
Check the current rate at below.
Short version
If you land late or leave early from Pudong and want to sleep as close to the terminal as possible, this hotel does that one job. Ask for the North building if price matters more than the room. I always choose the North. Don’t assume the window will be shut when you walk in, and I can’t tell you whether the Wi-Fi is easy to set up — I never used it myself.
What has not changed since 2015
The location is still the reason to stay here. The hotel sits between Terminal 1 and Terminal 2, with a metro and Maglev station directly underneath it (as of July 2026). That has not changed across 3 stays, 10 years apart.
I hadn’t used Hotel Wi-Fi, I travel with a roaming SIM in 2015, 2025 and 2026, so I never needed it, and I can’t tell you how it performs.
Walking there from arrivals
You do not need a shuttle, and you do not need to step outside — whether you land at Terminal 1 or Terminal 2. That was true for me in 2015, 2025 and 2026. Pulling a suitcase through the connecting area was easy — the space between the two terminals is laid out in a clear grid, not a maze, so I was not backtracking to find my way.
The layout is simple once you know it: a transportation center sits between Terminal 1 and Terminal 2, and the hotel is built above it. So the rule is just this — land at T1, head toward T2; land at T2, head toward T1. You’ll hit the transportation center, and the hotel, before you reach the other terminal.
North and South
Both my stays were in the North building — the cheaper of the 2 sides, and what I book every time. As of July 2026, listed North building rooms run smaller, from around 18 to 25 square meters, while South building rooms are listed from around 28 up to 40 square meters for a deluxe king.
I have not stayed in the South building myself, so I can’t compare the two directly — I can only tell you that North is the budget option, and price the difference for yourself when you book. Check-in doesn’t seem to be strictly tied to the building either — I saw another guest check in at the North desk and then head toward the South building.
Front Desk
The staff attitude has not changed either. In 2015 I described them as robotic.
In both 2025 and 2026, they were still not particularly friendly, and check-in still involves standing at a desk and waiting rather than anything self-service. English worked fine for check-in both times, though — the lack of warmth isn’t a language problem. If a hotel this close to a major international airport hasn’t automated check-in in 10 years, I don’t expect it to change soon.
I did not ask about luggage storage at the desk on either visit, so I can’t tell you whether it’s offered.
Odd or Even
One more thing worth checking once you’re off the elevator: room numbers don’t run in one direction. There’s a sign showing which way to go based on whether your room number is odd or even — check it before you start walking, not after.
I have never eaten the hotel breakfast here, in any of the 3 stays. In 2015 that was because of reviews warning the food wasn’t good. I cannot tell you whether it has improved since, because I have 3 chances and skipped it every time.
What changed
In 2015, I paid a deposit with a UnionPay card at check-in.
In 2025 and 2026, no deposit was asked of me either time — both of those stays were prepaid in full, which is likely why. If you book pay-at-hotel instead, or the front desk asks you for one anyway, just pay it.
The room
In April 2025, arriving late at night, the temperature outside had already dropped below 10°C. The window in my room was already open when I walked in — not something I did myself. My guess is housekeeping opened it and didn’t close it again before I checked in.
There was no bad smell in the room in 2015, 2025, or 2026.
Runway noise is audible in the room, and so is some guest chatter from the hallway — this is not a silent building. Still, it is a different category of noise from what I have run into elsewhere.
There is a Holiday Inn Express near the same airport that I would call genuinely loud; this hotel is not in that league. It is also nothing like the suitcase-wheel noise that kept me up at the Incheon Airport Terminal 2 transit hotel, which I have reviewed separately. If you are noise-sensitive, I would still bring earplugs, but I would not rule this hotel out for that reason alone.
Outlets were plentiful in the room.
I tested with genuine Apple 20W chargers: the Japan/US and Korean ones both fit without an adapter, but the Australian one — with its angled 2-pin plug — did not. My guess is the sockets are missing the extra clearance that shape needs, but I can’t confirm the technical reason. If you’re traveling from Australia or New Zealand, bring an adapter; if you’re coming from Japan/US or Korea/ Europe, you likely won’t need one.
Bathroom
In 2015 there was a shower with no bathtub, and the room was bigger and cleaner than I expected going in.
The shower itself was different between my two recent stays: in 2025, the toiletries smelled fine but the water coming out of the shower had a metallic smell. In 2026, that metallic smell was gone. That could be a room-to-room difference rather than anything the hotel fixed — I can’t say which.
One general China habit that applies here as much as anywhere: don’t flush used toilet paper. There’s a small bin next to the toilet for it, as there is at most hotels across the country — the plumbing generally isn’t built to take paper.
Meals
For dinner, there is a food court on a lower floor of the complex, and that’s where I ate — Chen Xiang Gui, a beef noodle chain, has a location there, and it was good.
Breakfast is a different story — I skipped the hotel breakfast both times, and grabbed something from a convenience store instead, as best I remember.
What I paid
In 2015: US$80 for the night, breakfast not included. In 2025: ¥13,255 (about US$81 at current rates), booked for a night in April. In 2026: CNY 500 (about US$74 at current rates), tax included, for 1 night.
Who this is for
Good fit: you have a very early flight out of Pudong, or you are landing late and do not want to head into the city that night. The whole point of this hotel is proximity, not comfort.
Look elsewhere if: you want a quiet, modern room, Wi-Fi you can count on, or a front desk that seems glad to see you. None of those are what this hotel offers, in 2015 or in 2026.
My practical takeaway
I have now stayed here 3 times across 10 years, and the reason has been the same every time: a late-night or early-morning flight that made anything else more trouble than it was worth. I would not choose it for any other kind of trip.
If you are arriving at Pudong and want to know what immigration and the arrival process itself are actually like, I have written a separate guide covering that, based on the same trips as this review.
