The Ink Suite of Magnolia Bed & Breakfast. This five-room B&B sources  its paintings and decorative pictures from an art gallery to match the  tone of its rooms. Photos Provided to China Daily

Eucalyptus Caf is an inseparable part of Koala House.

Koala House sits in a pocket of green on Duolun Cultural  Street.

Colorful wall paper and curtains give Koala House a cozy  look.

Tired of hotel chains with decor or and facilities that vary little from city to city? Try the little inns with individual character and color. Shi Yingying shows off a few of Shanghai's more unique bed-and-breakfast places.

Not every tourist is enamored with hotels with a string of stars attached to the names, least of all the back-packers now flocking to Shanghai for a glimpse of the World Expo. And, with the milestone show rapidly filling hotel rooms, more Chinese are also joining off-mainstream foreign visitors in exploring options among the smaller but more personalized inns.

"For independent travelers fed up with characterless chain hotels and who prefer a cozy, homey atmosphere, the best choices are the family-styled youth hostels," says 24-year-old Shanghainese Wan Tingting, who prefers staying at an inn.

"Don't expect the cleaning lady, the host or the porter to baby-sit you 24 hours, but you can count on their assistance when you need it."

The huge demand for accommodation fuelled by Expo fever means more such hostels, family hotels and bed and breakfast (B&B) establishments are finding their business niche in the city.

For Miranda Yao, the owner of Magnolia Bed & Breakfast, a five-room B&B nestled in Shanghai's French Concession, the double B does not just stand for bed and breakfast, it also represents an artistic approach to hospitality.

"Art Labor gallery works with us and sends their exhibits regularly - usually paintings and decorative pictures with interesting textures that match the tone of our rooms," Yao says. "Occasionally, guests buy these paintings."

With artist Monica Lin as her consultant, Yao named all her rooms after colors - Blue Room, Red Room, Green Room, Chocolate Room and the Ink Suite. Playing with a mix and match of colors and the idea of minimalism, rooms at the Magnolia have no space for the ubiquitous television set.

The recreational area of Le Tour Traveler's Rest comes  equipped with table tennis.

The private terrace on the third floor of Le Tour is one of the  guesthouse's major attractions.

"We did it on purpose - to have rooms without television. I feel tourists shouldn't waste their time watching TV during their stay in Shanghai, but should be exploring the city instead," she says. But, the four-storeyed B&B has Internet access throughout so guests can stay connected.

It is easy to pick out the converted Magnolia among other residential buildings in the former French Concession. The exterior is painted a soothing light green which stands out among the gray stone and brass buildings in the neighborhood.

It is the attention to details that make this bed and breakfast interesting, and appealing.

For example, the ladder in the bathroom was not left forgotten by plumbers. Instead, it acts as a creative rack for the guest towels. Another thoughtful touch is the free local mobile phone which the inn-keeper prepares for each guest. In addition, the inn also supplies guests with a complimentary map highlighting all the interesting restaurants worth exploring in the area.

Le Tour Traveler's Rest is a relatively larger 3,000 square meter youth hostel hidden in the maze-like alleys of Shanghai. It is a building with a lot of history, which the new owners have tried to keep intact.

It is close to 80 years old and used to house the 414 Towel Factory, famous for supplying the red-and-white-striped towels used by almost every Chinese family during the 50s.

"While renovating, we tried to salvage and re-use as much as we could from the old building, including much of the furniture, flooring and paneling that you see in our rooms and common areas," says Jane Chen, one of Le Tour's founders.

But, Le Tour shows little traces of its past even if the owners have preserved the red-brick wall and used the original timber as headboards in the guest rooms. Guests' graffiti covers its 50-cm-thick walls and the hostel looks more like a college dorm with large shared spaces in the reading room, television room, DVD room, shower room, kitchen as well as recreational areas such as the table tennis and football rooms.

The ladder in the bathroom of Magnolia Bed & Breakfast acts  as a creative rack for the guest towels.

"The Jinjiang Inn chain is located within 300 meters from our hostel and charges almost the same rates," says Chen. "But I think our guests would rather walk the distance and stay with us."

It is the beautiful private terrace on the third floor that defines Le Tour and wins the hearts of its guests. Unlike other hostels which relegate the food and beverage outlet to the ground level, Le Tour takes the dining experience upstairs. The caf is built with mainly wood and its position right next to the roof-top terrace makes it the place for BBQ and beer during hot summer nights.

A few strategically white marquees allow guest to lounge around al fresco.

Just like its name suggests, Koala Garden House is a guesthouse in a pocket of green right in the midst of the atmospheric Duolun Cultural Street. The funky cottage with its colorful walls and stone columns stands out as a landmark. The Eucalyptus Caf is an inseparable part of Koala House and apart from serving up Illy espresso coffee at reasonable prices, the quiet caf also delivers a menu of sandwiches, pastries, pasta and pizzas.