showers at HK airport ?
Aug 24th, 2010, 10:38 PM
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showers at HK airport ?
We will be flying in from Sydney Australia to HK at 6.30am and waiting all day for a midnight flight onwards to Europe. Is there any way that we can freshen up there, without using the vastly expensive advertised services of the Plaza Premium Lounge? Would be lovely to be able to have a little rest and [even] some type of washing facilities. What do my Fodorite friends recommend?
Aug 25th, 2010, 12:06 AM
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To the best of my knowledge, there are no public showers at the airport, you have to use the paid Premium Lounge. I assume you don’t otherwise qualify to use one of the airline lounges (you may have a credit card or frequent flyer plan which gives you access even if you are not in business class). I also assume you have looked at the price just for a shower rather than their general lounge prices. They have a shower-only facility, but I can’t seem to find prices.
You could consider getting a very inexpensive hotel in Hong Kong and using that for showers and as a base. Your layover is very long, and you may want a nap, so a hotel may be a good idea. (It also could be poring rain or there could be a typhoon, which means you may not want to or may not be able to do any sightseeing during that time.) One small issue there is that the room is probably not going to be available until late in the day unless you pay for 2 nights. You might also be able to work out a half-day rate. You also don’t want to be too far from bus or train transport to the airport. The Salisbury YMCA, which has an excellent location, has rooms for about US$100, not sure if that would work. You could consider something like the Hop Inn, which I have never seen but other posters have stayed in, where you could get a room for about HK$400. It has a good location in Kowloon. Can’t find a website other than a general hostel one at http://www.hostels.com/hostels/hong-kong/hop-inn/39944. But this may give you other ideas for budget hotels.
My other suggestion is that you book a massage or other beauty treatment at a hotel spa. That almost always gives you access to a shower and a locker for at least part of the time. (My guess is that if you left stuff in the locker and explained you were coming back “after lunch” that would not raise any issues.) Lockers rooms generally include a steam room and sometimes other wet room faculties in addition to showers. Sometimes you can get access to the pool, it depends on the rules. (And the massage would be a good thing for the jet lag.) The Regal Airport hotel has a spa, I don’t know anything about it, but check their website. It is located in the main terminal. You could also try the Novotel Citygate, about half a mile from the airport and offers paid massages. You can take a taxi or bus to the hotel, they may also have a shuttle
The JW Marriott on Hong Kong Island does not have a spa, but has a few massage rooms with some terrific massage ladies. You are given access to the locker room with shower, steam and Jacuzzi. I go there from time to time just for massages, and think this may work well. The hotel is located on a subway and bus line which connects to the Airport Express train. It also is an easy walk from here to the base of the Peak Tram or to Central or Wan Chai. (They don’t show the prices for massages on their website, and I can’t recall the prices, but send them an e-mail.)
Spas in hotels in Hong Kong may be about as expensive as the Plaza lounge, hard to say. A vanilla bath at the Four Seasons costs HK$500 for a half hour. Just getting a pedicure would be HK$400 or you could do an eyelash tint for HK$200. But for all these you get access to the showers, steam, sauna and hydropools. (They do give very nice pedicures.) The hotel is located within the mall in which the Airport Express train terminates, so this is easy access. Another thought is the Bliss Spa in the W hotel on the Kowloon side. There are showers and locker rooms in the spa. The Peninsula, the Intercontinental, the Mandarin and the Mandarin Landmark hotel also have spas and those may work and these are in good locations.
There are stand-alone spas, but those may be trickier in terms of showers and lockers. I would stick with hotels.
If you belong to the YMCA or YWCA in the US, you may be able to use the facilities at someplace like the Salisbury YMCA, which has a great location. If you belong to a health club at home, you may have reciprocity with clubs here, which would at least offer you shower facilities. Check your club’s rules.
With regard to the layover generally, if you are not flying the same airline out of Hong Kong on which you flew into Hong Kong, then when you land, the first thing you need to do is get your boarding pass for your onward flight. You can do this by going to the “"transit/transfer desk" for your airline and showing an e-ticket or paper ticket. When you get off the plane, you should follow signs to find the "transit/transfer desk" assigned to your airline. Also look at http://www.hongkongairport.com/eng/aguide/transit.html for info. The transit/transfer desks are located before Immigration, you will NOT have to go out to the main check in with regular passengers. Depending on what gate you land at, you may have to take an underground train to reach the transit area to get your boarding pass. (Gates 33 and above require using the train.)
Note that your checked baggage would be checked all the way through to your final destination when you check in in Australia. That would be the case even if you are flying two different airlines on each leg. Don’t confuse a lack of a partnership or code share between airlines with baggage transfer agreements which virtually all airlines share. (I would be shocked if any airline landing in Hong Kong would not transfer baggage automatically.)
If you have hand luggage you do not want to bring into town, you can check it in the Arrivals Hall, see http://www.hongkongairport.com/eng/a...gage.html#left for info. The "Meeters and Greeters Hall" is the main arrivals area, the Left Luggage area is on the far right of the hall as you exit the baggage claim/Customs areas.
For your departing flight, you only need to be at the airport 1 to 1.5 hours before the flight. (This assumes you already have boarding passes.) You will have to go through security and Immigration again, which can take a little time, and get out to the gate. But 1.5 hours should be more than enough time. By taxi or train, you should plan on 30 minutes to reach the airport from the main areas of Hong Kong. So if you hop the train or a taxi for the airport 2 hours before the flight (i.e. by 10 pm) you should be fine.
You could consider getting a very inexpensive hotel in Hong Kong and using that for showers and as a base. Your layover is very long, and you may want a nap, so a hotel may be a good idea. (It also could be poring rain or there could be a typhoon, which means you may not want to or may not be able to do any sightseeing during that time.) One small issue there is that the room is probably not going to be available until late in the day unless you pay for 2 nights. You might also be able to work out a half-day rate. You also don’t want to be too far from bus or train transport to the airport. The Salisbury YMCA, which has an excellent location, has rooms for about US$100, not sure if that would work. You could consider something like the Hop Inn, which I have never seen but other posters have stayed in, where you could get a room for about HK$400. It has a good location in Kowloon. Can’t find a website other than a general hostel one at http://www.hostels.com/hostels/hong-kong/hop-inn/39944. But this may give you other ideas for budget hotels.
My other suggestion is that you book a massage or other beauty treatment at a hotel spa. That almost always gives you access to a shower and a locker for at least part of the time. (My guess is that if you left stuff in the locker and explained you were coming back “after lunch” that would not raise any issues.) Lockers rooms generally include a steam room and sometimes other wet room faculties in addition to showers. Sometimes you can get access to the pool, it depends on the rules. (And the massage would be a good thing for the jet lag.) The Regal Airport hotel has a spa, I don’t know anything about it, but check their website. It is located in the main terminal. You could also try the Novotel Citygate, about half a mile from the airport and offers paid massages. You can take a taxi or bus to the hotel, they may also have a shuttle
The JW Marriott on Hong Kong Island does not have a spa, but has a few massage rooms with some terrific massage ladies. You are given access to the locker room with shower, steam and Jacuzzi. I go there from time to time just for massages, and think this may work well. The hotel is located on a subway and bus line which connects to the Airport Express train. It also is an easy walk from here to the base of the Peak Tram or to Central or Wan Chai. (They don’t show the prices for massages on their website, and I can’t recall the prices, but send them an e-mail.)
Spas in hotels in Hong Kong may be about as expensive as the Plaza lounge, hard to say. A vanilla bath at the Four Seasons costs HK$500 for a half hour. Just getting a pedicure would be HK$400 or you could do an eyelash tint for HK$200. But for all these you get access to the showers, steam, sauna and hydropools. (They do give very nice pedicures.) The hotel is located within the mall in which the Airport Express train terminates, so this is easy access. Another thought is the Bliss Spa in the W hotel on the Kowloon side. There are showers and locker rooms in the spa. The Peninsula, the Intercontinental, the Mandarin and the Mandarin Landmark hotel also have spas and those may work and these are in good locations.
There are stand-alone spas, but those may be trickier in terms of showers and lockers. I would stick with hotels.
If you belong to the YMCA or YWCA in the US, you may be able to use the facilities at someplace like the Salisbury YMCA, which has a great location. If you belong to a health club at home, you may have reciprocity with clubs here, which would at least offer you shower facilities. Check your club’s rules.
With regard to the layover generally, if you are not flying the same airline out of Hong Kong on which you flew into Hong Kong, then when you land, the first thing you need to do is get your boarding pass for your onward flight. You can do this by going to the “"transit/transfer desk" for your airline and showing an e-ticket or paper ticket. When you get off the plane, you should follow signs to find the "transit/transfer desk" assigned to your airline. Also look at http://www.hongkongairport.com/eng/aguide/transit.html for info. The transit/transfer desks are located before Immigration, you will NOT have to go out to the main check in with regular passengers. Depending on what gate you land at, you may have to take an underground train to reach the transit area to get your boarding pass. (Gates 33 and above require using the train.)
Note that your checked baggage would be checked all the way through to your final destination when you check in in Australia. That would be the case even if you are flying two different airlines on each leg. Don’t confuse a lack of a partnership or code share between airlines with baggage transfer agreements which virtually all airlines share. (I would be shocked if any airline landing in Hong Kong would not transfer baggage automatically.)
If you have hand luggage you do not want to bring into town, you can check it in the Arrivals Hall, see http://www.hongkongairport.com/eng/a...gage.html#left for info. The "Meeters and Greeters Hall" is the main arrivals area, the Left Luggage area is on the far right of the hall as you exit the baggage claim/Customs areas.
For your departing flight, you only need to be at the airport 1 to 1.5 hours before the flight. (This assumes you already have boarding passes.) You will have to go through security and Immigration again, which can take a little time, and get out to the gate. But 1.5 hours should be more than enough time. By taxi or train, you should plan on 30 minutes to reach the airport from the main areas of Hong Kong. So if you hop the train or a taxi for the airport 2 hours before the flight (i.e. by 10 pm) you should be fine.
Aug 25th, 2010, 08:17 PM
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Thank you so much Cicerone for your generous and inspired reply. There are such great ideas here and plenty of leads for me to follow up. You have made me feel much more positive about our lengthy HK layover.
Too kind!
Too kind!
Aug 25th, 2010, 08:56 PM
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I would encourage you to stay longer in Hong Kong if you can! But if not, you will find it very easy to get around and see sights with the 15 hours or so which you have. We have an excellent, reasonably priced public transport system of subways, buses and ferries. Taxis are also cheap. Signage is in English and is widely spoken (the English of some taxi drivers and bus drivers may not great, but you should not have major issues). Hong Kong is very safe at all hours.
If you can tell me the date you will be here, I might have particular reccos, esp if there is a public holiday or religious festival that you might want to see. If you have a particular interest in something, it would also be helpful to know that.
Otherwise, for an idea of what to do with your time, see something like http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...what-to-do.cfm where I posted a some ideas on sightseeing (see the end of my post there, item #11).
FYI, from what I saw on another site (flyertalk I think) I believe that a shower at the Plaza Lounge would be about HK$160. Personally, I would go with the pedicure at the Four Seasons (they open at 8 am). A far nicer shower experience and a pedicure into the bargain!
If you can tell me the date you will be here, I might have particular reccos, esp if there is a public holiday or religious festival that you might want to see. If you have a particular interest in something, it would also be helpful to know that.
Otherwise, for an idea of what to do with your time, see something like http://www.fodors.com/community/asia...what-to-do.cfm where I posted a some ideas on sightseeing (see the end of my post there, item #11).
FYI, from what I saw on another site (flyertalk I think) I believe that a shower at the Plaza Lounge would be about HK$160. Personally, I would go with the pedicure at the Four Seasons (they open at 8 am). A far nicer shower experience and a pedicure into the bargain!
