Hong Kong Hotels-3 choices-please help
 

We will be in Hong Kong end of April for three nights. We can get a good corporate rate at the following hotels. Not sure which one to pick for best location, nice hotel etc...

-Harbour Grande
-Holiday Inn Causeway Bay
-Langham Place (I have read this is not a great location as far as walking distance to the train/sights etc...?)

Any feedback would be appreciated!

There's 2 Harbour Grand in Whampoa and North Point. The Whampoa hotel isn't accessible by mtr. The one in North Point is a short walk away from North Point mtr but not near the typical tourist attractions compared to Holiday Inn and Langham Place.

Holiday Inn and Langham Place are a short walk away from mtr stations and both located in bustling areas with lots of shops and eating place. Guess the decision would be based on whether you want to be in Kowloon or HK island.

Thanks for the response....as this will be our first time to Hong Kong any suggestions are appreciated. I don't know where we should stay, ie: Kowloon or HK Island...Thoughts and reasons on why one is better than the other?

The Harbour Grand i referred to is located at the Mt Fortress Hill Station exit (?). So, out of the above choices, is the Langham Place the best bet?

The Holiday Inn in Causeway Bay is an Express. Good thing it is close to the huge Times Square mall with tonnes of highend shopping and dining choices by foot.

The Harbour Grand in Fortress Hill is very new and nice, with good view. The area is more residential, so you'll need to commute a tiny bit for more interesting sights, shops and restaurant; though still plenty of shops nearby.

The one I'll definitely pick is the Langham Place. It's in a crowded and interesting area. Great location to get a feel of the more mainstream and downscale side of the city. Though, if you hate crowds, avoid it

Langham Place is in Mongkok, lots of shops of every kind, markets of every kind, the biggest crowd you ever seen at all times, have to learn "skipp-and-duck"
Langham Hotel is in Tsimshatsui, Kowloon, more sophisticated,
good shopping, restaurants etc. Streets are wider here, easier to get around.Look out for the guys offering cheap bags, clothing, watches big rip-off! Better go to the Ladies Market in Mongkok.
I live here so I would recommend the Hotel not the Place. Very easy to get around, the train services are the best in the world. Get an Octopus card, you can use it on the buss the trains and the trams.
Have a lovely holiday!!

I've stayed at the Holiday Inn Express in Causeway Bay. It is incredibly small and there were problems with the toilet but location wise, it was indeed very convenient. However even though it says that it is close to the MTR, it is not. It's more like MTR entrance and you have to walk quite a bit of distance to the actual station.

I'm heading over to HK in Sep too and for the price that I need to pay for Holiday Inn, I can get a better and bigger room at Lanson Place Hotel Hong Kong for the same price. Lanson Place Hotel HK is about 2-3 blocks away?

Friend of mine stayed at Langham Place in Mongkok. She loves the design of her room and she actually quite enjoyed the atmosphere of Mongkok.

Yes, if for the same price, I'd take the Lanson Place as well. It is more than just 2-3 blocks away from the HI Express or Time Square. Perhaps 5-7 minutes walk. But it (along with the Jia and Regal that are basically adjacent to one another) is just as convenient getting to MTR trains at Causeway Bay, if not more covenient, as well as getting to SOGO, the high-end shops at Lee Garden or most restaurants in the area.

Due to availability issues we had to book at the harbor grande hotel. Made sense with great corporate rate offered. I am a bit concerned about the location though after reading reviews. Can anyone shed some light on what surrounds the hotel for shopping, any nearby markets etc. . Is it easy enough to hop on the mtr to explore?

Harbour Grand is just a short walk from the Fortress Hill MTR, and many buses and the HK Tramway nearby. Very convenient. Lots of restaurants if you stroll along Electric Road towards Tin Hau and Causeway Bay, including one Michelin-starred one. If you walk the other way, it's short distance to North Point, with a busy street wet market, if you're interested.

Keep in mind that that part of HK Island is all built-up. There is continuous shops and eateries and people everywhere. You're never far from anything

Of the 3 on your list, I would choose the Holiday Inn Express. There are particular reasons I would choose it. It is however, far less luxurious than the Langham Place and the Harbour Grande. My reason for preferring this hotel are:

1. It’s walkable to some interesting traditional market areas like the Bowrington Road market
2. It’s walkable to the street tram, which is a great (albeit slow) way to see street life in Hong Kong.
3. It’s walkable to some interesting parts of Causeway Bay, like the Hai Tang area which has two temples and lots of little alleys and streets and is quiet and somewhat more traditional.
4. It’s walkable to the #10 bus and some other good bus services in Hong Kong, like the 15B to or from the Peak. With a short walk, you can get to a stop for the #6 bus to Stanley Market.
5. It’s walkable to Happy Valley, if you want to go to the races (Wed evenings) or just see a more laid back and local area of town. It’s walkable to the Happy Valley Cemetery which is quite interesting (in an odd ball way).
6. It’s walkable to some good restaurants and shopping (it’s adjacent to Times Square which has a lot of both, or the kitsch fun of G.O.D. Design, and the small boutiques of Yu Wa Street).
7. It’s a fairly short taxi ride to Central (10-15 minutes, about HK$40).
8. If you don’t mind a flat walk, it’s about 20 minutes to the Wan Chai markets from there.

In the same area as the Holiday Inn is the Crowne Plaza, not sure if you checked that for your rate. That may be a little nicer and rooms have views. The downside to this location (for some people) is that is not near an MTR station, but the MTR does not go to a lot of places you want to go as a tourist in any event, so I never understand the need for a tourist to be near an MTR station to begin with. Taxis are cheap and mostly avaialbe and the bus system is excellent once you learn a few basis routes.

The post above mentions the Langham Hotel, which is more expensive than the Langham Place (as it is in a better location in TST) and therefore may not be in your corporate rate. As for the Langham Place, it is 2 miles from the TST waterfront, and I personally do not like the location, way too many tourists going to the night market. And a longish subway ride to get to places you will want to see (most of which are on Hong Kong Island).

The Harbour Grande in North Point on Hong Kong Island is also quite luxurious and not a terrible location as it is on the edge of Victoria Park and Causeway Bay. It is, however, just that bit out if the way for such a short visit in that you will be spending more time in transit than you want. However, if you want luxury versus location, then this would be my choice over the Langham Place.

Without knowing the rate you have, it’s hard to give other advice, but you might look at budget hotels like the Bishop Lei or the Salisbury YMCA which may be competitive to the corporate rate you have and are in good locations.

One more thing to add is that the Harbour Grande is the only one of your 3 which will give you a view, and they have some nice harbour views, which can be an added consideration and may make up for a bit of this hotel’s secondary location.

There was a 3-alarm fire on the exterior portion of the Harbour Grand early this morning. Probably won't affect you, but still better to check with hotel in the next few days.

We stayed at the HG NP and I agree with the above comments. Not a great location but its nice, the Fortress Hill station is a short walk away. In the hotel itself the accomodations are really nice so if you can get a good rate there and as its for three nights (4-5 would be better) then go for it. We had a room with a harbour view and hey it was wonderful. I did expect a larger room for the price but it seems things in HK are that way.

I did like its location in that we found plenty of local restaurants and shops so you do get that sort of feel. I personally prefer that vs. being in an area full of designer shops ala other cities throughout in the world. As its close to the end of April now perhaps you are already there. :-)

Well, I surely hope the OP wasn't there this morning. Guests were evacuated, and restaurants will still be closed. Many are relocated to other properties for now.

There is now a debate about the alarm system. There was fire on the roof top and stuff on the podium floor (I think 7th and/or 9th) also caught fire. But apparently, fire laws in Hong Kong only requires alarm and evacuation of 2 floors above the actual fire and one floor below. Accordingly, most guest rooms never got a fire alarm.

Wow! I hope not as well. See the link for some dramatic pics.
http://www.thechinatimes.com/online/2012/04/3152.html