marya_

The past two summers, our family of four has enjoyed stays in the Salisbury Y on high floors with beautiful harbor views.

This summer, my university-aged daughter and I -- later to be joined by my son -- are lucky enough to be able to spend another week in Hong Kong before we head off for a first trip to to Viet Nam where we'll join my husband. We are wondering whether to return to the Salisbury Y or try something new. What do you think?

Finances are a consideration (alas) so we won't spring for the Intercontinental or Peninsula or such, lovely as such hotels are.

Any ideas? Should we try something different in Kowloon or Central or Wan Chai or...?

We have already spent a month in Hong Kong in the past two years so we don't need to race around and see the sights. We look forward to leisurely jaunts to various islands, the History Museum, and time relaxing around an outdoor pool if you have any good recommendations for such. We just love Hong Kong and want to savor time there.

This will be special time with my daughter before she heads off to university so we are looking forward to quality mother-daughter time.

People on this board always have great ideas so I am hopeful for inspiration and leads...

rkkwan

What exact dates will you be in Hong Kong? And how much will the YMCA Salisbury be?

Here are some ideas I have. May or may not suite you, but are somewhat out-of-the-box.

- Bishop Lei International House. It's in the Mid-Levels on HK Island, above Central. Run by the Catholic Diocese. Very reasonable rate: www.bishopleihtl.com.hk/Rate.htm I mean, a "Grand Harbour View Suite" for under HK$900!

- Go Priceline and try 5* Tsimshatsui to get the Sheraton or 5* Hong Kong Island West to get the Marriott. Will cost you more than YMCA, but will get you a nicer room - though probably no view from the Sheraton.

- If you want to save money, go Priceline and try 4* Central Kowloon to get the Eaton. It's right on Nathan Road, close to Jordan MTR. Biddingfortravel.com has shown successful bids of <$60. Great great price for a decent hotel.

- Go upscale and book the 5* Langham Place. I search for some July dates on their website, and they have Executive Room with great cityview for HK$1,100. That's half the price of other 5* hotels. It's in Mongkok, so very convenient for low-end shopping. www.langhamhotels.com/langhamplace/hongkong/

lxchiang

I think Bishop Lei House is definitely worth your cosideration --- giving you a complete different view perspective from Salisbury Y.

rkkwan: Do you know how far is the escalator (from Central to Mid-Level) to Bishop Lei House?

rkkwan

lxchiang - It is very very close to the escalators. 2-3 minutes walk I'll say.

marya_

I am intrigued by the Bishop Lei House because it would give us such a different perspective. I have a general sense of the area -- We rode the escalator once just for the fun of it, hopping off to go to a little cafe (Life Cafe, I believe) that felt like it could be in Seattle as easily as in Hong Kong.

So, I just read all the Bishop Lei reviews on Tripadvisor. They are rather mixed although the suites sound much better than the tiny rooms. Have any of you been in the rooms? Are their shortcomings more than compensated for by the fabulous views and neighborhood feel?

Thanks again for any thoughts.

rkkwan

Another hotel similar to the Bishop Lei is the YWCA Garden View Interational House, also in the Mid-levels, but above the Hong Kong Park and not close to the escalators. The rates aren't that cheap, in my opinion, and the reviews are also mixed:

hotel.ywca.org.hk/eng/GardenView/GardenView_tariff.asp

Really, the YMCA Salisbury is excellent value. It's pretty hard to find something similar in that price range. I am not really recommending any thing, but if I was going, I would take the Langham Place for $1,100.

lxchiang

I have never stayed in this hotel, but I am very familiar with this area from years ago.

Do 2 searches:

1) Type <bishop lei international house> in serach section of this forum. You'll find 3 references including the one by Cicerone whom I believe lives in HK.

2) Type <review of bishop lei international house> in Google - the search engine. You'll get a listings (first page) from which you get a lot of information about this hotel.

I still think this hotel is worth your consideration based on your initial posting.

marya_

Thank you for these ideas. I followed up at some length.

I was particularly intrigued by the Bishop Lei on Central and the Langham in Mong Kok because a change of neighborhood would be stimulating.

We wound up making the conservative choice though. The Salisbury Y did have a harbor view room available so we decided to take it for this time and go check out these other 2 places for a future visit.

Admittedly, one of the Tripadvisor.com reviews of the Bishop Lei questioning safety in the neighborhood put me off a bit since I'll be spending part of the time in HK alone with my daughter. Then, when my son joins us, I want the children to be able to come and go on their own in complete comfort. I know that they can do that from the Salisbury Y -- probably can from the other hotels as well but even one critic makes one chary.

Thank you for taking the time to inform us.

rhkkmk

i find trip advisor info fair at best..

rkkwan

I also highly question about that review on Tripadvisor. Many hotels in Hong Kong and elsewhere in Asia do not use electronic key cards. That doesn't mean it's not safe. And the hotel is in an upscale neighborhood next to churches and top schools. I cannot understand how anybody can feel unsafe there.

rkkwan

BTW, thefts in Hong Kong hotels do happen. But the victims are usually business people bringing jewelry or other valuable goods to conventions and exhibitions. It'd be foolish for a thief to go to a 3* hotel run by the Catholic Diocese, targeted for budget travelers.