Hong Kong - on the cheap for hotels
 

Looking for decent but inexpensive hotels in Hong Kong (prefer Kowloon) as I am only going to be there 2 nights and will be running around most of the time! It appears the Stanford, Regal Oriental, Dorsett Olympic are the best rates. How are their locations/amenties? (prefer hotels with fitness center but if they dont have it, they dont...)Thanks!

I can't say about facilities, as I've never stayed at any. However, I do know the Stanford has pretty small rooms, and the Dorsett Olympic is the newest.

As far as location is concerned, Stanford is much much more convenient than the other two. It's just two short blocks from the Ladies' Market in Mong Kok, and there are tonnes of shops and eateries nearby. It's also just a few short blocks from the buses on Nathan Road and the MTR station.

The Dorsett Olympic is quite a walk to Mong Kok, passing some not-so-interesting areas. Or you go to the Olympic MTR station where there are two large malls attached to it. However, the Olympic MTR station is on the Tung Chung Line, which is not convenient to get to other Kowloon stops like Tsimshatsui. You will be using the taxi to get back to the hotel often.

The Regal Oriental was the old airport hotel. There is no MTR service in that area of town. You must take buses/taxis to go anywhere - nothing to see in that area. The plus side is that there are a lot of good local eateries nearby, but I don't know how much you like Cantonese food.

So, locationwise, the Stanford is much much better than the other two.

Thank you! I will go for the Stanford then...

BTW, if it's just for two nights, why not try bid for 5* Tsimshatsui for $100 on Priceline? Many people are getting the excellent Sheraton with that price in that zone. May cost a little more than the hotels you listed, but the experience will be much much better.

salisbury YMCA and kowloon hotel are two great finds in expensive areas...

rkkwan - I'm not that comforatable on priceline.com as I once ended up with a hotel I hadnt wanted and didnt know, even having done research, that it was feasable to get. The other 2 - I may go for! Thanks for the advice.

If you can get it, the Salisbury YMCA is a wonderful hotel for about $100 a night. You can't beat the location, which is more than merely convenient since several rooms have excellent views of the harbor. The YMCA has a fitness center (a pretty good one), though you have to pay to use it.

cindy1 - You cannot go wrong with 5* in the Tsim Sha Tsui and Hong Kong West zones. Don't bid 4*, and don't bid the other two zones.

A $100 room in either of those 5* zones will give you a much better deal than if you book elsewhere.

ok, thanks!

my inexperience with priceline is driving me to ask this. can i bid $90 for a 5 and is there nay shot id get something decent or might i get awful?

The $100 for Sheraton and $120 JWMarriott rates I quote are based on what people are reporting on biddingfortravel.com. Those are the most common bids accepted for the 5* Tsim Sha Tsui and 5* West Hong Kong Island zones respectively.

You can see what other 5* hotels in those zones that have been reported on that site. There is no guarantee that your $100 or $120 bid will be accepted, and I can't say for sure a $90 bid won't be accepted. But chances are they won't.

Once a bid is rejected, you can do the following things:

- Wait 72 hrs to bid again
- Change your dates, zones or star level to bid again immediately.

And because there is no 5* hotels in the Priceline &quot;East Hong Kong Island&quot; zone, you can get a &quot;free rebid&quot; without waiting for 72 hours to rebid. <b>Please read the FAQs on biddingfortravel.com about strategies, or search for Priceline threads in the US Forum here on Fodors.com</b>

There are various ways to do this, depending on whether you must get Tsim Sha Tsui or if West HK Island is acceptable to you. And if you want to take a chance for $90, you can bid for $90 for Tsim Sha Tsui. If rejected, you can add &quot;West Hong Kong Island 5*&quot; for $95, and then &quot;East Hong Kong Island&quot; for $100.

You will not get a 5* EHKI as none exist; and I don't think you should mind if you get a WHKI 5* for $95.

But if your maximum budget is over $100, then there's different strategy. You can state what your absolutely requirements are, and I can help you here.

I just stayed in Booth Lodge in a very large room for $54 a night. It's right by the subway and walking distance to the Night Market; the location worked out fine for me and the staff was helpful and friendly.