Need Good Medium $$ Hotels: Beijing & Hong Kong
Jan 7th, 2008 | 12:36 AM
#2
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 7,689
Likes: 0
Although you have not given a range, and therefore it is hard to say what you mean by "$$" some perennial budget favourite are below. As with all hotel rooms in Hong Kong, go for the largest room you can, IMO with 2 people you want AT LEAST 30 square meters. Also try tripadvisor.com where you can search by price and read reccos of guests.
1. The Salisbury, which is a YMCA with the same View which you get for a lot more money at the Peninsula next door and the Intercontinental down the street. Website for YMCA hotels in Asia is /www.ymca-hotels.com/. The most popular and probably the nicest is The Salisbury. It’s not really a Y, it’s like a good 3 star or possibly 4 star hotel. Can’t beat the location really, even if it is in Kowloon.
2. Bishop Lei International House. This hotel is in mid-levels on Hong Kong Island which makes it very convenient for things like dinner, exploring Soho and Hollywood Road, and just generally being a tourist. Their room rates are very good. They have standard rooms at about US$100. The rooms tend to be small, so I would go for a suite if you can which will give you two rooms and you won't feel so cramped. The rooms are small but very nice, and the location is good, in a residential neighborhood near the top of the escalator and on a bus route. It is just above the zoo in the botanical gardens and you can hear the orang utans in the morning, quite unusual in the middle of the city. . . Many of the rooms have great views over the city and the harbor. They have a pool and restaurant, and there are other restaurants in the neighborhood. http://www.bishopleihtl.com.hk
3. Next door to the Intercontinental Hotel in TST on Kowloon is the Renaissance New World hotel. This is an older hotel and I don’t know that any of the rooms have harbour views, but would be cheaper than the IC for the same location (albeit no views). May be worth a look at marriott.com. This hotel is going to close sometime in 2008 or early 2009 so bear this in mind depending on when your trip is.
4. A budget hotel which I don’t know inside but which I pass virtually every day and I think has an excellent location in Wan Chai on Hong Kong Island is The Wesley. (It’s run by the Methodist church, like the Bishop Lei above is run by the Catholic Church.) This hotel is about 300 yards from the Pacific Place complex of the JW Marriott/Conrad and Shangri-La which of course charge hundreds more for their rooms. This is in a great neighborhood of excellent restaurants, both cheap and dear, and near some of my favorite (and fast disappearing) market areas for strolling and people-watching. The Admiralty/Pacific Place subway stop would be very close, and the hotel fronts the tram line and several major bus lines. It’s quite moderately priced, but make sure you get as large a room as you can.
22 Hennessy Road
Wan Chai
Tel (00852) 28666688
Fax 28666633
[email protected]
www.hanglung.com (I don't think this website works too well, you might try http://www.asiatraveltips.com/TheWesleyHotel.htm.)
5 Another thought are the serviced apartments at Two MacDonnell Road in mid-levels on Hong Kong Island. These are available for short-term rentals of one night, and the smallest units are in the US$170 range. All units have small kitchens, which is a nice feature for breakfast (there is a grocery store across the street). I like the location on MacDonnell Road, as it is close to the great walking path on Bowen Road , you can walk down to the Peak Tram station or Hong Kong Park in about 5 minutes or to Central in a bit more. It’s across (a very busy) street from the small zoo and park by the old Governor’s mansion. This is a quiet residential neighborhood,. The hotel has a free shuttle bus to Central as well, and a small gym a restaurant. See http://www.twomr.com.hk.
6. There is a chain of serviced apartments with various location on Hong Kong Island, some are small studios and some are 1800 square foot 2-bedrooms priced accordingly, take a look at http://www.thev.hk/. I don't know anything about this group or the quality of the apartments. There are no on-site fitness clubs, but it appears you would have access to private ones in the neighborhood at which you would have temporary membership.
7. There are several hotels in Causeway Bay, which is an area of Hong Kong Island a few miles to the east of Central. This is a primary shopping area, there are a number of good restaurants, a significant Tin Hau temple, a very large public park, and a typhoon shelter/harbour, but not really much for sightseeing. It’s a very bustling area of shoppers. In previous years, this was an area full of little discount outlet shops, however that has really changed and those are fast disappearing (rents are too high) and so the main reason to perhaps stay here is gone. I am not really a fan of recommending a stay there, esp for such a short stay and for a first time visitor, I think you will spend a lot of time of the subway or in taxi going into Central and other places. The subway is really jammed at rush hours, otherwise it is fine, but who wants to spend all that time underground when all the great views are above. In any event, hotels to consider in the budget range would be the Central Hotel (www.centralparkhotel.com.hk), the Metropark (http://www.metroparkhotel.com/) and the Rosedale (http://www.rosedale.com.hk ). At these latter hotels, ask about room size, as rooms tend to be very small (like 220 square feet) and get the largest you can.
8. A new Courtyard by Marriott is about to open in Sheung Wan to the west of Central on Hong Kong Island, I don't think it will be going for budget prices, but take a look at Marriott.com. This will be brand new so rooms will be plusher for a "budget" hotel and rooms may have more bells and whistles. I like this interesting quite local neighborhood (Chinese medicine shops and dried fish), it is on a tram line and taxis are easy to get, it is a bit of a walk to the nearest Metro, but there is interesting stuff in the neighborhood, you can get the 973 bus over to Stanley from here (a very pretty ride, not quite the thrill of the mountain ride of the #6 but you can take that back), and you can walk to Soho and Hollywood Road from here with a little effort (and maybe combined with the tram). This area, IMO, is closer and a lot easier to navigate around that Causeway Bay, and is more interesting (Causeway Bay is fast becoming all mobile phone shops and large chain stores). There is an older Ramada hotel in this neighborhood as well, I have not been inside, but you might look that up. Other budget hotels in the Sheung Wan area are the Central Park Hotel (http://www.centralparkhotel.com.hk/) and the Lan Kwai Fong Hotel, which despite it's name is NOT in Lan Kwai Fong, see http://www.lankwaifonghotel.com.hk/)
Really can't help with Beijing as I normally recco the Palace or the Grand Hyatt.
1. The Salisbury, which is a YMCA with the same View which you get for a lot more money at the Peninsula next door and the Intercontinental down the street. Website for YMCA hotels in Asia is /www.ymca-hotels.com/. The most popular and probably the nicest is The Salisbury. It’s not really a Y, it’s like a good 3 star or possibly 4 star hotel. Can’t beat the location really, even if it is in Kowloon.
2. Bishop Lei International House. This hotel is in mid-levels on Hong Kong Island which makes it very convenient for things like dinner, exploring Soho and Hollywood Road, and just generally being a tourist. Their room rates are very good. They have standard rooms at about US$100. The rooms tend to be small, so I would go for a suite if you can which will give you two rooms and you won't feel so cramped. The rooms are small but very nice, and the location is good, in a residential neighborhood near the top of the escalator and on a bus route. It is just above the zoo in the botanical gardens and you can hear the orang utans in the morning, quite unusual in the middle of the city. . . Many of the rooms have great views over the city and the harbor. They have a pool and restaurant, and there are other restaurants in the neighborhood. http://www.bishopleihtl.com.hk
3. Next door to the Intercontinental Hotel in TST on Kowloon is the Renaissance New World hotel. This is an older hotel and I don’t know that any of the rooms have harbour views, but would be cheaper than the IC for the same location (albeit no views). May be worth a look at marriott.com. This hotel is going to close sometime in 2008 or early 2009 so bear this in mind depending on when your trip is.
4. A budget hotel which I don’t know inside but which I pass virtually every day and I think has an excellent location in Wan Chai on Hong Kong Island is The Wesley. (It’s run by the Methodist church, like the Bishop Lei above is run by the Catholic Church.) This hotel is about 300 yards from the Pacific Place complex of the JW Marriott/Conrad and Shangri-La which of course charge hundreds more for their rooms. This is in a great neighborhood of excellent restaurants, both cheap and dear, and near some of my favorite (and fast disappearing) market areas for strolling and people-watching. The Admiralty/Pacific Place subway stop would be very close, and the hotel fronts the tram line and several major bus lines. It’s quite moderately priced, but make sure you get as large a room as you can.
22 Hennessy Road
Wan Chai
Tel (00852) 28666688
Fax 28666633
[email protected]
www.hanglung.com (I don't think this website works too well, you might try http://www.asiatraveltips.com/TheWesleyHotel.htm.)
5 Another thought are the serviced apartments at Two MacDonnell Road in mid-levels on Hong Kong Island. These are available for short-term rentals of one night, and the smallest units are in the US$170 range. All units have small kitchens, which is a nice feature for breakfast (there is a grocery store across the street). I like the location on MacDonnell Road, as it is close to the great walking path on Bowen Road , you can walk down to the Peak Tram station or Hong Kong Park in about 5 minutes or to Central in a bit more. It’s across (a very busy) street from the small zoo and park by the old Governor’s mansion. This is a quiet residential neighborhood,. The hotel has a free shuttle bus to Central as well, and a small gym a restaurant. See http://www.twomr.com.hk.
6. There is a chain of serviced apartments with various location on Hong Kong Island, some are small studios and some are 1800 square foot 2-bedrooms priced accordingly, take a look at http://www.thev.hk/. I don't know anything about this group or the quality of the apartments. There are no on-site fitness clubs, but it appears you would have access to private ones in the neighborhood at which you would have temporary membership.
7. There are several hotels in Causeway Bay, which is an area of Hong Kong Island a few miles to the east of Central. This is a primary shopping area, there are a number of good restaurants, a significant Tin Hau temple, a very large public park, and a typhoon shelter/harbour, but not really much for sightseeing. It’s a very bustling area of shoppers. In previous years, this was an area full of little discount outlet shops, however that has really changed and those are fast disappearing (rents are too high) and so the main reason to perhaps stay here is gone. I am not really a fan of recommending a stay there, esp for such a short stay and for a first time visitor, I think you will spend a lot of time of the subway or in taxi going into Central and other places. The subway is really jammed at rush hours, otherwise it is fine, but who wants to spend all that time underground when all the great views are above. In any event, hotels to consider in the budget range would be the Central Hotel (www.centralparkhotel.com.hk), the Metropark (http://www.metroparkhotel.com/) and the Rosedale (http://www.rosedale.com.hk ). At these latter hotels, ask about room size, as rooms tend to be very small (like 220 square feet) and get the largest you can.
8. A new Courtyard by Marriott is about to open in Sheung Wan to the west of Central on Hong Kong Island, I don't think it will be going for budget prices, but take a look at Marriott.com. This will be brand new so rooms will be plusher for a "budget" hotel and rooms may have more bells and whistles. I like this interesting quite local neighborhood (Chinese medicine shops and dried fish), it is on a tram line and taxis are easy to get, it is a bit of a walk to the nearest Metro, but there is interesting stuff in the neighborhood, you can get the 973 bus over to Stanley from here (a very pretty ride, not quite the thrill of the mountain ride of the #6 but you can take that back), and you can walk to Soho and Hollywood Road from here with a little effort (and maybe combined with the tram). This area, IMO, is closer and a lot easier to navigate around that Causeway Bay, and is more interesting (Causeway Bay is fast becoming all mobile phone shops and large chain stores). There is an older Ramada hotel in this neighborhood as well, I have not been inside, but you might look that up. Other budget hotels in the Sheung Wan area are the Central Park Hotel (http://www.centralparkhotel.com.hk/) and the Lan Kwai Fong Hotel, which despite it's name is NOT in Lan Kwai Fong, see http://www.lankwaifonghotel.com.hk/)
Really can't help with Beijing as I normally recco the Palace or the Grand Hyatt.
Jan 7th, 2008 | 09:03 AM
#3
Joined: Nov 2007
Posts: 92
Likes: 0
It is far better to stay in Kowloon - which is almost the same as HK. I just looked up the kimberly hotel - where I always stay -and the rate was so low I could not believe it. Usu. even without a business discount, it is $95 u.s. or so, but it showed today at $45 - I don't know why. It is close to the subway, quiet, comfortable and about a 4 star- rooms are smallish, but I have stayed in much smaller rooms elsewhere. I always go there after my trans-pacific flt to sleep and it always works - never noise, never disturbed.
Jan 7th, 2008 | 07:44 PM
#4
Joined: Jul 2003
Posts: 216
Likes: 0
Reading the marvellous response on Hong Kong hotels.. Fodorites never fail!! Is there a medium price hotel on Kowloon with larger size rooms that either one of you would recommend for a week? I'll do a separate post for restaurants! We plan on being there early March - is that a reasonable time? Thank you
Jan 7th, 2008 | 08:17 PM
#5
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 7,689
Likes: 0
March is OK, it's not really great weather-wise to be honest. It tends to be cool to cold, damp and can be foggy. If you had a choice of other months, I would go in almost any other month, but if you can't work out your schedule then you will just see what the weather brings. Feb and March are the two not-great months here, early April can be foggy too. Oct to end Jan are great, dry and mostly sunny, temps in the 70s F. May through September are hot and prone to rain (August generally being the worst), but the sunny days are great and the air pollution is significantly less then in the winter due to wind shift, so I am beginning to like these months a lot more for the clearer air.
For a week, you really might consider a serviced apartment, it will give you a kitchen, perhaps not a full one with a big refrigerator and maybe a microwave rather than an oven, but a least a place for some meals, this may be better than eating out all breakfasts, lunches, etc. Otherwise, if you really have to be in Kowloon, I would look at the Salisbury YMCA. Personally, I either take a serviced apartment at 2 MacDonnell Road or would take a larger room at the Bishop Lei with their lovely views, both are in a real neighborhood of apartments, the Bishop Lei is near the escalator to get down to restaurants in Soho, the little zoo, both are green and quiet and you can walk or bus to everything. You won't walk out of your hotel and immediately be assaulted by touts asking if you want a suit made like you will 8 times a day in Kowloon......
I see no reason to stay in Kowloon. I live here and really, unless you have a room with that View of the harbour, I have never understood the attraction of Kowloon. It is very crowded, noisy, full of mediocre restaurants and mostly crap shopping or high-end stuff you can get at home, some bad tailors (a few good ones), and worst of all, full of touts picking on tourists. Moreover, except for a very few things like the flower and bird market, a few museums, and a few temples, virtually all your sightseeing and time is actually going to be spent on Hong Kong Island which has the Peak, Aberdeen, Stanley, Central, Happy Valley (and its racetrack) Causeway Bay and virtually all of the good restaurants. There is some great walking in the New Territories no doubt, but few tourists do that and you don't have to stay in Kowloon necessarily to get to those walks, it may save you 10 minutes on the journey. I am from New Jersey, but would never tell someone to stay at a hotel in Jersey City rather than NYC...(other than for the view of Manhattan). Moreover, for you for a week, you probably will want to go to outlying islands like Lamma or Lantau, and the ferry piers for those are over on Hong Kong Island as well, making it yet again easier to stay on Hong Kong Island, IMO.
For a week, you really might consider a serviced apartment, it will give you a kitchen, perhaps not a full one with a big refrigerator and maybe a microwave rather than an oven, but a least a place for some meals, this may be better than eating out all breakfasts, lunches, etc. Otherwise, if you really have to be in Kowloon, I would look at the Salisbury YMCA. Personally, I either take a serviced apartment at 2 MacDonnell Road or would take a larger room at the Bishop Lei with their lovely views, both are in a real neighborhood of apartments, the Bishop Lei is near the escalator to get down to restaurants in Soho, the little zoo, both are green and quiet and you can walk or bus to everything. You won't walk out of your hotel and immediately be assaulted by touts asking if you want a suit made like you will 8 times a day in Kowloon......
I see no reason to stay in Kowloon. I live here and really, unless you have a room with that View of the harbour, I have never understood the attraction of Kowloon. It is very crowded, noisy, full of mediocre restaurants and mostly crap shopping or high-end stuff you can get at home, some bad tailors (a few good ones), and worst of all, full of touts picking on tourists. Moreover, except for a very few things like the flower and bird market, a few museums, and a few temples, virtually all your sightseeing and time is actually going to be spent on Hong Kong Island which has the Peak, Aberdeen, Stanley, Central, Happy Valley (and its racetrack) Causeway Bay and virtually all of the good restaurants. There is some great walking in the New Territories no doubt, but few tourists do that and you don't have to stay in Kowloon necessarily to get to those walks, it may save you 10 minutes on the journey. I am from New Jersey, but would never tell someone to stay at a hotel in Jersey City rather than NYC...(other than for the view of Manhattan). Moreover, for you for a week, you probably will want to go to outlying islands like Lamma or Lantau, and the ferry piers for those are over on Hong Kong Island as well, making it yet again easier to stay on Hong Kong Island, IMO.
Jan 7th, 2008 | 11:44 PM
#6
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 4
Likes: 0
If you are on a low budget trip to Beijing, you might want to hook up with the locals who would be happy to rent out a room in their apartment. My friend stayed in a double room in a 2-bedroom apartment while he was there last week and it only cost RMB 100-150/day. The family also provided free subway transfers. If you need more info, I'd be happy to ask him for the contact's email. My email j_o_b_s_2007 at yahoo dot com.
