Have a three night stop over in HK on our way back from Oz very early Jan 08 (i have been before and stayed at the Ritz-Carlton) However the BF hasnt been and am wondering which is the best area (ie kowloon or central ) to stay. Peninsula is FULL (11 months early!!!!) was thinking of the MO. I HATEF the night market on Kowloon last time i went although i was severly jetlagged last time i ws in HK so cant really remember too much......
Hope you can help.

Plenty of nice hotels in Hong Kong.

InterContinental, Four Seasons, Island Shangri-La, Conrad are all nice in great locations.

The IC would have the nicest harborview.

Thanks for your response.
I have been given a deal at the Mandarin. (with Free Harbour view upgrade) can vaguely remember where it is. Would you say this is a good location to get around in 3 days and see the sights?

Yes it is and I believe the Mandarin has recently reopened after renovations.

It really depends on whether you prefer to be on the Hong Kong side or the Kowloon side. My personal preference is for the Kowloon side (what a view of Hong Kong!), but there are great hotels in both locations. I liked the Kowloon Shangri-La, and the Intercontinental gets rave reviews. But it would be hard to pass up a great deal at the MO.

The MO is right in the heart of Central. Now that the Star Ferry has moved, it's no longer a 3 minute walk. More like 10 minute now. Otherwise, it's still adjacent to MTR's Central station, and the adjacent Landmark / Prince Building / Alexander House / Charter House complex has even more high-end stores than ever.

The redone Mandarin Oriental would be a very good choice. It is on the harbour basically in front of the Star Ferry (to which it is NOT a 10 minute walk), just a block or closer to downtown Central from the Ritz if you remember that location. The location really can’t be beat, and although they don’t have the views of the Peninsula or the Intercontinental, they do have the easy access to every thing else, including the great restaurants of Soho, and you can walk to virtually anything else you want, or take a short taxi, ferry or tram ride (or the bus to Stanley). For sure get a harbourview room. They have two styles of room, one is a somewhat masculine wool/rattan room done in tans and creams called the “Tai Pan”, and the other is a bit lighter in green and white and more feminine style called the “Verandah”, this latter style room has a very nice sitting area at the window with a big lounge chair good for relaxing and which IMO gives the room a larger feel. Rooms are a bit tight space-wise with a lot of furniture in them, but quite plush. The electronic gizmos in the room are really something, they are the only hotel with HDTV. They have put in a very nice spa as well. The cake shop is better than ever.

If you want really big rooms, then the Four Seasons is a better choice, and they have a really nice outdoor pool area, which the Mandarin does not have. In early Jan this may not be so important, but on a sunny day in Jan, the terrace there is quite nice for lunch. Views from the Four Seasons from high floors would be quite open and pretty, probably better than from the Mandarin as there are buildings blocking most views, even the harbour views are somewhat obscured.

It is not a 10-minute walk? I measured the distance on Google Earth, and it's about 0.4 miles. That's a 10-minute walk by the US standard, if not by the Swiss/Hong Kong one.

Before, it was 0.1 mile to the old pier. If the MO is basically in front of the old pier, then it can't be basically in front of the new one too, right?

Well, it doesn't take me 10 minutes to walk less than half a mile, but maybe I am a faster walker, being a New Yorker and a Hong Konger too... The point is that it isn't that far. The new pier is directly in front of the old, just about 500 meters futher out, so yes, I would say that the hotel is still "in front" of the Star Ferry pier....

I know I know. It's really not that far. And you're right. The average walker won't take 10 minutes...

My point is that it's just not like RIGHT in front of it, like the old pier was. The MO is still super convenient, extremely well located. I don't think anybody can be disappointed with it, regardless of how far the Star Ferry is.

I highly recommend Intercontinental. Amazing view
from the top floor suite. AMAZING!
Great rooms, great service. I got a few shots
from there on my HK page:

http://www.wildlifeland.com/Angkor/HongKong/

God your pic's of HKG are awesome..I was just there and thought i took a few good shots from our window (Salisbury YMCA)..Anyhow..what kind of camera do u have??

Many many thanks for your response.
To be honest the BF is really hoping to stay at the Pen but we are on the wait list, but I was really hoping for the MO so i think this has fallen into my lap really!!! So i think i am going to go with the good deal at the MO as all your advice has convinced me its a good location. After all who why would i be dissapointed with a MO hotel!!

Cheers again

Cicerone, do your comments on MO relate to the Landmark MO or the other MO? Which is nicer?
And do you prefer Four Seasons or one of the MOs?

My comments relate to the Mandarin Oriental. I would not stay at the Landmark Oriental. I would either take the Mandarin or the Four Seasons, or the Penn. The Mandarin rooms just seem a little small to me, but overall are very nice.

Here are my notes from a tour I took of the Landmark Oriental last year when it opened:

“Absolutely no views, and in some cases you may have an office building quite close to your bedroom window. L450 rooms are very small, I don't think the are really 450 square feet. L600 rooms are the best, most are corner units, very good use of space, is a junior suite that feels more like a one-bedroom suite. L900 are large 1 bedroom suites but I'm not crazy about the big bathroom in the middle and the huge round bathtub is the first thing you see when you come in the room. Bath is in corner and has nice large round tub, and is surrounded by windows so keep those shades down. . . . Ask for a room on a high floor. Nice if small gym. Staff seems a bit inexperienced. Frankly, I would wait 12 months for the Mandarin to re-open and stay there. The sixties are back in terms of décor. If only my mother had kept those huge lamps bases and lampshades. . . .”

They do have a very good spa. The staff bit does worry me, because they did not take anyone from the Mandarin, but are trying to train up people and to keep the “young” theme, have very young staff who, judging by the wait staff in the restaurants where I have eaten, are somewhat clueless and busy talking on their mobile phones to one another... But really, now that the Mandarin is reopened, I don’t see any reason to stay there.