A good place to start is the listing in Hong Kong’s South China Morning Post.
The listing allows you to search by area. Most of the apartments require one month as minimum length of stay, but some allow you to stay on a daily basis.
Check out here.
This vintage-style hotel is located in Wanchai, boasting Hong Kong 60’s decor and accoutrements. Despite its old Hong Kong style, all rooms are modernly furnished, with hit-tech features. This is because, according to a newspaper report, the hotel’s owner is from an IT background. Each hotel room is installed with high-tech Intelligent Hotel System, and equipped with LCD TV, DVD player, comprehensive audio/ video library, radio, Internet access, and audio jacks.
Price of rooms ranges from HK$400 to HK$1700, all with a small balcony resembling that of 60s in Hong Kong. But be prepared that the rooms are small, just like the way it was, with the smallest only 80 sq feet, just enough for a single bed and a TV set. But the decoration of the hotel looks really cool, bringing you back to old Hong Kong.
The 3-star hotel has 25 guestrooms. It is said that it is particularly popular with backpackers.
Here’s the hotel (Mingle Place by the Park)’s website.
I introduce this hotel because it is the first and only international hotel in New Territories. As a result of its location, the room rate is comparatively cheap. A hotel room of same international brand name in the city centre can charge HK$2600 (about $335) per night, while it charges about HK$900 (about $116) only.
And the environment is very good, as the hotel faces Tolo Harbour, with rooms having either mountain or sea view.
I am talking about Hyatt Regency Hotel in Shatin.
The hotel is located adjacent to The Chinese University of Hong Kong, at the University Station along the East Rail line of MTR, close to Lowu. Transportation would be convenient, though going to Central or Wanchai may take a bit longer.
Obviously the hotel has close relationship with the University. Right, the hotel actually is kind of teaching hotel for the University’s School of Hotel and Tourism Management. The School and the hotel group Hyatt Hotel & Resort celebrated the hotel’s soft opening in February 2009. The hotel facilities are brand new.
The hotel is special in that it has 133 long-stay suites to cater for extended stay. Given the nice environment in the Chinese University, which has Hong Kong’s most beautiful campus, and the surrounding natural scenery, the facilities for long-stay is no surprise.
Btw, if you stay in this hotel, don’t forget to visit the Pavilion of Harmony in the Chinese University’s New Asia College.
There are not many nice boutique hotels around in Hong Kong. This one, The Fleming, is one I know. With it minimalist design and cozy feel, high-end price is expected. But this time around, it is giving out special offers.
The rate for a Standard Room has been lowered to about HK$1000-1200, a discount from its normal price of HK$1,800.
The boutique hotel, with 66 rooms in total, is conveniently located in the depth of Wanchai, a 10-minute walk to the shopping centre Causeway Bay.
If you are interested, check out its website: www.thefleming.com.hk
Let me introduce two properties that are located relatively far from the city centre, but yet are in rather nice seaside or countryside living environment, with shuttle bus service or connection to the public transport.
If you don’t mind the distance and want to live in the countryside like environment, they may be your choice.
These two properties are run by two of Hong Kong’s main property developers, Sino Group and Hong Kong’s tycoon Li Ka Shing’s Hutchison and Cheung Kong Groups.
Gold Coast Serviced Apartments, at Gold Coast, New Territories
These apartments have sea view, and require a minimum of one month stay, from HKD16000 per apartment. Nearby is a beach.
It provides shuttle bus service to different points in the city centre, and takes about 30 minutes to reach Central on the Hong Kong island.
Harbour Plaza Resort City in Tin Shui Wei, New Territories
Tin Shui Wei area is known in Hong Kong for frequent occurrence of family tragedies where the poor families do not get enough support from the Government. So this “resort city” is inherently not really belonging to the area’s landscape. The place is a bit far from the city centre, but it is on the railway line, at the Tin Shui Wei Station of the Hong Kong MTR station. Travel time from Tin Shui Wei to, say Central, is 44 minutes by train. Monthly rental of the apartment is from HK$5900.
The hotels in Hong Kong are not cheap. Even a very small room in a youth hostel, without window, costs at least HK$300. To find a hotel in a convenient location, with comfort and reasonable price, is no easy task. A tip is to the set sight on the Western District on Hong Kong island.
Western District is adjacent to Central, Hong Kong’s banking and financial centre, and nearby there are some Hong Kong attractions such as the dry seafood street and the open air market in Graham street.
Its only disadvantage in terms of location is the lack of MTR (Hong Kong’s railway system) transport. But the Western District is linked by tram and bus to Sheung Wan or Central, from where you can take the MTR. It is about 15-minute tram ride from the Western District to Central.
Because of the lack of MTR transport, the hotels in this district are not as expensive as those in, say Central, or Wanchai, or Mongkok. So you can find hotels of reasonable price in this area, and some hotels seem to offer good quality and service as well.
One advantage of staying in this district is that you can easily observe the daily living of Hong Kong people, for the area is a residential area, and is an old district, with some of the traditional stores still being kept and run.
There are four major hotels in this area:
Jen Hotel
This 4-star hotel is far into the Western District, in an area called Kennedy Town. They provide free shuttle bus going from the hotel to various points in Central. The hotel is getting popular over the past year since renovation and change of ownership.
There is no price on their website. And the staff told me that their price is quoted on a daily basis. The price I asked on a Saturday is HK$580 plus 10% service charge, for a single or a double room. Some of their rooms command seaview, which will be charged more.
This hotel has a modern look and is freshly decorated compared to other hotels in the district.
This hotel is situated in the middle of the Western District, closer to the Central than Hotel Jen. It looks a bit old-fashioned, though. Hotel room price is quoted on their website, which seems similar to the price of Hotel Jen.
This hotel is nearest Central and situated more towards the side of harbourfront. The price would be the highest in the district, more catering to the business travelers. It offers special price for long stay, though. Say for July 2008, for a standard room, the rate is HK$21,000 a month.
Cosco Hotel
It does not have its own website. But you can check here for detail. The price would be the lowest in the district, with some good comments from users. See here.
This hotel, operated under a Chinese capital group, is the farthest into the Western District. A tram ride to Central from the hotel is about 15-20 minutes, though.
