Category: Where to Stay

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:

Hotel Jen

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.

Ramada Hotel

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.

Island Pacific Hotel

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.

Since the previous posting about apartment rental in Hong Kong, I’ve noticed more options on the Hong Kong island. One is causeway corner (www.causewaycorner.com). Monthly rent ranges from HK$11,660 (partial seaview) to HK$33,000 (with sea view and balcony). Conveniently located in Causeway Bay, the apartments are run by a Japanese company and that is why their website is available in Japanese as well.

Another is Domus (www. Domus.com.hk). They have 69 well furnished apartments in Tin Hau, near Causeway Bay. Monthly rent ranges from HK$16,800 to HK$28,500. But the minimum stay is two months.

Here’s some choice that I stumbled upon of recent and found it a bit interesting – city loft (www.cityloft.com.hk). The website boasts modern living in historical buildings (i.e. old buildings). The studios are all refurnished and refurbished, available in Sheung Wan, Central, Wanchai and Causeway Bay, all major and busy areas on Hong Kong Island. Monthly rent ranges from HK$6,000 to HK$10,000.

If you want to rent an apartment for days, or weeks in Hong Kong, it isn’t too easy. For one thing, you are usually asked to rent for at least a month. And do prepare for the high rent. Hong Kong’s rent, just like its property price, is very high.

There are only few choices for short-term apartment rental in Hong Kong, as you may have guessed. It is probably because the property price is so high that most people can only afford to buy one property to live in. For those who can afford to have a spare property for lease, they would rather lease it to local residents on a yearly contract.

Well, you can still find short-term apartments for just a few days or weeks, though the choice is limited. The daily rate ranges from HK$350 to HK$2,000.

For those on the budget, check out rent a room. This company’s self-contained room-apartments offer a range of price (from about HK$400 for 1 person to about HK$1000 for 4 persons per day) to choose from. Its location in Jordan, Kowloon, is convenient. But do expect the apartment is small and pretty basic with little decoration.

You can also check out this site for a higher end market. Most of them are for month-long rent only. But there are few that you can rent on a per-day basis for up to HK$1,300 a day. This site offers daily-pakcage of serviced apartment at about HK$1600 in prime areas of Hong Kong.

If you plan to stay in HK for a month, the choice is a lot wider. Hang Lung Properties, a Hong Kong main developer, offers three locations of serviced apartments on a monthly rental basis. All apartemtns are conveniently located and nicely decorated. You can choose from its apartments of different sizes, facilities and prices. Other choices (most of them expensive choices) include Apartment Kapok, V Serviced Apartments (looks stylish), Eaton House (very expensive), 88 (luxury!) and 153&163 (looks like a typical HK ordinary home).

Here’s more: theV, sytlish studio/apartments, with locations at Happy Valley, Causeway Bay, Wanchai and West Kowloon, with price from HK$13,800 per month for a studio; The Lodge, HK$10,500 -12,800 per month, brand new apartments with boardband and cable TV, near Jordan MTR station and Kowloon MTR station; and the Regent Heights, with more than 100 units of different apartment types, located in Causeway Bay, one month lease required.