Friday, June 16, 2017

Hong Kong: Where to Stay?



From our 5-day trip to Hong Kong, 1 thing I observed is that this place is not cheap. You'll definitely get what you paid for. We stayed at Crystal Hostel inside Chungking Mansion during weekdays mostly because we thought we'll spend most of the day wandering around, but then it was really tiring (bring really comfy shoes) so we kinda take rests during late afternoon since Chungking Mansion is in Tsim Sha Tsui (located at the center of most tourist spots).  We transferred to Stanford Hotel during the weekend since most of these cheap hotels' rates rise up to which they are the almost same price with high-end end hotels.

Stanford Hotel, Mongkok
Pros:

  • Very spacious room (Skyline room)
  • Affordable and very accessible
  • Near the MTR, malls, restaurants, food stalls, street markets
  • Good breakfast buffet
  • Very cozy and clean room
  • Nice window view
  • A free phone you can use while roaming around
  • Very friendly staffs
  • Complimentary water
  • There is a user-friendly safe
  • You can also leave your luggage in the lobby if you are checking out but still want to go around a bit more


Cons:

  • The only thing I can say that may be needed to be out in there is that, there was no bidet. lol

Note:
There is a 500HKD deposit, not sure if this goes up if you stayed more than 1 night. Better use a credit card so you won't have to take that money off your vacation budget.


Thursday, June 8, 2017

Chungking Mansion: What to Expect


You can check out this video if you wanna see what's inside Chungking Mansion.

We Stayed in a double room at Crystal Hostel, booked thru Booking.com.
Note: When you book here, you'd be credited by some percentage only.
Their system only holds the amount for reservation, then you'll pay the whole amount when you get there via Cash or Credit card.

Double Room (Crystal Hostel)
Pros:
  • Tony the receptionist was excellent, he was accommodating and polite.
  • Room temp is cool, we didn't use the AC on some nights. it was 25-32 degree Celsius outside, just to give you an idea on what the weather was.
  • It is very near establishments, train station (Tsim Sha Tsui-red line)
  • It is located in Block E, at the back of the building.  more people go to Block A, near the entrance.
  • If you just need somewhere to sleep because you'll be out all day, this is the place to be.
  • Safe and secured. we had no troubles leaving valuable items in the room
  • The Western Union(first one on the left side upon entrance) inside Chungking Mansion has the highest money exchange rate from what we've seen around Tsim Sha Tsui and Mongkok area.


Cons:
  • So many Indian people that might come on aggressive in some sort to sell you something or offer you rooms, if you're not comfortable with this, do not book here. although my partner was relieved when we enter the hostel because our receptionist is polite. I just told her to not look at anyone when we get past all the stores since the hostel is in Block E.
  • It is located in Block E, at the back of the building. 
  • The room has limited space. we had to put our luggage under the bed, and also enter the room one at a time.
  • The toilet was also cramped but doable.
  • I suggest bring your own toiletries, towels, and blanket.
  • There were stains on the blanket.