Hotels To Stay in Hong Kong (From Backpacker to Baller)

Welcome to Hong Kong! The first thing a new client asks us is – what is a good hotel to stay at in Hong Kong? With so many choices and price ranges, it is a difficult answer to say in 1 email! So we have taken parts from various posts and made today’s guide list a full range of options for different locations and price ranges.

Related: check our Hong Kong traveler guide for some highlights.

This guide will be ever evolving, and if you have places to suggest – please contact us or leave a comment below.

Also, if it is your first trip to Hong Kong – check out our complete (and free) Hong Kong Business Traveler’s Guide.

Hong Kong isn’t the biggest place – so even if you pick a hotel far from the center it is possible to get there and back for meetings and conferences.

Many come to Hong Kong for the Global Sources Trade Show. This is a bit far from downtown, so you need to decide if you want to visit popular bars and restaurants at night or not.

While there are some nice hotels at the airport and near the Asia World Expo (where the Global Sources Show is) – most people stay at a hotel in Kowloon or Hong Kong island.

Why? Two reasons

There is another trade show happening in Hong Kong as well – the Hong Kong TDC show, or HKTDC for short. This is on the main island of Hong Kong, aka Hong Kong island, so you can just take a MTR to Wan Chai station and it’s about a 7 minute walk to the HK Exhibition Centre.

Many people go to both the Global Sources Show as well as the HKTDC show. Each are a few days long, and have just a little overlap.

So if you’re looking to do both, and want to reduce the commuting and have a hotel in the downtown area – look for places in Wanchai, Causeway Bay, Admiralty, or Central. Sheung Wan is another good one.

So a good rule of thumb is to ask the hotel what the nearest MTR station is. Then, find the MTR map and look at it.

Downtown is the blue line on the bottom of the map. That is where the “action” is. The bottom left is the main spot, with Central as the hub. If you’re near Central, you can also take the Airport Express right up to the Global Sources show, so it is easy to get there and to the HKTDC.

A newer MTR map will show you more stops on the blue line to the left (West) of Sheung Wan (and left of Central). These are “up and coming” districts with this new metro line expansion, so you may be able to get cheaper hotels and better value for money there.

Also, if it is far up north or far to the east – that is about a 45 minute to 1 hour MTR ride from downtown. I learned the hard way “back in the day”. Plus I have had clients in town who book a nice hotel there but it is just so far from everything. You’ll save money, but spend more time in taxis or more time in the subway.

Hong Kong is one of the most expensive places in the world! And no matter how much you spend, you will probably have a much more compact room than anywhere else in the world! Space is such a valuable asset here it is unbelievable.

So when someone asks me for a hotel recommendation, I would ask:

If you want a 5 star hotel in downtown, you’re talking around 500 US dollars per night. If you can deal with a 3 star in a downtown area, you can get by at $200 USD a night. Then there are the 1 – 2 star that you can find around 100 to 200 USD a night. If you’re willing to go to Kowloon side or even further into New Territories you can get better quality at a better rate.

Hong Kong is really all about location. And size of the room.

AirBnB. An obvious one, but less choices here as the Hong Kong government is strict about businesses listing here – https://www.airbnb.com/s/Hong-Kong. Over and over again this topic comes up – Airbnb is technically not allowed in Hong Kong and the government has forbid people to use it. You can list there, but to list, you need to be a business with a license to sell a short term stay.

To legally list on Airbnb in Hong Kong as a person / individual, the listing has to be for at least a 1 month stay. That is what the government allows for personal to personal renting.

Yet I have friends from NY and other places who have still found amazing places to stay through it, as recent as a couple months ago right in Mid-Levels in Central. Check it out, and see if you find any apartments you can rent. The risk if there is a government crackdown at your apartment is that you would get your money back and have to find a new hotel. I haven’t heard reports about it – and so I wouldn’t worry too much renting on Airbnb for a short term stay, but listing is another matter.

Backpacker Looking For Value For Money?

One I am safe to recommend is called Yes Inn. This is a hostel, pretty clean, and a bunch of my friends have stayed here. They have two locations on the Hong Kong Island side – Causeway Bay and Fortress Hill. There is also one on the Kowloon side in Mong Kok (check an MTR map to learn about specific districts). You can share a room with other travelers, or get your own private room. Below is a pricing table:

Standard mixed dorm suite HKD $179-419 (USD $22-56)
Private room suite HKD $199-459 (USD $25-59)

This seems to be the best value for a bootstrapping entrepreneur. They have a few locations in Hong Kong; the better location is in Causeway Bay, but there are also locations in Fortress Hill and Kowloon. Rates start at about 200 HKD a night (28 USD). Obviously check their website for the latest prices, but in my opinion the lowest cost for the value and location you can find! http://www.yesinn.com

Butterfly hotel is a bit more expensive. But again, you get what you pay for. Rates from 1,000 HKD to 2,000 HKD a night (140 to 280 USD), but you have your own room, there is wifi everywhere, and they have locations throughout Hong Kong. Check out the Butterfly hotel in Central here.
http://butterflyhk.com/eng/our-hotels/on-hollywood/index.php

I think this is a mix between the two choices above, both in price and in service. The rate when I have stayed here is about 300 to 400 HKD (40 to 50 USD), and you’ll have your own room. But there is only one location right in Wan Chai. The website is a bit hard to use, but then again this is why the price is more reasonable.
http://www.kingshotelhk.com/hotel/location

Next I am nervous to even mention it here – but I think a guide about Hong Kong hotels wouldn’t be complete without at least mentioning it:

Chungking Mansions is the building having about 80 low cost accommodations (guest houses) located on Tsim Sha Tsui (Kowloon district). I have stayed here at least 5 or 6 times, as well as countless numbers of my friends. You can get a room for as low as 100 HKD a night, though more realistically 200HKD. A lot of Indian restaurants that second as a hostel overnight – I have slept to the strong smell of curry at least a couple times there. An adventure to say the least. If you are looking for the lowest cost choice, take a trip over: 33-44 Nathan Road, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong… but don’t say I didn’t warn you first!

The funny thing is – our office is across the street! Yet none of our clients have opted in to staying there!

Coming to Hong Kong just for us! Wow, we are honored. So many clients ask us what are some good hotels nearby the office. Let’s list out a few. We also link them to booking.com search results, as you can put our company address (found at globalfromasia.com/contact/) and get search results by distance.

A big brand and one many Americans know well, Holiday Inn. They have one Holiday Inn that is 1 block from my office: http://www.booking.com/hotel/hk/holidayinn.html and have had people stay there plenty of times.

How much is it? Of course it varies by season and supply demand, but I would tell you about the $200usd per night range.

And Sheraton is a block away from the office too. http://www.starwoodhotels.com/sheraton/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=482

Prices here start at about $3,100 HKD a night (about $400 USD), and are high class.

Another 5 star hotel right around the corner from our office. Also has a great view of Victoria Harbour (for an extra 100usd/night fee on average). The rates here start at 4,000 HKD/night ($500usd) but it is an amazing experience.

http://hongkong.peninsula.com/en/default

Also, if you’re up to see Hong Kong from the sky, they have a helipad on the rooftop!

This is a hotel I stayed in for about a week when doing a business deal with a European investor back in 2009 – 2010! It is a good hotel and also a bit more reasonable price than some of the other hotels with a room rate starting at $250 USD / night.

Still not for the backpacker’s budget, but for a business person who wants a good mix of class and value, this is an option. It is just a few more blocks away from MTRs, but still right on Victoria Harbour on the Kowloon side with some amazing views. I enjoyed working in the lobby with a massive 2 – 3 story tall window overlooking the harbor.

Hope today’s guide on accommodation in Hong Kong is helpful! This could be a book – there are so many hotels and places to stay, this is only a brief overview to give you some ideas of price ranges, locations, and levels of service.

It is probably going to cost you around $150usd a night for a “normal” hotel room, can go as low as $50usd, and as high as $500 – or even more. As everything in Hong Kong, the sky is the limit!

Now it is your turn! Please share your experiences and recommendations in the comment section below. Let’s help each other out!

Cheers to our international business success!