As I have mentioned in my previous post, we are a family with a tight budget but with a goal to go together and have fun in Hong Kong (HK). So booking in well-known hotels was a no-no for us (maybe next time!). The most recommended place is stay in HK is in Tsim Sha Tsui (TST) according to PEX or somewhere very near an MTR station.
Most Hong Kong travelers stay on places near the MTR Tsuen Wan Line or MTR Island Line.
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| Source: hong-kong-travel.org |
Our options on where to book our accommodations were:
1. 3-Star Hotels
2. Hostels or Guesthouse
3. Apartment/Condo via Wimdu
I did my research 2 or 3 months in advance. I was that excited! I almost checked out all hotels and guesthouses in the Internet for prices and feedback. PEX was my guide, too.
Here were my criteria:
1. Must be kid friendly.
2. Must be senior citizen friendly.
3. Must be near an MTR.
4. Must be affordable.
5. Must have mostly good feedback.
6. Must have a ref to safe keep my mom’s insulin.
7. Must have comfortable beds especially for the senior citizens and kids.
8. Must be safe.
And I’m down to three choices. I got one for each option.
1. Hotel Benito
Location: Cameron Rd., TST
Website: http://www.hotelbenito.com/eng/index.htm
Email: reservation@hotelbenito.com
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| Photo source: Hotel Benito |
Hotel Benito was recommended by some n@w sisters. Just by looking at their website, you’d already want to click “Book Now” and “Pay Now” and just wait for our travel date to come. It’s very near the shopping area. Based from their available accommodations, we would be needing 1 triple room and 1 standard queen room for the 8 of us. I emailed them and asked for a quotation. For a 3D/4N stay, our room rate is HK$9,240. That’s Php50,820 or Php8,470/person (2 kids not included in the computation)
2. Star Guesthouse/Lee Garden Guesthouse
Location: Cameron Rd., TST
Website: http://www.starguesthouse.com.hk/
Email: starguesthouse@gmail.com
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| Photo source: Star/Lee Garden Guesthouse |
The first choice for a guesthouse was supposed to be Golden Crown Guesthouse because of the good feedback from Pinoys but it was already fully booked. Then I saw, Taisan Guesthouse which has 3 branches. I saw a negative feedback that was unacceptable for me so I looked for another guesthouse. When I stumbled upon Star/Lee Garden Guesthouse, it looks ok and very affordable. Lee Garden was even the winner of the TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence for 2012. We would be needing 2 triple rooms w/ shower (HK$750 each) and 1 double room with shower (HK650). I emailed them and got a response at once from the Asst. Manager Charles Chan. He sent me a link where I could book (thru Wotif). A 3D/4N stay for 8 will cost HK$6,450. That’s around Php 35,475 or Php5,912/person (excluding the 2 kids). Downside of staying in a guesthouse is sharing one living room area and ref with others staying in the same floor.
3. Wimdu
Website: https://www.wimdu.com/
I forgot how I found out about Wimdu. It is a go-to site when searching for an apartment, holiday homes and Bed and Breakfast worldwide. You can even post your own property there. So I searched for Hong Kong apartments preferably in the Kowloon side. To help with the search, you can indicate the no. of rooms you need and check the amenities you want to have like WiFi, TV, kitchen, etc. The host of these apartments are either the owners themselves or their agent. You can leave them a message so they can answer your questions about the place. Their rate depends on the no. of persons who will stay in the apartment. Minimum stay is 2 nights. You can check feedback from previous guests who stayed on each apartment.I was able to list 3 apartments located within Nathan Rd. and chose the one with the best price. The best from the 3 gave us US$813 for 3D/4N. That’s around Php32,520 or Php5,420/person (excluding the 2 kids). It has 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, living room, dining room, kitchen, washing machine and WiFi.
And so the winner is…..WIMDU!
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| Photo source: Wimdu |
It was actually a risk because I don’t know anyone who personally have booked and stayed in an apartment thru Wimdu. But we actually made the right choice based from our needs.
Check out my next post about the apartment we booked thru Wimdu 🙂
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