We spent over a month last summer in Hong Kong, the longest time we ever spent in one city for our vacation. During this month long visit, we stayed in a number of hotels as we wanted to experience the various districts of Hong Kong. Being seniors and travelling quite often, we do not wish to break our bank in our travels. My hubby works diligently doing research finding the best hotel for us within our budget. I would like to review four of them to help travellers visiting Hong Kong in the future so that they can make informed choices for their hotel bookings.
1. Salvation Army Booth Lodge - Rating - 5 / 10
A centrally located hotel and close to everythng. The double room was average in size for HK, clean and comfortable.
This was our first hotel on arrival to Hong Kong. We booked for two nights online a month before our arrival, but we needed to change our flight arrival time due to an unexpected situation. I called the hotel and asked if one of the nights could be moved to the next night instead of the original date or could we use this night's charge for our stay at a later date when we fly back to Canada. The answer was a flat no after speaking with the managment and emailing them. Even though I informed and discussed with the hotel personnel more than a month prior to our arrival when Salvation Army could have easily rented the room out to other travellers, they refused to make any change at all in any way. Therefore, we lost one night as we couldn't get there for our first night.
I found the Salvation Army's unwillingness to make a minor change for their guests unkind and inconsiderate. Being senior travllers, we watch every travel dollar that we spend. So please be aware that unless you are absolutely certain of your travel schedules, there is no flexibility to make any change of your date of stay at the Salvation Army Booth Lodge in Hong Kong regardless of any situation you are facing. Very disappointed with their customer services.
2. Caritas Bianchi Lodge - Rating - 9 / 10
A downtown hotel located right next to the Salvation Army Lodge. Very comfortable and spacious room for downtown hotel standard. Our stay came with a free simple continental breakfast in a spacious dining room which was a bonus. But what we appreciated the most was the hotel management's compassion and flexibility for their guests. We stayed there for one night and then flew to Thailand and then back to Hong Kong before flying back to Canada. In order to reduce our luggage load, we needed to store our luggage at the hotel for 2 weeks. Normally, this was not allowed according to their hotel polices even if the guests were willing to pay for the storage charges. But the Caritas Bianchi Lodge was compassionate and considerate enough to make an exception for two seniors! Two thumbs up for them as we were very grateful indeed for their generous spirit!
3. Grand Bayview Hotel in Tuen Wan, Rating - 9 / 10
A little far from the central district, but very affordable. When we were there, it offered hotel guests free shuttle bus services from 7a.m. - 7p.m. to the Tuen Wan subway station and back. This hotel is fronting the ocean therefore we could enjoy ocean view from the spacious dining room, from the balcony as well as from the lovely swimming pool! This was the best hotel we stayed during our entire Hong Kong vacation! For an additional
Can$ 20.00 each day, we enjoyed a delicious full hot buffet breakfast with fresh fruits, salads and a number of hot food items. Enjoying a great variey of delicious food from the breakfast buffet while admiring the spectacular oceanview made our stay at this hotel a very pleasant one indeed. Sinking into the comfortable sofa, we could carry on with our computer work in the spacious and beautiful lobby! What made me truly appreciate this hotel was taking a dip in the quiet outdoor pool after spending a hot day out under the tropical sun!
We stayed at the Grand Bayview Hotel for a few days and it felt like a resort hotel to us. If you don't mind the location being a little far from the central core, this hotel would be a perfect place for you to relax and for families with kids! The swimming pool and the play area on the terrace would keep the little ones busy and happy. We loved it so much that we will definitely come back again bringing with us our grandkids in the future!
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4. Ramblers Hotel, Ching Yi Island, Hong Kong - 8 / 10
This hotel is not centrally located, but it has easy access to the Hong Kong Airport. It is much cheaper and faster getting to the airport from this hotel. Since we were in Hong Kong during the summer, we experienced the power of a typhoon. The typhoon was hoisted at number 3 and as the wind and rain grew stronger and more fierce, the warning was increased to No. 8, then 9, and finally to 10 when all the transportation system stopped most of their services while most shops and restaurants were closed.
Staying on the 20th floor, we had a good size room with an excellent view of the water and it was clean and comfortable. We were lucky that we were staying at the Ramblers Hotel where a small shopping mall located in the basement level with a supermarket, a restaurant and a convenience store were opened during the storm. The evening before typhoon signal No. 10 was hoisted, we bought enough food to last us for a couple of days and kept it in our hotel room's fridge. With a loveseat and a small table in our hotel room, we were able to enjoy the take out food comfortably.
After sheltering ourselves from the storm for a day, we strolled to the mall in the basement of the hotel. We counted ourselves lucky as we saw the long lineups of people queuing for the only restaurant that was opened for business during the typhoon episode. So glad we were at the Ramblers Hotel with good amenities around us during the storm! God's provision is always timely and sufficient!
sw
5. The Panda Hotel - 7 / 10
Not centrally located but it was convenient for us with the subway station close by within a five minute walk. We could also walk from the hotel connected to a good size shopping mall where you could satisfy your shopping needs. We had a spacious and comforatable room at a very resonable price. With a spacious lobby and comfortable seating area for guests, the Panda hotel was a decent hotel with an affordable rate that definitely won't break your bank account!
Happy travelling in Asia!
RT, Hong Kong,
During the Typhoon Season, 082025
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