It was quite dark when I landed a few hours ago in Hong Kong. Fortunately, I slept a fair amount on the 14hr flight so I was clear-headed enough to navigate this new world. The MTR Hong Kong Express reminded me a lot of the Heathrow Express which, for a little more than 10 USD, we’re taken from Hong Kong International Airport with it’s rather peaceful and very clean environment to the heart of Hong Kong Island. From there, I caught the complimentary hotel shuttle bus service in Hong Kong which took me on a mini-tour of downtown Hong Kong and I learned that 7-Eleven never really goes away…
(I wonder if they have slurpees?)
The Hong Kong hotel shuttle service. Hong Kong is alive! (And, don’t worry, so is my driver. He’s just driving on the right side of the trolley. That lasting British influence… Careful when crossing the street on foot!
I could not afford to stay at the conference venue. (I’ve got the good fortune to be speaking at the International Council of Nurses International Nurse Practictioner/Advanced Practice Nursing Network 9th Annual Conference!) It’s high travel time in Hong Kong, apparently. Fortunately, I’m booked at The Harbourview Hotel just a short walk away from the conference.
I thought I would give my first impressions of The Harbourview as, so often, once the trip is over, I head into other work and tasks and never do write that hotel review I meant to write.
Spacious. Open. Welcoming. Clean. And capable – if not fluent – English speakers at the front desk. (They speak immeasurably better than I would in their language. Should I learn Cantonese? Mandarin?)
It was a bit too dark to view the hotel exterior clearly.
My room card had to be left in this slot in order to keep the room lights on.
A marked difference from London: my Hong Kong room is twice to 3 times the size of those I’ve found in that lauded and favorite of cities where my current room rate would allow me a Londontown shoebox!
And, the bathroom had more wiggle room, too. Sometimes, in some hotels, the loo is so tiny that you truly do have to wiggle…at least in the shower! Not so at The Harbourview!
Little in-room bites and nibbles for sell. But! Check the conversion rate first! HK$55 = can you guess? That’s USD 7.09 for a 1 liter bottle of Evian!!! Holy costly euphemism, Batman! There’s also a minibar in the room. I’m not going anywhere near that Tsing Tao (although I do love that beer)!
There are complimentary offerings in my room, however. That bottle is not as fancy as the costly Evian, but it’s just as wet. And, I do love a tea kettle. I must find milk! Here’s a question: Did Britain take the tea and milk tradition from India or was it the other way around? The other way around, surely. Please, someone, educate me!
The television works well with the remote and look at that channel offering!
Not only do they have multiple Chinese stations, but they also have BBC (I love BBC!) and they’ve got Australian television and stations from Russia, oh, and some from that upstart young country across the Pacific!
This I love. Harbourview provides an AC adaptor for we Americans. It is exactly the same as is used in the UK. I brought one, but it sure is nice to have the use of another to charge phone and laptop, and camera batteries. And, what a nice touch for tourists who have forgotten an AC adaptor all together.
Here are the top drawer desk contents including a bilingual bible contributed by The Gideons International!
Look! Love never fails – even in Chinese! (Forgive me for not knowing if this is Cantonese or Mandarin.)
And, I broke down and purchased room service: vegetable samosas (HK$75 = USD $9.67) and wonton noodles in soup (HK$120 = USD $15.47).
I’m saving a few of those samosas for my quick breakfast before an early morning Hong Kong Tour arranged by the conference hosts tomorrow!
All-in-all, based on first impressions, I’d generously rate my room and the hotel as 8.5 out of 10 or 4 out of 5 stars. I have a nice basic room, with a cozy-looking bed. The air conditioning works beautifully well during this humid time in Southeast Asia. I’ve taken a full point off for the cost of the room per night (HK$1,210 = USD $156) which does not offer a harbour view. For that, I’d have to pay another HK$220 (about USD $30) which I did not want to do. And, I do not like having overpriced nibbles on offer. They’re such a temptation but at the same time a huge cash drain. There is a bit of outside, hallway noise. The room service was prompt. The water stayed nicely warm for my sinfully long shower. And, I have free wifi which seems to have few connection difficulties.
Should anything in this review change, I’ll let you know!
or, “tsai-jee-en” or “again-see”or “see you again!” or “bye for now”!
All-in-all, based on first impressions, I'd rate my room & the hotel as 4 out of 5 stars. It was quite dark when I landed a few hours ago in Hong Kong. Fortunately, I slept a fair amount on the 14hr flight so I was clear-headed enough to navigate this new world.
