Hong Kong Mid-market Accomodation

email: exhkg-info@mohg.com

This is a step-up from the other hotels in this journal. The room rate is a reflection of this. A standard room will cost around HK2,600 while a Harbour-side room starts at HK3000. The other indication that this place is something special is the fact that it is owned and managed by the highly respected Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group.

The Excelsior Hotel is one of Hong Kong island’s most well-known hotels for travellers looking to explore the energetic entertainment and shopping areas of Causeway Bay. The hotel has a prime location overlooking Victoria Harbour and the upper floors of the 34 building, in particular, have great views.

There is a range of rooms starting from standard. These well appointed rooms have city views and facilities such as internet broadband and multi channel TV. These rooms are 26 square metres in area and the décor is elegant and cozy.

The harbour-side superior rooms have a great view over Victoria Harbour. In these rooms there is a comfy sofa in the bay window so that you can sit and enjoy the view. It’s the perfect vantage point from which to watch the boats go by. The rooms are approximately 30 square metres in area.From here you go upwards to grandluxe harbour view rooms, executive floor rooms and then suites. Deluxe suites are HK$8,000 and the Presidential suite HK$16,000. You won’t be surprised that I didn’t stay here.

The hotel has a great variety of bars and restaurants. My favourite space is the casual Cafe on the Ist. This has harbour views and one of the best buffets in the area. There is also a comprehensive a la carte menu. A nice feature is the speciality food counters which enable you to watch the chefs preparing your food. Talk of the Town is the dining and live entertainment venue on the 34th floor. It is stylish and trendy and open for lunch and dinner.

There are two other speciality restaurants. Yee Tung Heen on the second floor has authentic Cantonese cuisine. The restaurant has a warm and tranquil atmosphere, the food is superb and the cost is on the high side. It opens for lunch and dinner. Cammino is an Italian restaurant ideal for intimate and relaxing dining. The cuisine is excellent and there is a range of interesting wines.

The options don’t finish there. A light meal any time of the day from 11 am to after midnight is available from the Lounge on the Ist where you can sit in plush armchairs and overlook the vibrant lobby. Another nice corner is the lobby coffee bar where a sandwich salad and pastries are available to go with the coffee. The finally, don’t miss a visit to Dickens Bar on the lower ground floor. This is an traditional pub with a wide range of draft beers. The curry lunch has become quite famous and most of the major sporting events are shown on the in-house TVs.

As you would expect, a hotel of this category has a large well-equipped wellness centre. It boasts state-of-the-art exercise facilities and dedicated spa services. For those looking for outdoor exercise, Victoria Park just a block or so away from the hotel has thirteen tennis courts, a jogging track, swimming pools, basketball courts, volleyball grounds and lawn bowls lawns. Local residents practice "Tai Chi" here each morning. Don’t get a shock if you hear a loud ‘bang’ at midday. This will be the Noon Day Gun, a custom that dates back to the 1840s.

This is a top class hotel overlooking Victoria Park and the famous Hong Kong harbour. The Park Lane offers a deluxe address and superior service in the centre of Causeway Bay.

Comfort is the hallmark of a top-class hotel. The rooms at the Park Lane have an understated elegance providing a home away from home and an opportunity to completely relax. Some of the decor is not to my taste (the design and colour of the wall behind the bed is dubious)but the room size is good and if you get a park view room the vista is grand. Standard rooms are HK$2500 while Park View rooms are HK$3200.

All guest rooms are equipped with broadband internet access, large electronic safe, 32 TV channels including satellite / cable and local TV, three telephones with modular jack - digital lines, extra telephone line for fax machine, 30" flat screen TV, mini hi-fi, marble bathroom, minibar, and tea and coffee making facilities.

For those looking for something more, the hotel has an elite Premier Club. This has a separate reception facilities and lounge, offers complimentary breakfast, afternoon tea, cocktails and hor d’oeuvres. In addition you receive complimentary use of private conference room on 22/F for 2 hours daily (subject to availability), complimentary shoe shining service, complimentary pressing service, free local calls, free access to the fitness centre, free internet access in the club lounge, extended check-out till 1600 hours at no extra charge (subject to availability), fax and photocopy facilities and local and overseas newspapers available in the Club Lounge. Premier Club rooms start from HK$3600.

There are several excellent food and beverage outlets. Riva on the 27th floor serves modern French cuisine with superb wines, overlooking the Park, in a casual yet elegant atmosphere. There is a business lunch and an evening a la carte or set menu. It has live entertainment most evenings. The George & Co is a popular bar serving a light lunch, exotic cocktails and an extensive wine list. A happy hour and late night entertainment makes it a good place to unwind and soothe.

Cafe One is a fun and friendly informal 24-hour restaurant with an open kitchen and an exciting buffet featuring a wide selection of Asian and Western cuisines. Finally there is the Lobby Lounge, a great place to relax while enjoying a tea or coffee.

This is a nice hotel overlooking Queen’s College and the Causeway Bay Sports Ground. The location is OK but let’s be honest it is not Causeway Bay. The problem is no-one has heard of Tin Hau which is the name of the nearby mass transit railway station.

The hotel looks out over a green area of sports fields, a rare commodity in Hong Kong. This means that the views from many rooms are extensive rather than into the side of adjacent buildings. The rooms themselves are a decent size and are well equipped. The decor is modern and attractive. Standard rooms are HK$1900 while the so-called Harbour View rooms are HK$2300. There are a few single rooms, which I didn’t see, for HK$900.

The Cafe de Parc on the second floor is an attractive restaurant which makes good use of the green outlook. Food here is a combination of Asian and European and the friendly staff means eating here is a pleasure. The restaurant has a specially designed open, interactive kitchen which helps bring an innovative and dynamic concept to your dining experience. Lunch buffet is HK$138 per person while the dinner buffet is HK$258.

Vic's Pub is a chic and cozy sports bar which offers a wide range of drinks and snacks. You can relax here with its subtle lighting, live music entertainment and live-broadcast sports events. Happy Hours are from 4:00pm - 9:00pm.

The outdoor swimming pool on the rooftop gives you a top-of-the-world feeling as you thrill to the view through the glass-sided pool. Then perhaps step into the adjacent Jacuzzi. Fitness junkies can get their fix at the hotel's well-equipped health club, open throughout the day. A sauna is also available. Opening hours are from 7:00am to 11:00pm.

Guests in the Executive Parlour/Suite are entitled to enjoy the exclusive privilege and service of the Panorama Club. located on hotel floor 29, floor-to-ceiling glazing of the Panorama Lounge offers breathtaking panoramic view of the city and glass & metal are used to create a contemporary as well as elegant ambience. A broad range of services are provided including complimentary In-room broadband internet access, desktop computer, free use of an extensive CD library, full secretarial service and extensive meeting facilities in the Business Centre, newspapers and magazines, and fax / international direct dial service.

Rosedale is quite a step-up from the So Hotel. The hotel is more lavish, larger and the rooms have more space. The other difference is the location. The Rosedale is in Causeway Bay which is a well-known mid-market shopping centre. Of course, the room rate is also higher. Superior rooms (standard) are around HK$1600 while deluxe are HK$ 1900 and executive are HK$2100.

It is about an 7-8minute walk to the subway station and the Sogo Department store area. The normal route involves several overhead bridges but for people with strollers or bags the concierge can direct which way to walk to avoid climbing up and down the bridges. There is a tram station located right outside of the hotel which will take you to Central or North Point. There is a free shuttle that runs between the hotel and the Airport Express - Hong Kong Station. It runs every 20mins. The hotel also provides a shuttle service directly to the airport at HKD$130 per person.

The hotel is on the edge of the shopping and entertainment hubs but is surrounded by business and residential development and is only a five-minute walk from the mass transit railway station and Victoria Harbour. The Rosedale likes to call itself Hong Kong’s first intelligent boutique hotel but I am not sure what this means. There is complimentary broadband access from every room but certainly this is not unique.

The rooms themselves are fairly small but are quite nice. The deluxe and executive rooms have the good views. Rooms are reasonably sized (by Asian cities standard) - about 200 square feet. It's a basic hotel so don't expect any spa-like amenities - just clean, tidy and functional room. It is a great place to just crash at night after spending all day shopping / sight-seeing. They provided 2 bottles of drinking water (complimentary) in the room daily.

The lobby is one floor up from the street, reached by an escalator. It is reasonably spacious and the decoration is showy. The Cheena is a contemporary Chinese restaurant. For me, the decor is rather dated but the food was good and the hotel claims the food is the result of a "concept of health-conscious". I think this means no MSG!! There is another restaurant up top called the SkyZone. Full length glass windows provide breathtaking views towards Victoria Harbour. There are facilities to surf the web while enjoying a nice drink.

The hotel has a small fitness room with a treadmill and weight training machines which is open 24-hours a day

It may be stretching it a little to put this hotel into the mid-market category because it is currently available for a budget price. I include it here because it has most of the features of a lower mid-market hotel (except space) and it is well-run, very clean and extremely friendly.

This is a modern slightly funky hotel which only opened towards the end of 2008. It has been created within an old office building. It has 37 rooms on about 10 floors ranging from 160 sq. ft. to 350 sq. ft. Rooms are categorized into Standard (Single Room) and Superior (Double/Twin Rooms). The room we had was extremely small but we got used to it and were amazed what space you can actually live in. The Junior Suites have more space and higher class furnishings.

The hotel does not have a restaurant but a free continental breakfast is provided in a cosy room from 7:30 am to 10:30 am each day. The choice is limited but we left satisfied each morning after juice, eggs with toast and bacon and coffee/tea.

The hotel is located within easy reach of Central's popular SOHO District and Commercial Centre. It is just a few minutes walk from the Macau Ferry Pier and Out-lying Ferry Piers but you need to carry your bags up several sets of stairs to get to either terminal. The hotel is also near to bus stations and underground transportation system (MTR), with easy access to the airport and all areas of Hong Kong.


While our room was small it had a refrigerator with a minibar, LCD television, hairdryer, safety box, private bathroom with amenities and free local telephone calls. There are only three or four rooms per floor so the noise level is low unless you happen to get unlucky with your next-door neighbour.

We used the free internet bar on the ground floor to check our emails and only ever saw one other person using it. We thought the hotel must be almost empty but each morning at breakfast we saw some regulars and new faces turned up each day.
At the price of HK$680 it is certainly good value and we would go back there.