Description: The Ramada Hotel Kowloon is located in a nondescript glass tower along busy Chatham Road (of course, all the Hong Kong streets seem busy), parallel to the more famous Nathan Road in Tsim Sha Tsui. This moderately priced property consists of 18 floors and 205 guest rooms. Step onto the small red carpet and through the glass doors into its main floor lobby, which is not particularly memorable. The information I have pegs this property from 1988, though it has an unassuming appearance that seems older than that.
Our guest room was a rather tight little accommodation with two twin beds. My bed seemed stiff to me, so this certainly was not one of those plush beds touted by so many of the major hotel chains nowadays. As it was, I did have two decent nights of sleep flopped out on this bed. Other than these fairly minor quibbles, our room seemed fine. Amenities include a hair dryer, minibar, and shoe-shine sponge. We even had extremely cheap-looking white plastic slippers that we could wear around the room. Hey, they were functional enough.
You can dine in the hotel, but there are so many places to eat in this bustling area that you have to be really lazy to be eating in. There are seemingly swarms of people day and night passing by the hotel, with loads of neon-enhanced stores, trinket shops, and dining establishments in the vicinity. Just walking around the colorful streets is an eye-opening experience for any visitor.
If you are staying anywhere in this area, you are well situated to the wonderfully complex public transportation web of Hong Kong. For those who are taking the train to Guangzhou on the mainland, the property is not too far from the Kowloon-Canton Railway station. Also nearby are the Coliseum and a couple of museums.
The Ramada Hotel Kowloon may seem mediocre or perfectly swell depending on the size of your wallet and what your expectations are. If you think the nearby street overpass entrance is annoying, you will not be enthralled by the Ramada. If you appreciate the value of the overpass in helping you navigate the busy area, then the Ramada is a decently priced value that is certainly a step up from the legendary squalor of the nearby Chungking Mansions.
Close