garykung

Mandarin Oriental is perfect, except the price

But not bad for high tea...

(Evidently, based on OP's choice of Butterfly on Wellington, I don't think OP is looking for hotels like Mandarin Oriental.)

This is OP's virgin trip to Hong Kong. You can't expect OP will learn the places fast and well like others. Cut OP some stacks, can you?

rkkwan

The OP considered the Conrad and IS staying at the IC. So, why not the MO as well. There is nothing to learn in order to stay the Butterfly on Wellington. It is in an interesting area, close to the MTR, and is just one street up from one of the most important roadways in HK. There are plenty of hotels that are less convenient and/or harder to find.

garykung

This is what I don't understand.

+1 But without a taxi ride, I don't think a first time tourist can easily find that out.

It is indeed an interesting area. It is also an area that can easily get lost if you don't know where you want to go.

nacho

Which 5 stars hotel in Hong Kong is not perfect? Conrad, JW, IC Hong Kong are a lot of FTers' favourite.

I never stayed in one so I can't really comment on it :P

Distilled

Thanks for all the info and suggestions.

Perhaps I can clarify as I realize that my choice in hotels does seem quite inconsistent.

I am not tied down to one "class" of hotel or anything in specific, in fact I like a bit of variety when I travel. I am more concerned with specific attributes that lead me to book one or another. While I was planning on staying island side the whole time, a couple of discussions with people led me to believe that the Kowloon view is not to be missed, so I booked a harbor view suite at the IC since it sounds like that is one of the best (and hopefully reliable) views which we will enjoy for the first two nights.

Regarding my choice of island side hotel, I have looked at everything from the Butterfly on Wellington to the Conrad (hilton points) and looked at MO, Shangri-La, and Upper House. For this purpose, I am less concerned with hotel rating and more with location, we will probably not spend too much time in the room when staying on the island. We enjoy staying in some smaller more "local" properties as well as treating ourselves to luxury, a little variety is nice. Basically, I am willing to pay for something special like the view from the IC. But I expect that we will use our hotel on the island side just as a place to sleep and be gone most of the day so we don't need a big room or exceptional service.

When I found the Butterfly it was because I was specifically looking for hotels near LKF and Central since we very much enjoy being able to walk to dinner and nightlife and were a little hesitant to have to ride the MTR to get home after having a few drinks....

I appreciate all of the suggestions and info on the board. I also appreciate the poster that emphasized how great the public transit is. Sounds like I don't need to limit myself to Central or LKF areas. i might just burn some of these hilton points and stay at the Conrad, or may still stay at the Butterfly just for the sake of trying something new. I'm really open to any hotel that is clean and convenient.

Thanks again for all the info and suggestions.

rkkwan

While most of "us" Hong Kongers cannot read a map or figure out North from South, the majority of international travelers can. And now, many carry phones with GPS and map functions.

Almost impossible to get lost in Hong Kong. It's an island with steep hills. Not THAT hard to figure out which side is the mountain and which side is the harbor.

Yes, there are lots of narrow streets and most don't intersect each other at 90-degrees. But so what? All streets have English and Chinese road signs. Yeah, if you cannot read a map, then it's an issue. But otherwise, it's NOT!

And seriously, HOW HARD it is to locate Wellington Street? It runs parallel to Queen's Road Central. On the hill, or south, side. HOW HARD, REALLY????

Swiss Tony

That's be a first for you, eh? (shakes head)

The OP now concedes to the Conrad being on points.

For me, the Conrad is increasingly looking like United Airlines. The product is OK but they evidently have a lot of traffic coming through from non core markets, and the rest is corporate rates/points deals etc....

That's why the champagne isn't quite, etc etc...

kevincrumbs

Just wanted to chime in that getting lost, especially in Central, is not the worst thing in the world. OP might be exposed to some places that he/she had not planned on going to/walking by. It's not like OP would be getting lost in a rough area of New York or LA.

garykung

You are too subjective on this

Each person is different. So I can't comment on an individual's difficulty in locating a place.

And things happen.

As I said before, I don't have a high risk tolerance. I like to play safe.

FWIW - in some cases, even you tell the person exactly what needed to be done, and it can still get screwed up.

I am not a mind reader

FWIW - OP's selections have a great gap in between. So I can't really tell what criteria OP used to make the decision.

eponymous_coward

Seems pretty easy to me: location, location, location. Seems to me any number of hotels would work fine for that.

I was able to grab a room here for ~$90 on Agoda on a trip to Hong Kong- the Regal iClub in Wan Chai. The hotel's fine (the picture's faked a bit, though, you're buried among buildings like the rest of Hong Kong), and in the middle of everything. A bit of a cab ride to LKF, but that means something like 30 HKD. Close to some good BBQ pork and duck...

bibbju

Well said!! ^^

mdevans

I've never been able to find Wellingston Street though I've been to Wellington Street a few times

kaka

if you take the AEx you wont even need to touch the ground until you are 5 minutes from the Hotel - I'd actually suggest Butterfly for all those "cheaper" suggestions. get off the train, make your way to P1 floor of the complex, ask for McDonalds and get out at the exit for Hang Seng Bank (ask if necessary). Cross the 1st main road(on the footbridge! and your direction is generally South here), go through Hang Seng Bank, cross the 2nd street and go through the next building (which was Central Market) and cross the 3rd street(This is where the island used to end before HK was developed! Queen's Road Central).

Assuming you would like to avoid steps, now get off the footbridge and go under it slightly to the left of the footbridge/escalator system (stairs-free). The first street going left-right is Stanley Street (Call this Junction A). One more street up the hill (10-15 metres) is Wellington Street (Junction B).

Turn right, or West, or "downhill" (apart from where you came from!) and you'd be able to see the Butterfly - some 20 metres away on the left.

With luggage I'd say its a 20 minute walk max. Do note this is an almost step free route. there are 10 steps at Hang Seng Back in which they have a moving platform for wheelchairs. All in all, I'd say this is the most characteristic area in Hong Kong. The area would be way better and have more to see compared to the rest (maybe iClub too, but I would prefer Butterfly). IC is sort of stuck in the middle of a deserted Junction. you will need to go through a shopping mall and an underpass to get to anywhere without being stuck in traffic if you take a cab. Conrad/JW/Shangri-La is in a Shopping Mall/Office Complex and you'll need to get out of the area to grab a bite.

PS- Junction A: Luk Yu Tea House (for some traditional dim sum) and Yat Lok Restaurant (Goose) both along the street on the SE of Junction. If you are lazy and dont want to go shop around this street also have a few camera shops. I found some shops here also have competitive prices vs Mong Kok or Sham Shui Po for Camerastuff- without needing the trek over!

Junction B: Jim's Noodles at the SE corner; Mak's Noodles and Wang Fu (Peking Dumplings) at the NE; and "Fai Chi Kei" at the NW corner.

If you want Michelin- grade restau; Yung Kee is a 10 minute walk uphill of Wellington Street; Mak's, Jim's and Wang Fu are all Bib Gourments. The latter 3 ranges from $3 USD to $10/head; and Yung Kee can easily goes up to USD$100-200. Much wider range of things you can get here than the others!

Lan Kwai Fong is just behind Yung Kee; and SOHO is further up the escalator (runs uphill till 12midnight- you'll need to walk down eitherway - or cab). Further downhill of Wellington street there is Lin Heung Tea House - a cheaper and more down to earth variation of Luk Yu at Stanley Street. At Lin Heung Tea House you can ask any local to "Kau Kee" where they serve one of the best beed brisket noodles in curry sauce.

There are also plenty of places nearby that is full of character of Hong Kong (rather than a shopping mall) - not to mention I'm going to start a restaruant some 10-15 minute walk downhill Wellington Street from Butterfly! Man i can go on and on and on

basically, if you want a hotel in *Central* and are willing to look beyond the Big Intl Chains, this wont be a bad option - of course there's always MO (2!) and FS.

eponymous_coward

Butterfly was one of the hotels I considered, but the price on iClub was too good to pass up. Solid 3 star for less than $100USD in Central, right smack in the middle of everything? Sold. (I've stayed in 4 places in Central at around that price point: Mingle on the Wing, the Harbourview, Ibis Sheung Wan, and Regal iClub, with the iClub being the best overall IMO).

But I largely agree with you- if you're not looking for the fancy hotel lounge and are mostly looking for a clean room to sleep in without the attendant costs for 5 star service, the local chains are where it's at.

Distilled

kaka, thanks for all the info and recommendations for restaurants in the area.

eponymous, thanks for the recommendation. Will look into the iClub as well.

Thanks