I'm heading to Asia for 7 nights next March on a Star award, and want to go to either HKG for SGN for 4 nights (two of the remaining 3 nights will be spent in BKK, while the final night is spent in SIN -- N.B. I've been to both SIN and BKK before). I've heard great things about both HKG and SGN, but haven't been to either, so I wanted to know if anyone had strong convictions about one city over the other. Two things that I think are particularly important to consider are hotel costs (I'm used to paying no more than $75++ for a well-located 5-star hotel) and daytrip feasibility (I know that HKG has SZN and Macau, while SGN has the Mekong).

Thanks in advance for your replies.

P.S. If you think that I should redistribute the time spent in BKK and SIN, feel free to say so.

If your $75 is a firm limit then your decision is made for you - you basically don't get into the 5* hotels in HK for that price.

My apologies -- I should have been clearer in my post -- I use priceline and asiahotels.com religously for hotels in Asia, if that affects your analysis at all.

well, it depends on what you want to see. HKG is very nice, if you want to see a big, and advance Chinese City. Macau is just 60 minutes away, and it gives you another feel for a smaller and quieter town. Gambling is a big business in Macau as well, if you are looking into such activities. Macau hotels are extremely cheap, $75.00 is good for a 5-star hotel even on a regular travel agency.

I simply love SGN! You can definitely pick up a top notch hotel in your price range. I stayed at the Renaissance for $80, and it was lovely. My room had a view over the river. You could do a day trip to the Mekong Delta and another one to the tunnels at Cu Chi. And then have 2 days to wander HCMC. The war museum is pretty interesting as well as the Reunification Palace. I had excellent dim sum one day at the Dynasty Hotel (I think that was it.) Don't miss a drink on the terrace at the Saigon, Saigon Bar in the Caravelle Hotel. Great view. A visit to the Ben Thanh market and to Chinatown are well worthwile also.

Great food, great prices, great people ...

And that gets you into one of the good 5* hotels (Conrad, Marriott, Shangri-La, Mandarin) for US$75 (HK$580) per night???

Edited to add: obviously I mean in Hong Kong, not elsewhere.

A priceline bid of $75/night was enough to get a room at the Conrad SIN. And this past March, I paid $75/night (incl. tax and BFast) to stay at the 5* boutique Davis Bangkok hotel. Granted, I'm not so inflexible that I wouldn't pay, say, $90/night if need be, but I do not believe in paying more than $100/night for a good hotel in Asia, period. From my research thus far, I could do p-line for a 5* HKG hotel for no more than ~$75 or so plus tax, and do the Renaissance Saigon for probably around ~$85 or so using asiahotels.com.

I realize and respect that both SGN and HKG have plenty to offer - I want to know which city offers more touristic "value" overall for a 4-night visit.

Well, I've spoken to some seasoned Asia travelers privately, and they've unanimously recommended HKG for the following reasons:

1. A 4-night trip wouldn't do justice to Vietnam, or even to Saigon;

2. HKG offers many more quick and inexpensive day trip/easy overnight options (Shenzen, Macau, even Guangzhou);

3. Because of the *A timings, I will have an extra half day in HKG vs. SGN (arr. noon in HKG vs. 530P in SGN); and

4. These travelers knowing my personality, claim that I will be much more content with the turbocharged-but-halfway-orderly hustle and bustle of HKG vs. the slightly-less-organized chaos of Saigon.

If anyone disagrees with these points, please feel free to chime in (I won't get the ticket for another week, so the pendulum could swing into SGN's favor after all). Thanks again for the input.

well, 5-star hotels in Hong Kong are very nice. It just depends on what you are looking into. If you will be satisfied with a mere 5-star hotel, you'll be able to locate something. But for the best in the city, like the Peninsula, Conrad, Mandarin Oriental etc then it is another story. They are some of the best hotels in the world, and I think it is justified to pay more than $100.00 for a night.

Mainland China and Macau 5-star hotels will be extremely cheap. I really think you will enjoy your trip! Have a nice trip.

Thanks to United's new SGN-HKG service I can do BOTH cities - 4 nights SGN, 3 nights HKG. Thanks to everyone who contributed -- feel free to post more tips and advice for sharing.

I would be very interested to hear what price you finally end up getting for a 5* hotel in Hong Kong... your counter-examples are in other places which are always cheaper than HK.

For SGN, depending on which Hotel affinity you're with, you have the choice of either the Renaissance Riverside Hotel Saigon (Marriott) or the Sheraton Saigon Hotel and Towers (Starwood).
Currently the only Hilton establishment is the Hilton Hanoi Opera.

Looks like you're gonna need a visa:
I have used twice the visa-on-arrival (SGN - Tan Son Nhat airport) service from this company,
contact is Mr. Nguyen Giang Nam - Managing Director ([email protected]).
Here's the direct link for the visa.

Any recommendations for old, classy hotels with character in Saigon? Doesn't have be a chain member... I haven't heard very many good things about the Majestic, but how is the Rex?

Replying to myself: is the Continental Saigon any good? Seems to be pretty much what I'm looking for, but the rates look suspiciously cheap compared to the Raffles and its ilk.