Where to stay in Hong Kong? As a traveller, I always find it hard to find a place to stay while travelling in an unfamiliar country. There are so many things to consider: price, location, transportation, cleanliness, etc. It would be harder during the peak season. There were 5 of us going there so I booked a 2 bedroom apartment (USD 105/night) through Airbnb. Do you know Airbnb? Airbnb is a trusted community marketplace for people to list, discover, and book unique accommodations around the world – online or from a mobile phone. Whether an apartment for a night, a castle for a week, or a villa for a month, you could rent from people in over 34,000 cities and 192 countries, at any price point, through the portal.
Airbnb 2 bedroom apartment at Soy Street
3 hours 40 minutes flight, we reached Hong Kong on 18 Oct at 10.50 am. At the airport, we had to call the Airbnb host (his name is Will) after luggage claim in order to meet him and check in the room we booked. In the guidebook and rules, we could either buy a Hong Kong local SIM Card at the airport or use free phone for Hong Kong local call at the arrival hall. I searched around for the free phone but I could not find it. I asked somebody at a counter (not the airport information counter) by saying, “excuse me…” a guy answered me, “uhm…” without looking at me. I was a little bit confused but I continued my question, “is there any free phone for Hong Kong local call?” and the guy just said “Noop”, again, he did not look at me. The whole conversation had no eye contact at all. I thought there must be something wrong with me, but it was not. Throughout my whole trip to Hong Kong, we had met a lot of people just like that. I could not believe that Hong Kong people were so rude. Why are they so rude? After travelling there for about four days, we finally found out that Hong Kong is a really terribly stressed city. However, they can be very kind and polite to you in certain circumstances. It depends a lot on whom you meet. Like our Airbnb host, Will and his mother, they are kind and friendly. She came to chat with us in the middle of the night because of our booking issues.
What issues we had? We had booked the 2 bedroom apartment at Temple Street but when we called the host, he said the water host of the room we booked had some problems. He then asked us to take Taxi to Soy Street instead of Temple Street. Is Airbnb a safe website to book your rooms? It was our first time booking through Airbnb, when we heard that, we were quite worried. We were given a 2 bedroom apartment at Soy Street (Foo Tat Building 50 Soy Street). The apartment was located in the heart of Mong Kok. Ladies Market is just below the apartment and eateries are within the vicinity. The host lady (Will’s mother) said that they would relocate us to the place we booked after two days and we were actually very satisfied with the arrangement.
Airbnb 2 bedroom apartment at Temple Street
We were relocated to the 2 bedroom apartment at Temple Street (ShuiFung Building 7-13 Temple Street) on 20 Oct. The apartment was equipped with microwave, kettle, fridge, TV, mini washing machine, Free WIFI, etc. There were two bunker beds in 2 bedrooms, suitable for 4 to 5 people.
My third brother’s review:
The apartment is located at a good location. It is right at the temple street with lots of nice and cheap food at night. MRT Yau Ma Tei is just a 3 minutes’ walk. The apartment is like what it is described. It is quite clean and it fits 5 persons nicely. The only thing is the size of the bathroom. It is really tiny. About the host, Will and his parents are the friendliest people I have ever met in Hong Kong. Will is not just a host but also a kind local people who willing to show you around.
I saw the Bridal Tea House Hotel (Yaumatei) from the unit we rented. My brother told me that he wanted to stay that place but it cost USD 200+/night per room for only 2 persons. We saved quite a lot of money by booking through Airbnb and had a really pleasant stay in Hong Kong. Thanks Airbnb. Thanks Will. Plan your trip earlier.