Where to find cheap hostels in Hong Kong.

The popular destination for budget travelers when it comes to accommodation in Hong Kong is Tsim Sha Tsui area in Kowloon and most preferred by tourists are hostels in Chungking Mansion and Mirador Mansion.
The price and location are the main factors why tourists flock to this place along Nathan Road for their room accommodations. You can stay in a twin bed room for as low as Php2000.00 – Php2500.00 (HK$307.00-HK$384.00). But even if the price is affordable, you can still have the basic amenities like air conditioned room, private bathroom, hot and cold shower, 24 hour customer service, basic toiletries and free Wifi in each room.

You will be surprise how small the room is. There is only limited space to move around. Your bags and luggage will have to be place under the bed. The bathroom is also small. You may be taking a shower while sitting on the toilet bowl.

For some Westerners, staying at Chungking and Mirador Mansion will be a struggle but for Asians like me, it didn’t pose any problem and besides you will not be staying in your room most of the time but instead you will be out exploring the beautiful places of Hong Kong.

How to get to Tsim Sha Tsui from Hong Kong International Airport.

After clearing immigration and claiming your check in luggage if any, proceed immediately to the exit where the customer service counter is located. Pay for your octopus card. Go to the bus terminal outside of the airport and take the Cityflyer A21 bus that goes to Tsim Sha Tsui. Travel time is approximately 1 hour and 10 minutes.

Read more on the Octopus Card

Exit going to the bus terminal

Chungking Mansion and Mirador Mansion are also conveniently located near the Cityflyer A21 airport bus terminal and the Tsim Sha Tsui station of the MTR. There are fast food restaurants like McDonald’s, KFC and Pizza Hut nearby and 7-11 store is just around the corner. Shopping malls and retail shops are also lined up along Nathan Road.

The Avenue of Stars from where you can watch the glitz of the Hong Kong skyline at night is just a short walking distance from Chungking and Mirador Mansion. The Temple Street night market where you can buy souvenirs and gifts is one train station away from Tsim Sha Tsui station and you can also go to several museums nearby.

Mirador Mansion

image by booking.com

2 Double bed room at Traveller Friendship Hostel

We stayed at Traveller Friendship Hostel in Mirador Mansion on our first night in Hong Kong. The front desk and reservation office is located on the 13th floor. We reserved the room through booking.com because of the good rating of the hostel but upon checking in, unfortunately our reservation was cancelled because of credit card invalidity. I informed the person at the front desk that it is the same credit card I used to get our Disneyland and Ngong Ping 360 cable car tickets via Klook and there was never a problem.

Well, there is no point arguing with him. But he said that we can still book a room for the night and he offered a much bigger room because the one that I reserve is no longer available. He told us that it will be HK$600.00/night which is twice the amount of the room that I reserve. He further said that they only accept cash and no credit cards. Whoa! Now what do you call that. Since it was past 10PM and we have our son in tow who is very tired and being first timers in Hong Kong, we have no idea if there will be other available hostels open at that time, we just agreed and paid for the room in cash. Haha, we could have used that money in buying more souvenirs on Temple Street.

The next day we checked out of Traveller Friendship and proceeded to Chungking Mansion which is only across the side street. I booked a room this time through Agoda.com and after providing my credit card details, the reservation was successful.

Click here for Booking.com

Chungking Mansion

image by ytravelblog.com

 

2 Double bed room at Everest Hostel (image by asiatravel.com)

We spend our second and third night in Hong Kong at Everest Hostel in Chungking Mansion. Proceed to the reservation office on the 3rd or 14th floor. The front desk personnel on the both floors are very nice and speak good English.

Click here for Agoda.com

Everest Hostel is located on Block D. At the entrance of Chungking Mansion on Nathan Road, walk straight ahead and look for the service counter . Turn right when you see it and go left on the first corridor. The elevator for block D will be on your right.
The hostels in Chungking Mansion are grouped into Blocks, with Block A as the busiest. There are two elevators for each Block however one elevator serves even numbered floors and the other one for odd numbered floors. The elevators itself are also small. It can only carry a maximum of 7 persons. Each lift is equipped with CCTV and there may be a long queue during rush hour.

two lifts on each block (image by wikimedia.org)

The ground floor of Chungking Mansion is where you can find different businesses. There are money changer shops at the entrance on the ground floor. There are also restaurants that sell curry dishes. Shops that have a variety of items like clothes, bags, cell phones, electronic gadgets etc also thrive at Chungking Mansion. There will be people offering you a place to stay, just ignore them and proceed to the service counter for assistance.

Money changer shops (image by j3tourshongkong)

Before our trip to Hong Kong, I’ve read blogs and comments about Chungking and Mirador Mansion. Both buildings are described as old and filthy and others say it is a place of prostitution and drug dealings. Some people complain about the elevators which is too slow and sometimes full and the smell of curry dish.

But some comments especially from first timers in Hong Kong liked Chungking and Mirador mansion. They say it is a nice place to stay because of the cheap hostels and its location. Well you really cannot please everybody.

For me, the buildings are old and the floors are somewhat dirty on the outside. It will also take some time to take the elevator especially during rush hour but these things will not hinder me to stay at Chungking or Mirador Mansion. We never felt nervous or scared during our stay there. I also didn’t see nor encounter any illicit activity or suspicious person while inside the premises.

I would recommend Everest Hostel in Chungking Mansion and even if we didn’t have a pleasant check in experience at Traveller Friendship Hostel, I would still recommend Mirador Mansion because there are plenty of hostels inside that offer better service and value for your money.

Until our next trip, see you on Tara...Let’s Go!