Unlike Singapore, where the lodging market is bracketed by decent hostels and hotels whose rates seem to go ever higher into the stratosphere, Hong Kong has hotels that go even higher along with a veritable crap-shoot of choices for cheap lodging, many of them not being flashpacker quality. I’ve written about some of these places before (mostly in Chungking and Mirador Mansions) as well as some of the decent guesthouses in Causeway Bay (Noble Hostel and Wang Fat), that, although they were a good value, they were lacking in perks and style.
I recently found a small local HK chain of hotels called Mingle. They have two locations, one near Knutsford Terrace in TST and the other in Sheung Wan on HK side near the Macau Ferry Terminal.
Small bed for a very small (narrow) room! Very firm though…
The cheapest room is this one; very narrow and long. You get your bed at one end, a full and very clean bathroom on the other and a workspace, closet, hot water and a place to plug in your iPod. No window though. That comes with the bigger rooms, but since you’re in HKG, how much time will you spend here?? Oh yeah, did I mention the tech focus of this hotel?
There’s a flat screen TV where you can control the cooling and lights in the room. Also music and vids on demand!
Each room has a Linksys iPhone where you can log in directly to Skype. There’s also a FREE wireless access point in each room because the router that runs the iPhones also is an access point. And unlike my recent experience with internet at HKIA, the net here is fast and wide.
Even the cheapest room here gets your own private bathroom. With ensuite shower!
The showers are powerful and the water was very hot. Perfect!
Styish sink
Not bad for under US$100/night. This is the kind of mid-level lodging that I’ve been looking for for a LONG time! Now if only Singapore could have something like this too…
Mingle on the Wing
125 Wing Lok Street
Sheung Wan, Hong Kong
http://www.mingleplace.com/
3 Replies to “What your lodging dollar gets you in HK”
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Was researching Mingle and came by your post. Been deciding whether to book or not…the reviews are kinda split on the hot water and wireless. Guess I might just give them a try (the 1-week Wotif rates are tempting!). Did you experience any problems? Was there a safe in the room?
The other fancy backpacker place I found is The Nest in Prince Edward. Kinda far from all the action though.
Also have you checked out Link Hotel in Singapore before?
RE: Mingle on the Wing. Be ready for a small, slightly larger than a closet sized room. The room has no windows (unless you get the more expensive) but has fast free wireless and a Skype phone that you can log into your account from. There was no safe, but the hot water was hot and it was fine. The A/V system works well and having on demand videos and music was a nice touch. The location is excellent, being across the street from the Sheung Wan MTR station AND you have a Circle K and a a 7-11 on opposite corners.
The Nest looks interesting. I’ve never seen it before, but I may stay there on my next visit. If its really THAT close to the Prince Edward MTR, that’s convenient. It’s actually in the middle of things, in between Mong Kok and TST on the Kowloon side. If you’d like to go local, staying there is an easy way to do so.
The Link Hotel in Singapore looks nice but is definitely out of my usual price range. Two years ago, you could get a room at Hotel 1929 for under US$100. That’s not even possible anymore. No MRT close by either, which means paying for taxi fare.
Great, I’ll give it a go. The Lite room looks pretty comfy for 1 actually, bigger than some of the closets I’ve stayed in Mongkok (gosh, one trip there were 3 of us). And the window probably opens out to the next building anyway.
I guess you’re right, there just isn’t any affordable flashpacker accommodation here. Interestingly I was scanning Wotif to see where I would stay if I was a tourist…tough choice!