“Where is the best location to stay in Hong Kong” is probably on the top of your planning list. To different requirements, the “Best” has different definitions – Whether it is the most convenient /central place? Whether it is close to popular attractions or shopping areas? Whether it is easily accessible to public transportation? Whether it is the best of value to stay? etc.

So, where is the best location to stay in Hong Kong?

To answer this question, you need to ask yourself what your purpose of traveling to Hong Kong is. A business trip or a sightseeing trip? Culture exploration, shopping or just stop-over for overnight?

Among all the hotel booking websites, Booking.com and Agoda.com are my favorites. They list over hundreds of Hong Kong hotels in their database, saving me a great time on comparing hotel deals and narrowing down the options according to the budget.

Where is convenient and best location to stay in Hong Kong?

Hong Kong can be divided into several major regions: Hong Kong Island, Kowloon Peninsula, New Territories and over 200 outlying islands. When it comes to hotel options, Hong Kong Island (including Central, Admiralty, Wanchai, Causeway Bay and North Point) and Kowloon Peninsula (including Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Hum and Mongkok) are definitely the most popular locations.

But, which one of these locations should you choose?

Top Option 1
Stay on Hong Kong Island
Central | Wan Chai | Admiralty

Benefits of staying in Central / Wanchai / Admiralty:
1. Business and government centers;
2. High-end shopping centers and boutique shopping;
3. Various dinning choices (local and western styles);
4. Hubs of public transportation;

If you travel to Hong Kong because of business purpose, Central, Wan Chai and Admiralty should be your best options. The heart of business and government, headquarters of international companies as well as government departments are all around these areas. Staying here will make your business a lot more convenient.

Best Location to Stay in Hong Kong - Central District

Central District

As a matter of fact, these locations are also the ultimate choices for tourists. The top of the top attractions Victoria Peak is located in between of Admiralty and Central. You will get in close proximity to Lan Kwai Fong and SOHO (which are one of Hong Kong’s prime party and dining spots) and be close to many the high-end shopping malls and small boutiques. Best of all, these locations are the hubs of public transportations that you can easily navigate through Hong Kong by subway, tram, taxi, Star Ferry and bus.

Check out the reviews “Why staying Central is a good option?” and “Why staying in Wan Chai is a good option?” if you haven’t done yet. You can get some quick ideas about what you can do, see, eat and shop in these areas.

Moreover, Central, Wan Chai and Admiralty are also the earliest developed areas in Hong Kong, representing Hong Kong’s modern and high-end of living style. Great hotels as Four Seasons, Mandarin Oriental, Conrad Hong Kong, Grand Hyatt, The Landmark Mandarin Oriental are all over these places in convenient locations.

box-info2 Did You Know

Here are links leading you directly to the best location to stay in Hong Kong of the following regions:

Hotel deals in Wan Chai
Hotel deals in Central
Hotel deals in Admiralty

Top Option 2
Stay in Tsim Sha Tsui (Kowloon)

Benefits of staying in TST:
1. Shopping Centers;
2. Adjacent to urban areas and famous street markets;
3. Various dinning Choices (local and western styles);
4. Nearby by Star Ferry and Metro System;

Tsim Sha Tsui (or T.S.T.) is actually just opposite Wan Chai, Admiralty and Central, separated by Victoria Harbour. Check out more about Tsim Sha Tsui and what you can do/see/eat there can help you make your decisions. Tsim Sha Tsui has become also one of the most popular areas to stay. You can find dozens of hotels, such as YMCA, Sheraton, the Mira, Regal Kowloon, Hotel ICON, The Langham, Marco Polo hotels in Tsim Sha Tsui nearby each other, which are also very convenient to the public transportations.

Best Location to Stay in Hong Kong - Tsim Sha Tsui District

Tsim Sha Tsui District

Hong Kong Island and Kowloon are well connected by public transportation including the MTR, Airport Express and Star Ferry. Traveling time from Tsim Sha Tsui (TST) to Central or Wan Chai is just a couple of minutes.

The hotel prices are getting leveled to those in Central, Wan Chai and Admiralty. Luxury hotels such as The Peninsula, Regent Hong Kong (former InterContinental Hotel) and the heritage hotel “FWD House 1881” are all at, to me, the excellent locations no matter which factor is taken into consideration.

box-info2 Did You Know

The following link will lead you directly to the best location to stay in Hong Kong of Tsim Sha Tsui

Hotel deals in Tsim Sha Tsui

Second Option
Causeway Bay (Hong Kong Island) | Mongkok (Kowloon)

Compared to the above locations, Causeway Bay and Mongkok are a little distance away from the central areas. That’s why I classified them into the secondary options. If you cannot get a hotel in the above areas, you can keep checking options in Causeway Bay and Mongkok.

Benefits of staying in Causeway Bay:
1. High-end shopping centers and boutique shopping;
2. Various dinning Choices (local and western styles);
3. Close to blue subway Hong Kong Island line and tram stations;

There are lots of “benefits to stay in Causeway Bay“. As the shopping center of Hong Kong, you can find all kind of shopping options as well as dining choices here. However, there are fewer attractions close to Causeway Bay, which means it will take you extra 15 min (by MTR) / 30 min (by Tram) from Causeway Bay to Central in everyday of your stay in Hong Kong.

Causeway Bay has some 5-star hotels such as Regal Hong Kong Hotel, The Park Lane Hotel, Crowne Plaza Hotel as well as Mira Moon Hotel. There are also plenty of other star hotel / boutique hotel / hostel options.

Best Location to Stay in Hong Kong - Causeway Bay District

Causeway Bay District

The following link will lead you directly to the best location to stay in Hong Kong of Causeway Bay. You can play around with the accommodation dates and figure out the hotels and deals.

Check more hotel deals in Causeway Bay

Benefits of staying in Mongkok:
1. Affordable shopping center;
2. Close to many attractions and famous street markets;
3. Urban living style with plenty of locals’ favorite restaurants;
4. Accessible by bus easily from Tsim Sha Tsui;
5. Transection station of red and green subway lines;

Mongkok is holding the Guinness World Record of the highest population density in the world. If we consider Central, Admiralty, Wan Chai or TST representing the modern part of Hong Kong, Mongkok is like the old memory of Hong Kong. It is blended with old residence buildings, arrays of street markets as well as small local food stalls.

Prince Edward, Yau Ma Tei and Jordan are regions close by Mongkok. Some hotel booking websites will merge these four areas together. It takes about 15-30min to travel to TST. Besides, Mongkok and the nearby areas are residential and more affordable living areas. It provides many boutique shopping and local restaurant dinning options. Check out why Mongkok and the nearby areas very convenient places to stay if you want to know more.

Best Location to Stay in Hong Kong - Mongkok District

Mongkok District

When it comes to the accommodation cost, it is slightly lower than the central regions due to the location. If you look for any hotels around these areas, just pay attention whether your hotel location is close to the Nathan Road or metro stations, which makes your travel in Hong Kong easier.

box-info2 Did You Know

The following link will lead you directly to the best location to stay in Hong Kong of Mongkok and nearby districts

Hotel deals in Mongkok District

You also can consider to stay in
North Point | Tai Koo | Tin Hau | Hung Hom

Similar to other countries and cities, the more convenient locations result in a higher price of hotels. Taking the hotel price into consideration, you may also consider to stay in the area a little further away from central districts, such as North Point, Tai Koo, Tin Hau and Hung Hom.

North Point, Tai Koo and Tin Hau belong to Hong Kong Island. They are on the same subway line (blue line) with Causeway Bay. It will only cost you a couple of more minutes to travel to Central. Since years, the development of Hong Kong Island has expanded to regions like North Point and Tai Koo. It offers better balance between rent and travelling time, and thus it becomes one of the most popular regions for not only the locals but also tourists. You also can find fine hotels such as “Harbour Grand Hong Kong“, “Harbour Plaza North Point“, “East Hong Kong” in these regions, as well as many boutique hotels and hostels.

Tin Hau is one station away from Causeway Bay, which takes only about 10 more minutes on foot.Metropark Hotel Causeway Bay, Butterfly on Victoria, The Empire Hotel, Nina Hotel Causeway Bay are all located here in the convenient distance.

box-info2 Did You Know

These links can lead you directly to book hotels and budget hostels in these locations.

Hotel options in North Point
Hotel options in Tai Koo
Hotel options in Tin Hau

Hung Hom is one station away from TST. Since the green MTR line has extended to Whampoa (Hung Hom), it is very convenient to travel to Hong Kong Island and center of Kowloon. When you cannot find ideal hotels with expected price, you may take a look at this district. Here are plenty of options, such as Harbour Grand Kowloon, Harbour Plaza Metropolis, Bridal Tea House.

Hung Hom is famous among locals for the funeral parlour. It is also one of the reasons that the rent in Hung Hom is slightly lower than other locations.

I would like to point out, the hotels in Hung Hom all have a little bit far walking distance to the nearest MTR stations. Unless hotel offers shuttle bus service (such as Harbour Grand Kowloon) to TST or is closer to Whampoa / Humg Hom station, it’s not really convenient for tourists to stay in these areas.

Bonus factors:
1. Hotels with excellent services & facilities

Some hotels may not locate in the most convenient place, but due to their excellent facilities and services, you may also take into consideration.

The luxury hotel “Ritz Carlton” has the highest bar “Ozone Bar” as well as the highest swimming pool in the world. It’s a fantastic experience for overlooking Victoria Harbour and Hong Kong from the tallest building in Hong Kong. Similar to Ritz Carlton, W Hong Kong is located in the close proximity and featured with the rooftop swimming pool. They are both located in West Kowloon area which is one station away by Tung Chung Line to Central/Hong Kong.

Bonus factors:
2. Hotels connecting to Airport Express stations

For those who would like to have their hotel locations connecting with Hong Kong International Airport, you may consider the following hotels. W Hong Kong Hotel and Ritz Carlton Hotel are located above the Kowloon station. Four Seasons and Mandarin Oriental Hotel are located above the Hong Kong station of Airport Express. Living in these hotels save you tons of trouble for traveling from / to the Airport. For more details, check out how to Travel from Airport to Downtown and hotels.

Option for Stop-Over Tourists

For all those people who have to transit in Hong Kong and have an over-night time to stay, there are different options. “Regal Airport Hotel” “Novotel Hong Kong Citygate” and “Hong Kong SkyCity Marriott Hotel” are just right next to the airport which are the best options for those who only have an overnight time in Hong Kong.

However, if you have more than just overnight time in Hong Kong, you can consider to stay in the downtown area and take the opportunity to visit Hong Kong quickly. Try to stay in the hotels providing the airport pick-up/send-off service, or hotels which are close to the Airport Express line.

It means the hotels close by the stations of “Kowloon”, “Hong Kong” and “Central” are all ideal choices.

How to get the best deals of hotels in Hong Kong?

To answer this question, let’s go through some facts of Hong Kong first.

Don’t Expcect Off-Season Offer in Hong Kong.

As one of the most popular travel destination in Asia, Hong Kong has about 217 licesed hotels with over 68,000 hotel rooms. If you assume with so many hotel options that there’s higher chance / easier for you to get a hotel bargain, then you are wrong.

Hong Kong ranks the third most important leading international financial center. Due to meetings, incentives, conventions, exhibitions and fairs plus the normal holiday, vacation, weekend-trips as well as stop-over tourism hotel, Hong Kong’s hotels have over 90% hotel occupancy around the year, including the top luxury hotels.

Although the government is trying to create additional hotel capacities as fast as possible, supply still cannot catch up with demand. Especially after Hong Kong opens gate to Mainland Chinese and it is easily for them to apply Visa to Hong Kong, the situation gets worse. Unlike other cities or region around the world, Hong Kong does not know any low or off-seasons of hotels.

Be prepared for the small hotel rooms !

Till 2017, there are about 7.4 million citizens living in Hong Kong. The Mongkok area holds the Guinness World Record of the “Busiest District in the World” with over 13,000 people per square kilometer. How much is that? It’s about 30 times of New York and 90 times of Europe.

Hong Kong has very limited space. This is one of the major reasons that Hong Kong has expansive skyscrapers and massive land reclamation projects. Did you know that Hong Kong International Airport, Hong Kong’s most famous skylines along Victoria Harbour are all built on reclamation ground?

Also due to the limited space, average size of Hong Kong hotel rooms tend to be small compared to many other major metropolitan cities, but the prices for apartments as well as hotel room are higher.As a matter of fact, Hong Kong has surpassed Tokyo, New York and Moscow as the place with the highest rent.

When it comes to hotel prices, it varies according to hotel locations and grades. The prices can start from HKD 300 per night (hostel) to HKD 36,000 per night (standard double room, 5-star hotel).

Basically, the hotel price will not fluctuate significantly during a year. However, the lowest price availability depends on the room type availability. The earlier you book, the higher chance to get the deal with the cheapest offers (e.g. the standard room instead of deluxe room type).

Some hotel booking sites such as HotelsCombined.com, Booking.com allow you to cancel the hotel booking without any cancelling fees. Taking advantage of this cancelation policy you can easily reserve your hotel room months in advance. You can read our other reviews about hotel booking to get the best deal for Hong Kong hotels.

Hotel Statistic Comparison

To finalise this article, let’s take a quick look of hotel and hostel number of each region.

Tsim Sha Tsui, Central, Admiralty and Wan Chai are the locations that luxury hotels are concentrated, indicating higher-level living environment of these areas. Meanwhile, you still have opportunities to find some budget hotel deals in these areas.

If you are not sure whether the hotel you choose is convenient, you can send us an email or leave a comment.

Region

Properties
Included *

Links

Tsim Sha Tsui

All together: 345
4-star hotels: 18
5-star hotels: 16

Book Hotels in TST »

Central
+ Wan Chai

All together: 76
4-star hotels: 44
5-star hotels: 20

Book Hotels in Wan Chai »

Book Hotels in Central+Admiralty »

Mongkok and
Nearby Areas

All together: 119
4-star hotels: 2
5-star hotels: 2

Book Hotels in Mongkok »

Causeway Bay
+ Tin Hau

All together: 45
4-star hotels: 11
5-star hotels: 2

Book Hotels in Causeway Bay + Tin Hau »

(* All the listed data are updated on August 2023 and from Agoda.com)

Looking for some locations else? You can try to search here:

Share This Story to :