Opened in 1961, the Park Hotel Hong Kong is the first hotel of the Singapore-based Park Hotel Group. The group later became the hospitality division of the billionaire Law family of Hong Kong, who oversaw its expansion to nearly 30 hotels in the Asia-Pacific region. Despite its historic nature, the 334-room Hong Kong hotel was last renovated in 2020.

Booking Park Hotel Hong Kong

Although I was initially insistent on staying on Hong Kong Island, I gave that up after seeing that the hotels there have reverted to extortionate rates higher than those of the past. Then, I saw the prices offered by Park Hotel Hong Kong for my dates, which I simply couldn’t pass on. For this stay, I paid a nightly rate of HKD 710 (~USD 90, GBP75) which is an incredible deal. I booked this stay via Agoda.com, which had the cheapest rate compared to other sites at the time. Sadly, however, Park Hotel Hong Kong has since hiked its rates, occasionally to over double the price I paid.

Location

The Park Hotel Hong Kong is located in East Tsim Sha Tsui, in the Kowloon district of Hong Kong. Specifically, the hotel is on the edge of Cameron Road, a lively street full of various Hong Kong-style eateries and diners. At night, the many neon lights along this road, combined with the iconic red taxis turn this into an unmistakably Hong Kong scene.

Since the hotel is located in Tsim Sha Tsui, it is within reasonable walking distance of some of the busiest commercial and shopping area in Hong Kong. Apart from the nearby K11 Art Mall, various shopping centres like K11 Musea, Harbour City, and 1881 Heritage can be reached within a 20-minute walk. 15 minutes away is also Kowloon Pier, surrounding which are various attractions like the Hong Kong Cultural Centre, Hong Kong Space Museum, The Peninsula Hotel, and Avenue of the Stars.

A five-minute walk away is the Tsim Sha Tsui MTR station, which connects the hotel to Hong Kong Island across Victoria Bay. Alternatively, it is also possible to cross the harbour on the Star Ferry from Tsim Sha Tsui Star Ferry Pier, 15 minutes away. In addition, when coming from the Airport Express via Kowloon Station, you can take a bus from West Kowloon Station and alight at Granville Road, Chatham Road South, across from the hotel.

Arrival and Check-in

After arriving on my Cathay Pacific flight from Manila, I took the Airport Express into the city. I alighted at Kowloon Station, not knowing that it’s easier to get to the hotel from Central Station. There, I ended up having to take an 8-minute bus ride to the hotel and alighted at the Granville Road bus stop. As soon as I entered the lobby, a porter quickly approached me to offer assistance with my bags. Since I just had a carry-on with me, I politely refused his offer.

With its low ceiling and decked in red carpet, the lobby sure felt like a blast from the past. Although obviously refurbished, I could still feel the nice 60s ambiance of the space. I headed straight to the empty check-in desks and was immediately helped by a friendly reception agent. After taking a copy of my passport and confirming my reservation, he took a security deposit from my credit card before issuing me a pair of room keys. Despite booking a Superior Room, it looked like was I upgraded to a Deluxe Room based on my room layout and floor.

My Deluxe Room

After getting my keys, I headed up the lifts to the 11th floor, where my room was located. I was pleasantly surprised by how new everything looked, especially after booking this hotel with zero expectations. Although I wouldn’t go as far as to say it was grant, I liked the clean and relatively upmarket look of the public areas.

Bedroom

My Deluxe Room has an approximate size of 25 sqm or 269 sqft, which is a generous size for a city known for its high real estate prices and minuscule homes. But again, all things are relative and 27 sqm is a bit smaller than the rooms at middle and upmarket hotels you’d find in other cities. Regardless, the bedroom features a sizeable queen bed, with personal reading lights on each side.

Located next to the bed is a high-top table and chair, which acts as the sole working space in the room. Although I would have preferred a proper desk to work on, the high-top feature might have been a necessity for this otherwise rather small room. Although I found the chair to be very uncomfortable to sit on, I liked that it kept the room looking airy and spacious.

Across the bed is the wall-mounted television, which curiously has the normally hidden wire dangling about. Under it is a fixed-place luggage rack, along with the minibar. Next to that are two padded ottomans/stools which are the only other sitting surface apart from the high-top desk chair. Frankly, the lack of proper seating options is the only thing about the room that I find frustrating.

Located by the entryway is a midsized closet embedded into the wall. Inside was a small safety deposit box, along with the hotel-provided slippers and handheld hair dryer. Laundry service is available at the hotel for a supplementary charge.

Balcony

Furthermore, I noticed there is a small balcony outside, that views the surrounding apartments and residential buildings. However, much like the case at The Okura Prestige Taipei, the door to the balcony was locked. In the case of Park Hotel Hong Kong, there didn’t appear to be an option to have the door unlocked, likely for safety and legal reasons.

Room details

At night, I liked that the room got significantly brighter thanks to the many embedded ceiling lights. Despite being a bit too bright and a bit sterile, it definitely made the space feel newer, cleaner, and more inviting. This was a massive improvement compared to the dimly lit room at the Belmont Hotel Manila I stayed in during my brief transit the night before. Nicely done, Park Hotel Hong Kong!

Bathroom

Like the room, I found the bathroom to be a bit on the small side, although with one cool feature, which I’ll talk about last. In addition to the standard toilet, the bathroom features a vessel sink that rests on a large vanity. A circular vanity mirror is hung from the ceiling, complete with an embedded crescent moon-shaped lamp. There is also an old-looking telephone mounted on the wall.

A complete set of mediocre Park Hotel-branded toiletries was placed on the vanity, along with a second set of tissues and toilet paper. To the right of the toilet is the glass-encased shower stall, which features a small, hand-held showerhead. Despite not having a rain shower, I found the water pressure and temperature to be fine. Another set of toiletries is also waiting in the shower’s soap rack.

Additionally, whilst mostly clad in stone, I found it interesting that the hotel has elected to install wood-motif ceramic tiles on the walls. What’s most interesting, however, is the glass wall that separates the bathroom and the bedroom. Like what you’d find at the Grand Hyatt Kuala Lumpur, the glass wall goes from being translucent to being opaque with a click of a switch. I personally thought this was a very cool feature that you don’t see every day.

Amenities

Although Park Hotel Hong Kong has a fitness centre facility, its use has been indefinitely suspended since the COVID-19 Pandemic. As such, I was not able to take a look at the facility, let alone use it. At the time of writing, the fitness centre remains closed, according to the hotel’s website.

Service

Given the lack of a doorperson or any functional facilities, I had very limited interactions with the hotel staff. In fact, I didn’t talk to anybody during my entire stay, apart from the reception agents and the porter who briefly offered to assist with my bags. Having said that, I did find them to be generally pleasant and friendly. For one the reception staff were welcoming and courteous, which is about all you’d ask for I guess! No complaints here 🙂

Overall

Overall, I had a pleasant stay at Park Hotel Hong Kong. Although the hotel is not the nicest or most premium Tsim Sha Tsui has to offer, I found it to be a very comfortable place to stay. For one, I appreciated the bright and newly renovated rooms and the pleasant staff. The location is also a plus since the hotel is reachable within walking distance of many attractions in Tsim Sha Tsui. As such, I wouldn’t hesitate to come back to this hotel, particularly if it were to charge a similar rate to what I paid.

Read more from this trip!