Travel China and Beyond

Hotel Reviews: Hong Kong Island Le Meridien, Kowloon Sheraton, Shenzhen: Venetian Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn, Shangri-La (LuoHu)

I have been asked on a number of occasions for recommendations on good / convenient hotels in Hong Kong and Shenzhen. There are many travelers (both business and tourist alike) who need to spend time in both cities and/or stay in one and have to do business in the neighboring one as well…long story short, here is a brief set of views of hotels in Shenzhen and Hong Kong:

• Hong Kong Island: Le Meridien Hotel
• This hotel is located on the South side of Hong Kong island, in the area called Cyberport, located near by Stanley.
• The hotel is relatively new — my first stay there was in the Fall of 2004. It is a modern hotel with very good amenities, attentive staff, and excellent rooms. At the time (2004) it was one of the hotels I knew about that had flat panel TVs (plasma TVs) in each room
• Here is a link to some photos from the hotel:

Hotel_Reviews_SouthernChina_HongKong

• Kowloon: Sheraton - this hotel is located on Nathan Road very near by MTR station and near by plenty of pubs, restaurants, and shops.  If you are craving for some British pub atmosphere (if you have spend a tad too long in Asia) you can visit a great pub in a basement near by the Sheraton and have some good beer and pot pie.   The hotel itself is very comfortable.  Great rooms, the rate is bit on the expensive side, but given the location that can be expected.  You can get to the hotel with a shuttle bus from the airport (same for going to the airport).

• Shenzhen:  Venetian Crowne Plaza.  If you are going to do most of your business in Shezhen you might as well stay in Shenzhen (rather than Hong Kong).  The hotels are definitely cheaper on the Shenzhen side of the border.  The Venetian is an excellent hotels.  It is part of the chain that includes the Holiday Inn, but believe me there is nothing in common between the two.  Actually, in Shenzhen, there is also a Holiday Inn hotel, which I DO NOT recommend.  The Holiday Inn (based on one stay there) is not a hotel that warrants the amount of money you need to spend.  If the Venetian is booked then you should opt for the Shangri-La (located near the Shenzhen railway station).
  The Venetian is an excellent hotel for both business and tourist travelers.  It is located near by the Windows of the World park, and about RMB70 from the Shenzhen airport, or about RMB80 from the Ferry dock (for the ferry from Hong Kong Int’l airport).
• The Shangri-La is located in the area called LuoHu.  This hotel is conveniently located if you need to make day trips into Hong Kong.  You can walk to the border (about 5 minutes from the hotel), cross on foot through immigration, and on the other side get on the MTR (the Hong Kong mass transit railway), and head for TaiPo or Kowloon areas among others.