Why These Three Hotels Work in Hong Kong - location, location, location
The J3 Group - Premium Quality Private Tours | Experiences and Insider Chats since 2010
Me Jamie, your host, I am English and I have lived in Hong Kong since January 2nd 1972 - I know the place.
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Three Great Hong Kong Hotels. One Perfect Spot in Kowloon
Foreword by Jamie
Why These Three Hotels Work in Hong Kong - location, location, location
The banner above is an artistic rendering. In reality the three hotels look quite different from each other and from the image. Most of the people who book a private tour with me have already sorted their hotel before they ever send the first message. That has been the pattern for years. A smaller number still ask for a recommendation. When they do, I have kept the same three suggestions for a long time: the Peninsula Hotel, the YMCA Salisbury Hotel and the Sheraton Hotel and Towers. All three sit on or just off Salisbury Road in Tsim Sha Tsui. Hotel pick-up and hotel drop-off are part of the service. I meet guests in the hotel lobby and bring them back to the same lobby at the end of the tour. From any of the three hotels a guest can walk to the Star Ferry in a minimum of 10 minutes along Salisbury Road, or 15 minutes if they take the scenic waterfront route. The MTR (Subway) at Tsim Sha Tsui or East Tsim Sha Tsui is also close ie. 2 or 3 minutes walk only. Location is the main reason I keep recommending them. Everything else is secondary.
What Guests Have Already Booked When They Contact Me
Most people who book a private tour with me have already sorted their hotel before they ever send the first message. That has been the pattern for years. The ones who arrive already settled tend to land in the same small group of first rate 5 star hotels. The Mandarin Oriental, the Four Seasons, the Conrad, the J.W. Marriott, the Upper House, the Rosewood, the Ritz Carlton and the Kowloon Shangri-La are the ones that come up again and again. These are not occasional mentions. They are the regular choices. Guests who stay at any of them have already done their own research, read the reviews, and decided that is the level they want. All of them are excellent hotels. The service is high, the rooms are proper, and the locations are convenient for most of what people come to Hong Kong to see. When someone is already booked into one of those, I simply note it and plan the tour around their timing and their energy. There is no need for me to suggest anything else.
The three hotels I recommend are for the people who have not yet decided, or who ask directly. They are looking for somewhere solid, well located, and easy for a private tour. That is why I keep coming back to the Peninsula, the YMCA Salisbury and the Sheraton. They sit next to each other on and around Salisbury Road in Tsim Sha Tsui. Hotel pick up and hotel drop off are included. I meet guests in the lobby and return them to the same lobby. The higher end list above is what people choose when they already know what they want. The three on Salisbury Road are what I suggest when they are still working it out. Both groups end up in very good places. The difference is simply whether the decision has already been made before they contact me.
Why These Three Hotels?
The Peninsula is the grand old hotel of Kowloon. The YMCA Salisbury is the practical choice that still sits in the same postcode. The Sheraton is the solid international hotel that fills the gap between the two. None of them require a long cross town journey to reach the harbour, the Star Ferry or the MTR (Subway). Hotel pick up and hotel drop off are part of the service, so the meeting point is always the hotel lobby.
The Peninsula Hotel
The Peninsula opened on 11th December 1928. It was built by the Kadoorie family and has remained in their hands ever since. The original building is still the main part of the hotel. A tower was added in 1994, bringing the room count to around 300. The lobby is the one most visitors recognise from photographs. Afternoon tea there has been a fixture for decades. The fleet of green Rolls-Royce Phantoms is still used for airport transfers and short runs around Kowloon. There are currently 14 of them and yes they also have 3 Bentley SUV’s for the younger crowd. The hotel has two helipads on the roof. One is for guests, one is for the Peninsula’s own use. The restaurants include Gaddi’s, which has held a Michelin star for years, and several others that change with the seasons, oh and the Felix Bar is well worth a visit!.
Rates at the Peninsula usually sit between HK$5,000 and HK$6,500 a night for a standard room, which is roughly US$640 to US$830 at the current rate. Suites go higher. The hotel is not the cheapest option on Salisbury Road, but it is the one that still feels like old Hong Kong. Guests who stay here often say the location alone is worth the price. The Star Ferry pier is a minimum of 10 minutes’ walk along Salisbury Road, or 15 minutes via the scenic waterfront route. The MTR (Subway) is a 2 - 3 minute walk only. Victoria Peak is a straightforward journey by taxi, bus or by the Peak Tram once you cross the harbour. Hotel pickup and hotel drop off are from the lobby.
YMCA Salisbury Hotel
The YMCA Salisbury sits next door to the Peninsula. The original YMCA building on the site dated from the 1920s. The present hotel was rebuilt in the late 1980s. It has 372 rooms. The building is taller than the original Peninsula and looks out over the harbour. Facilities include an indoor swimming pool, a climbing wall, squash courts and a gym. The rooms are clean and functional. Service is straightforward. Despite the YMCA moniker it is a solid 4 star hotel. It is not a luxury hotel in the same way as the Peninsula or the Sheraton, but it is well run and the location is identical.
Rates at the YMCA Salisbury are usually between HK$1,200 and HK$2,500 a night, roughly US$155 to US$320. That makes it the most affordable of the three. Guests who want to spend their money on tours and meals rather than the hotel room often choose it. The lobby is smaller and busier than the Peninsula’s, but the walk to the Star Ferry is the same minimum of 10 minutes along Salisbury Road, or 15 minutes via the waterfront. Many of the guests who stay here are families or couples who have already decided they do not need the full luxury package. Hotel pick up and hotel drop off are from the lobby.
Sheraton Hotel and Towers
The Sheraton opened on 18th February 1974. It was one of the first international hotels built in Tsim Sha Tsui after WW2. The building has 782 rooms and two towers. The rooftop pool looks out over the harbour. The hotel has been renovated more than once. The current rooms are modern and comfortable. The lobby is larger than the YMCA’s and quieter than the Peninsula’s at peak times. Service is consistent with other Sheraton properties around the world.
Rates at the Sheraton usually fall between HK$2,000 and HK$3,500 a night, roughly US$255 to US$450. It sits in the middle of the three hotels on price. Guests who want a recognised international brand without the Peninsula price tag often stay here. The walk to the Star Ferry is again a minimum of 10 minutes along Salisbury Road, or 15 minutes via the scenic waterfront route. The hotel has its own shopping arcade underneath, which some guests use and some ignore. Hotel pick up and hotel drop off are from the lobby.
How the Three Sit Together
All three hotels are within a 1 - 2 minute walk from each other. A guest staying at the YMCA can see the Peninsula from their window. A guest at the Sheraton can walk to either of the other two in under 2 minutes. The Star Ferry pier is a minimum of 10 minutes’ walk along Salisbury Road from all of them, or 15 minutes if you take the scenic waterfront route. The Tsim Sha Tsui MTR (Subway) station is a 2 - 3 minute walk only. This is why I keep recommending them as a group. Once a guest is in any of the three, the practical side of a private tour becomes simple. The meeting point is the hotel lobby. Hotel pick up and hotel drop off are part of the service. Return times are easy. If the weather turns or the guest wants to rest for an hour, the hotel is never far away.
Practical Notes
Prices change with the season. The figures above are typical ranges for a standard room outside major holidays. Christmas, Chinese New Year and the autumn conference period push rates higher at all three hotels. Booking direct on the hotel websites is usually the safest option. Third party sites sometimes show lower rates that do not include the same cancellation terms. All three hotels have luggage storage if a guest arrives early or leaves late. All three can arrange a taxi or a private car if needed, though most of my guests simply meet me in the lobby and we start from there.
A Few more Practical Notes
All three hotels sit in the same tight cluster. You can walk between the Peninsula and the YMCA in a couple of minutes. The Sheraton is only a little further along.
Star Ferry is 10 to 15 minutes on foot from any of them. The ferry crossing to Central takes about 10 minutes once you are on the boat.
Tsim Sha Tsui and East Tsim Sha Tsui MTR (Subway) stations are both close. From Tsim Sha Tsui you can be in the Central Business District in 2 stops only
The waterfront promenade and the Avenue of Stars are right there. The Hong Kong Museum of Art and the Space Museum are across the road from all 3 Hotels.
Taxi ranks and buses are plentiful if you need them. Airport transfers by private car usually take 30 to 40 minutes depending on traffic.
None of the three is a quiet residential hotel. Tsim Sha Tsui is busy. That is part of the point for most visitors.
What Guests Usually Say
The Peninsula guests talk about the service, the lobby and the sense of place. The YMCA guests talk about the views and the value. The Sheraton guests talk about the convenience and the rooftop pool. All three groups say the same thing about the location once they have been out for a day: everything they wanted was easy to reach. That is the real test after 50+ years of watching how people move around this city.
If you already have a booking at one of these three, you are in a good spot for the private tours I run. If you are still looking, these are the three I continue to recommend. Prices change, so check the hotels directly or through your preferred booking channel for the dates you need. The only current price list that matters for the tours themselves is the one on my Prices | Book Now page.
The Last Word
These three hotels are not the only great places to stay in Hong Kong. The Mandarin Oriental, the Four Seasons, the Conrad, the J.W. Marriott, the Upper House, the Rosewood, the Ritz-Carlton and the Kowloon Shangri-La are all excellent and are the ones most of my guests have already chosen by the time they contact me. The Peninsula, the YMCA Salisbury and the Sheraton are simply the three I suggest when someone is still deciding. They sit in the same short stretch of Salisbury Road. That stretch has been the most convenient base for private tours for as long as I have been in the business. Hotel pick up and hotel drop off from the lobby are included. Location is still the main reason.
So there you go.
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