1. I finally get to travel abroad again without the hassles of false hopes and failed plans.
2. Countless failed attempts in looking for a group who wanted to travel (with me).
3. I get to choose the destination and I wanted to go somewhere cold.
Thus, even though my mom has been to HK twice and Macau once, since I was the one paying and I had the excuse of never being in Macau, the destination was set.
When I first set foot in HK, we ended up staying in Hong Kong Island at The Wesley Hotel. I don't have much memory of it except that it was decent enough and didn't serve breakfast but was on the small side. In addition, the walk from the hotel to the closer MTR station: admiralty was pretty taxing eventually the longer you stay (assuming you are mostly out during the day exploring HK). So this time around, I decided that we should be staying at Kowloon Island preferably at Tsim Sha Tsui.
all things considered especially the economics of price, location aka proximity to MTR and shops as well as the airport bus, Hotel Benito became the hotel of choice although I had to stretch my budget a little. If I probably booked it say maybe 2-3 months in advance the rate could have been lower. Options included: Imperial Hotel, Salisbury YMCA, Shamrock Hotel, etc. I came close to booking a hostel room at Golden Crown guest house but that was scrimping too much (especially as a treat for a mother) just so I would have more shopping money. Scrutinizing details and reading reviews delayed the booking as well but I guess you could say it was a good decision. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of their rooms but I didn't look under the bed to see if it was well dusted. It's got space enough for two people I must say. I guess what we liked about it compared to The Wesley was: location! Even my mom had to comment on it. It was almost close to everything.
1. It's just a few walks to the TST station.
2. There are familiar food stalls/fast foods (MCDO, KFC, Burger King, Yoshinoya, etc.) nearby for those who end up eating unplanned meals at off-the-usual hours.
3. The airport bus stop at Nathan Road is close by (A21).
4. Silvercord mall (which is one of the locations of H&M), Harbour View, outlet shops such as Esprit, Giordano, Bossini etc are just a few minutes walk.
5. the ferry station is again a few minutes walk (day trip to Macau shouldn't be a bother).
6. As a plus, we got to sample some of the pastries from this bakery right across the hotel:
7. There is a ForEx stall across the street that buys US Dollars at a higher rate than most we saw. It seems it is still better to bring with you US Dollars if have some or if you can buy them from someone and not from a bank. That way, you would still get better value for your money. You can then exchange a few of them at the airport then the rest at downtown areas. Airport rates are usually lower. Of course, be wary of possible scammers. I had my doubts in this particular stall but we didn't run into any issues during our stay there.
8. Surprisingly Arashi had an ad plastered in the TST station (or was it somewhere else?) which I didn't expect. Oh yeah! Big Plus! hahaha
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