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Hong Kong Intercontinental Grand Stanford


Bruin Steve
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We're cruising out of Hong Kong December 22...and just booked a flight in, arriving at 6:10 am on December 21...

Did a quick search on hotels and ended up doing a reservation at the Intercontinental Grand Stanford in the Tsim Sha Tsui area of Kowloon...for $215 plus taxes for the one night..."Five Stars" and ranked #23 out of 729 Hong Kong hotels by TripAdvisor...

 

Last time we were in Hong Kong, we stayed at the Shangri La in Kowloon--just a couple of blocks away from this one...but that was a different sort of trip--it was the three nights at the end of a long Viking River Cruises China trip...and all of the hotels, including that one, were selected by Viking...and they also provided all of the transportation, tours, etc.

 

This time, we're doing a 14 night SE Asia cruise on Celebrity Millennium...and we get to deal with hotel, transportation from the airport and transportation to the cruise pier ourselves.

 

So I guess the question is...Is this hotel a good choice for us? Important for us this time are: 1) Ease of transportation from the airport and to the ship... 2) Restaurants in the immediate area ...and 3) ways to waste a little time nearby during the day on the 21st if we are not too tired from the long flight (ie souvenir shopping, local sights).

 

Aside from any opinions on the hotel, for transportation, how would you get there from the airport? Train, taxi, Uber (Does Hong Kong have Uber and how much would one cost from the airport to this hotel?)...and, for the ride to the pier...taxi? Uber?

 

Thanks...

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I have never stayed at the Intercontinental Grand Stanford which is in Tsim Sha Tsui East area of Kowloon. In the same area of the Kowloon Shangri-La where you have stayed before. If you are taking the Airport Express from HKIA, there are complimentary shuttles (K3), when you get off at the Kowloon station, that will take you to Intercontinental Grand Stanford, I believe stop #6. With several hotels in that same vicinity, I would think it should not be difficult to find restaurants, etc. if you don't want to explore too far away. I see that Hyatt Regency TST is like $100 more than what we paid for November 2016, so the room rate seems OK being so close to Christmas and on a weekend. Happy traveling!

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The Grand Stanford is about a 3 minute walk from Kowlloon Shangrila, you can expect the area is about the same. TST East is a good 15 minute walk from TST proper, Nathan Road. Not as convenient.

 

I would use a taxi from the airport and going to the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal. The fares respectively will be HK$300 and HK$100. The taxi will be the easiest and most comfortable way. Uber is not legal in HK.

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Question for OP, does the hotel allow early arrival & check-in; or, do you plan to check the bags with doorman/bell-hop and then do a bit of morning walk, breakfast ?? after a long 15-16 hour flight.

 

Within 5-10 minutes walking distance of the GS are 7-11's, supermarket and restaurants, cafe & retail/boutique shops - on Mody Road & nearby. But, it is a closer (10-15 minutes) walk to Hung Hom's KTR train terminal & major bus terminal/transfer hub, near the entrance to the 1st. Cross Harbour Tunnel built in the 1970's.

 

Unlike other hotels in the area offering complimentary to TST area, the GS does not - so it's either walk or taking a very short taxi trip in lieu of walking. Walk to Tsim Sha Tsui's MTR station on Nathan Road, west along Mody Road, past Chatham Road ... is about 15 to 20 minutes, maybe in my youthful days, 10 to 15, not anymore rushing in a hurry.

 

From the West Coast, guessing it's flying non-stop on Cathay for those early morning arrival ... they have several daily jumbo's that land around the same time ... immigration/border control - luggage hall & walking past customs (nothing to declare, for most travelers/visitors) might take a little while longer these days, 60 to 90 minutes - just FYI.

 

Airport Express train is fast & convenient, with free porter services & a complimentary shuttle transfer to many hotels in the area, including GS ... from the Kowloon Station (TST West) and there's a discount for 2 or more traveling together, ask at the MTR customer service center for help in selecting your option, the reduced rate bring the cost to about $150 or $160 HKD, or about $20 USD vs. a taxi/toll - I would say, closer to $350 HKD with a small (10%) tip - about $45 USD, good for 3 adults + reasonable luggage.

 

As noted by resident/local CC'er, please do not use Uber ... operating in the shadow & (il)legal loopholes.

 

But, that quoted/confirmed rate around Christmas time for the hotel is, I concur, a very, very good rate - a tradeoff for minor inconvenience, enough savings to pay/use taxis to get around if you don't feel like walking or tired when ready to "retreat" back to the hotel when the jetlag fatigue "bugs" begin to hit, usually by the mid/late afternoon on arrival day 1 and day 2.

 

Checking out of the hotel & going over to the cruise terminal, which is at Kai Tak - a taxi would be best way to go, metered fares & tips (no tolls, whatsoever) should be under $100 HKD, no matter what ... I am pretty sure, the driver can opt to use the tunnel bypass @Ma Tau Wai or otherwise take one of elevated roadway ... 15 to 25 minutes, depending on traffic & route option.

 

Hotel's airport shuttle transfer is really a shared one with multiple stops, best not to use it ... unless you wish to do the Benz $$$ private transfer.

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Question for OP, does the hotel allow early arrival & check-in; or, do you plan to check the bags with doorman/bell-hop and then do a bit of morning walk, breakfast ?? after a long 15-16 hour flight.

 

Within 5-10 minutes walking distance of the GS are 7-11's, supermarket and restaurants, cafe & retail/boutique shops - on Mody Road & nearby. But, it is a closer (10-15 minutes) walk to Hung Hom's KTR train terminal & major bus terminal/transfer hub, near the entrance to the 1st. Cross Harbour Tunnel built in the 1970's.

 

Unlike other hotels in the area offering complimentary to TST area, the GS does not - so it's either walk or taking a very short taxi trip in lieu of walking. Walk to Tsim Sha Tsui's MTR station on Nathan Road, west along Mody Road, past Chatham Road ... is about 15 to 20 minutes, maybe in my youthful days, 10 to 15, not anymore rushing in a hurry.

 

From the West Coast, guessing it's flying non-stop on Cathay for those early morning arrival ... they have several daily jumbo's that land around the same time ... immigration/border control - luggage hall & walking past customs (nothing to declare, for most travelers/visitors) might take a little while longer these days, 60 to 90 minutes - just FYI.

 

Airport Express train is fast & convenient, with free porter services & a complimentary shuttle transfer to many hotels in the area, including GS ... from the Kowloon Station (TST West) and there's a discount for 2 or more traveling together, ask at the MTR customer service center for help in selecting your option, the reduced rate bring the cost to about $150 or $160 HKD, or about $20 USD vs. a taxi/toll - I would say, closer to $350 HKD with a small (10%) tip - about $45 USD, good for 3 adults + reasonable luggage.

 

As noted by resident/local CC'er, please do not use Uber ... operating in the shadow & (il)legal loopholes.

 

But, that quoted/confirmed rate around Christmas time for the hotel is, I concur, a very, very good rate - a tradeoff for minor inconvenience, enough savings to pay/use taxis to get around if you don't feel like walking or tired when ready to "retreat" back to the hotel when the jetlag fatigue "bugs" begin to hit, usually by the mid/late afternoon on arrival day 1 and day 2.

 

Checking out of the hotel & going over to the cruise terminal, which is at Kai Tak - a taxi would be best way to go, metered fares & tips (no tolls, whatsoever) should be under $100 HKD, no matter what ... I am pretty sure, the driver can opt to use the tunnel bypass @Ma Tau Wai or otherwise take one of elevated roadway ... 15 to 25 minutes, depending on traffic & route option.

 

Hotel's airport shuttle transfer is really a shared one with multiple stops, best not to use it ... unless you wish to do the Benz $$$ private transfer.

 

Thank you for all of that great information.

Yes, we are on Cathay Pacific 883--nonstop from LAX--15 hours, 50 minutes...So, when we arrive, it will be the equivalent of 2:10 pm our time--but, who knows how much decent sleep we may have gotten on the plane?

My plan was to, at some time in advance of arriving, to contact the hotel and let them know we are arriving early...We've had luck in the past on several occasions to get checked in early--obviously depending on available rooms--but, if not, we'd likely leave our luggage with the bell service and venture out...

With our cruise, we actually have an overnight in Hong Kong...so there's an additional day to tour about town...and, of course, this is not our first visit, so we are not all that impatient to see everything...I look at this as more of a "rest and recovery" day...

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Stayed there pre cruise in December and were really pleased with our choice of hotel.

The hotel runs a shuttle bus during the day so you can get dropped down to outside the Peninsula if you do not want to do the walk. We walked down each evening, - really safe walk. You will enjoy it because the lights will be the Christmas lights and they were lovely. There is also usually a second light show on land every evening in the area beside the museums.

 

There are restaurants in the square by the hotel and along the road.

Hotel has a lovely rooftop pool so worst case you could lie up there and rest if your room wasn't ready.

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