Staying at Apple Hostel Chungking Mansion


"Never stay at Chungking Mansion", "Please avoid this place", "You have to wait for the lift for half an hour"... I ran through the comments on tripadvisor from travelers who have stayed at Chungking Mansion. I was wondering, is this place really that bad? "The traveler" inside myself decided to try and experience it by myself. I would like to know, how bad is bad?  

"Is it ok if we stay at Chungking Mansion for our last night in Hong Kong? It's only HKD 300 per night for the two of us. The cheapest room I could get so far" I asked Rene, before clicking the reserve button in booking.com. Rene asked me how the review on tripadvisor was. I told him that many travellers complaint about Chungking Mansion, but the Apple Hostel I choose had positive reviews. He said ok, and I proceed the booking.

We spent our first night at Causewaybay Inn, a modern and affordable hostel located at Times Square Hong Kong. Because our itinerary was exploring Tsim Sha Tsui area on the second night, I had the idea to stay at Tsim Sha Tsui. Well in terms of location, Chungking Mansion is perfect. Just minutes away from Kowloon Mosque, MTR Station, and Star Ferry Terminal.  

The busy Chungking Mansion at night

When we stepped into the building, some guys approached us offering a room. We said we had our room already and walked faster heading to the elevator. There were two buildings, A and B, each has separate elevators. We walked to the B building and amazed (I try to be positive here. Amazed sounds real positive right?:D) with the queue in front of the elevators. 

The elevator was so small, it could carry only 5 persons. When they have luggage, it could only carry maximum 3 person. So imagine how long you have to wait for your turn!




We joined the queue for the even floors elevator, because Apple Hostel located on 10th floor. I don't know why in the world they have two elevators: one will stop only on odd floors number, and the other one was to reach hostel located on the even floors. After 20 minutes of waiting, we finally made it to Apple Hostel and greeted by two friendly staffs.

The common area of Apple Hostel


One staff ushered us to our room, maybe she noticed how sad our face was when she showed us the room:p "You know Hong Kong, space is very limited and expensive" I couldn't agree more, but still I was disappointed by the room provided.  I should not complaint though, it was only HKD 300 per night. 

That bed is for two person:p


We had to catch our early morning flight, and Chungking Mansion was perfect for this. At 3 am we checked out and cross the road. The bus stop for Airport Bus is located just across the building. 




I saw families with children staying at Chungking Mansion. I would never recommend families staying here. Aside from the waiting time for the elevators, I also concern about the safety. There were hundreds of hostel inside the building. How if there's a fire in the building? 

Lesson learned, I would never stay at any hostels in Chungking Mansion again. Hostels around Tsim Sha Tsui are more expensive and other areas in Hong Kong, but I am willing to pay more next time:D


written on December 3, 2014 by @tesyasblog


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6 comments:

  1. I stayed in a hostel in fortress hill area :) and I don't know why, somehow I love this area more than others. It wasn't tourist area, it is residential area hence I can easily found Supermarket and restaurant :)

    Tapi ngga ramaai kayak tsim tsa sui atau central atau nathan road gitu kak

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    1. Sadly, I have never been to Fortress Hill area before. Well, I have now a reason to visit HK once more. Hehehehe :)

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  2. OMG jeng, kamu stay di Chungking Mansion? oh no...aku ajah waktu itu survey dulu kesitu baru sampe lobinya aja udah parno. Sama persis dalam bayanganku ini kalo kebakaran gimanaaaa....

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    1. Hahhaha iya nih dari iseng2 nyoba, dan pikir check in malam, check out jam tiga pagi, gpp lah sekali-kali. Eh ternyata tetep aja kapok:D

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  3. Hi kak. Salam kenal. Jadi semua guest house di chungking mansion pasti akan ngalamin cuma ada 2 lift ya? Untung baca postingannya. Baru kepikir nginep di guesthouse yg ada di chungking mansion (krn review agoda bagus), jadi pikir-pikir lagi deh. Thx kak :)

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    1. Salam kenal juga Kak, aku sih bukan karena lift nya aja, tapi faktor safety itu Kak. Hehehe..
      Coba liat review aku yg Causewaybay Inn, cakep hostlnya.

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