I love the idea of this post came to mind several minutes ago. When I do a continuous trip, I think it’s better to sum up my stay experience into one post instead of pushing it into several review post. As usual, the disclaimer: I write this based on my personal experience and got none whatsoever to make it up into somebody or some company’s desire.
HOTEL IN HONG KONG: SANDHU HOTEL, HARILELA MANSION, TSIM SHA TSUI, KOWLOON
The first time I went to Hong Kong five years ago, I stayed in one of the most famous mansion there is, Chungking Mansion. And based on my experience, I don’t really like my stay there but I do like the area. It’s close to two MTR Station – Tsim Sha Tsui and East Tsim Sha Tsui – and walking distance to Avenue of Stars, Ferry Terminal, and of course 7eleven and Sasa. Hihihi. When I looked for Ubermamajourney’s place of stay, I knew I want to stay in the Tsim Sha Tsui area but totally not in Chungking Mansion. I have this noble goal to make mom loves Hong Kong and not getting any bad experience staying there, even for a short time. Other consideration for this particular Raya Holiday is that, if possible, the hotel needs to be close to a mosque. Mom is a dedicated moslem and I know she would want to do Eid Pray though she didn’t mention it to me. Thankfully, there is a mosque in the area which is Kowloon Mosque. Other requirements: clean room, free wifi, open 24 hour in-house reception, and rate no more than IDR800.000 per night (Hong Kong is our first stop, so we’re still going to be in a fresh state and no need to upscale our stay.. Hehehe..). So the search began.
After careful, time-consuming, room-rate-shocking moment, I finally found Sandhu Hotel in Harilela Mansion, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon. It matches all of our criteria!
We had a hard time finding the mansion, though, the taxi driver didn’t really know where is it as it’s not as famous as Chungking Mansion or Mirador Mansion. And when we found Harilela Mansion, turned out, they were doing some facade upgrade and some maintenance work so there was a tarp covering the name ‘Harilela Mansion’ itself. Hahaha. For a direction guide, Harilela Mansion is located on the other road across Chungking Mansion and Mirador Mansion. It is VERY close to Kowloon Mosque.

One thing I like about this mansion is that the elevator is located inside a closed-building and not in the hallway where people can walk pass you to get to the other end though they don’t stay in the building. The reception is located in the same building (be careful when you want to book hotel in mansions in Tsim Sha Tsui, some hotels open the reception in other building – yes, no matter how bizarre that is. :D), on 13th floor. The rooms are available on 13th annd 14th floor; we were lucky to get the room on the 13th floor, close to the reception counter.
The room is, of course, small in size, but even mom was impressed at how compact it is. We chose twin bed; it is equipped with two tables (one in between the bed, one in the end of one bed), one refrigerator, a TV, a kettle, an air conditioning, two sandals, en-suite bathroom with hot shower, and an international plug. The room was spotless, the wifi connection was fast, and the receptionists were more than happy to assist you on everything. They also provide hot water, tea, and sugar in the counter near the reception. Sadly, they don’t provide microwave.

We got all what we’re looking for in Sandhu Hotel, Harilela Mansion, Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon. The location was amazingly strategic, the staff were great, the room was clean, and everything was just perfect we even asked if we could extend for one more night (which was sadly, we couldn’t, as our room has already been booked by other guest). Plus point for a moslem: it is near a mosque and there are many halal foods to get around the area. 😉 Or basically, you can always go to any 7eleven and pick a halal frozen food there.
I rank Sandhu Hotel Harilela Mansion Tsim Sha Tsui a 4/5.

HOTEL IN SHENZHEN: WELCOME INN HOTEL, LUOHU
We posed a basic expectation before we went to this hotel: clean comfortable room with an en-suite bathroom and close to the metro station.
The room was clean, although the cleanliness level can surely be raised. We chose twin room and it was a really big room. Comfortable? Comme ci comme ca as the French say. Bad thing about this hotel is that it’s failed to explain how the hell to get into their hotel because although it’s actually near the metro station, it was a confusing route for us to find in the first place. For a guide: take metro to Grand Theater Station, take Exit E and walk through the wide indoor walkway till you reach The MIXC Mall. Go up till you meet Pizza Hut on the right. Go up again on the escalator right in front of KFC and Breadtalk. Go out of the building and you shall see Shenzhen Aesthetic Surgery Hospital in front of you. Walk towards the road beside the hospital and turn right at the first junction. Walk again till you see the signboard below.
They only have the escalator there, take the escalator up to third floor for reception and rooms.
The staff barely speaks English but worry not, just smile and be patient, they will find a way to make the conversation smooth and enjoyable via … translation phone apps! 😀 Just write what you want to say or ask then give the phone back to them. They will do the same when giving response. Hehehe. There was this one particular cleaning lady who was so nice and kind to us, helping us finding our room for the first time, greeted us ‘Ni hao..’ everytime she sees us (which is only two times during our stay, actually) but that was about it. It was an okay experience, not good, just okay.
Oh! They give free tea and sugar, though. Hehehe. Kettle is available in the room also! 😀
PS: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google are totally blocked in Shenzhen. You can access Path, but funny thing is, your location will show you’re in Hong Kong! Hehehe. (I hope this writing doesn’t make them put more effort in blocking Path also. WE NEED …. SOCIAL MEDIA ACCESS!! Hihihi.)
I rank Welcome Inn Hotel Luohu a 3/5
HOTEL IN MACAU: BEST WESTERN HOTEL, SUN SUN, MACAU CITY
I planned our stay in Macau to be our icing on the cake, best hotel compared to the one in Shenzhen and Hong Kong. And yes I made the right choice to book this Best Western Hotel in Sun Sun, Macau City.
It is located a bit outside the Senado Square area so it means less noise and crowd; yet close enough to enjoy the attraction. To get to this hotel, eventhough the name suggested that it’s famous, was a bit tricky. Our taxi driver doesn’t speak and read English and our confirmation letter from Travelio states nothing in Mandarin. Even when I said ‘Best Western Sun Sun’, the driver didn’t understand. So I asked him to call the number in the confirmation letter to ask for direction. If possible, when you book any hotel in Macau, send the hotel an email to ask for the hotel and address in Mandarin. Trust me, you need it. 😀
I believe Best Western Hotel Sun Sun is new, or if it’s not new, then it is taking over one old hotel on the management side. All of our toiletries embossed with ‘Hotel Sun Sun’ only and not ‘Best Western Hotel Sun Sun’, the reception area is new and located on the side in what seems to be the dining area full of retro decor. They do have a white hotel counter in the middle of the lobby but it wasn’t used (yet) at the time of our arrival. The ushers were so nice and composed. The receptionist was okay. A bit unwelcoming, but still considered okay. Welcome drink and fruit is available to grab near the counter.
There is a park in front of the hotel, and bus station with bus going to The Venetian and other destinations is available in walking distance. 7eleven is also within walking distance. We got a room with a nice view on the 11th floor. Our room itself is pretty spacious with an en-suite bathroom, an England-inspired-retro-looking fridge, a big table, a wardrobe, and the standard kettle and tea.
I rank Best Western Hotel Sun Sun Macau a 4/5
So those are all three hotels me and mom stayed at during our Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Macau Raya Holiday. Hope it can be a good insight for you who are looking for stay in the same country. 😀 Till my next post!
Senyum dulu ah.. 🙂
Ntar mau cekiceki satu-satu harganya ah. Nampaknya mahal 😀 Ada rekomen hostel tipe dorm nggak di sana?
Di ‘sana’-nya yang mana nih, Om? Hong Kong kah?
iya hongkong berapaan rata2 lan 🙂
Ini hotel kecil kayak gini aja 750rb per malam, Mas. Di bawah itu ada sih, tapi keadaannya kurang bagus dan kurang bersih. Di atas 750 = BANYAK! Hehehehe.