Hotel Name: Silka Seaview Hotel
Address: 250 Shanghai St, Yau Ma Tei, Hong Kong.
I stayed at the Silka Seaview Hotel in Hong Kong. I booked it online at Hotels.com and picked it for the combination of price and location.
The Silka Seaview Hotel is a 3-star hotel in Yau Ma Tei, which is one of my preferred locations to stay in Hong Kong. This is on the Kowloon side of the harbour, three stops on the metro from the waterfront. The closer you get to the waterfront, the more expensive it gets. As a result the area around Jordan and Yau Ma Tei have become more popular. The area still retains a vibrant street life that has come to be associated with Hong Kong.
The hotel is a few minutes walk from the Yau Ma Tei metro, and it’s on an intersection that’s easy to find. I got the Airport Express train to Kowloon, and walked from the station to the hotel. I was greeted by a friendly reception staff and I then went to my room.
If you haven’t been to Hong Kong before, then the room sizes may be a shock to the system. Depending on what list you read, Hong Kong has the most expensive real estate, and smallest rooms. In addition to paying for location, you are paying per square inch here. Having said that I was surprised with how roomy my room was, given it’s a budget hotel. It also helped that I booked a room with a window, which is an important consideration in making a room feel bigger.
My bed was comfortable and it had useful bedside lights. There were no power outlets near the bed though, so I had to get by with charging my phone on the table by the window.
There are tea and coffee making facilities in the room. Bottled drinking water wasn’t supplied.
The room has a safe and a mini bar. There is free wifi at the hotel, and I had no problem with the connection. There is a password to login and it only required a daily login.
The bathroom was also spacious (by Hong Kong standards) with a separate shower area, and it was generally clean and modern in appearance.
During my stay I wondered why the hotel was called “Seaview”, so when I went to breakfast the mystery was solved. Breakfast is on the 19th floor, and from here there is a sea view. It’s not much of a view but technically you can see the sea. Where the hotel is located used to be close to the sea, but over the decades land has steadily been reclaimed and the hotel is firmly inland.
My room rate didn’t include breakfast, so I had breakfast here one morning for a very reasonable 55 HKD ($7 USD). The breakfast is a small buffet of western and Chinese-style breakfast options.
The breakfast area is also a lounge and restaurant during the day.
The hotel is opposite the Yau Ma Tei public gardens. It’s rare to find any kind of public space in Hong Kong, let alone space that has greenery.
Inside the gardens is the Tin Hau Temple. With the temple across the road and the bustle of the markets in the surrounding streets, you really feel like you are in Hong Kong here.
Overall this was a great place to stay in Hong Kong if you are looking for a centrally-located budget hotel. It was good value for money and it’s ideally located if you are a tourist. Book the Silka Seaview Hotel online or search for more hotels in Hong Kong.
