While reviewing hotel options for Hong Kong we quickly narrowed our search to Kowloon, but had a hard time deciding between a hotel with a harbor view or one located along the metro line. Since it was our first trip we decided to stay near the harbor to ensure some good city photos, and we booked a room at the Marco Polo Hongkong Hotel.

The Marco Polo is on bustling Canton Road in between a number of high-end shops like Chanel, Hermes, Ferragamo, etc. Upon our taxi’s arrival a bellman was there to take care of our bags and open the door to the lobby.

The hotel lobby is also part of a small shopping mall and was quite busy in the run-up to Christmas. There wasn’t a clear waiting area for the reception desk due to the narrow lobby design, but we got into a line and started waiting. After about 5 minutes we were approached by a staff member who apologized for the wait and told us that we would be helped soon. After another 10 minutes she came back to us and asked for our passports and check-in info so she could start the paperwork. Yet another 10 minutes later we finally got to the reception desk… and our room wouldn’t be ready for another hour. Thankfully they were proactive and offered us a free drink at the bar.

The bar had wireless so we checked email, etc for an hour then headed back down to the reception desk for our room key. After another 10 minute wait we finally had our key and went off to our room, and our bags were delivered shortly after. The room decor was a bit more formal than our taste, but it was spacious and comfortable.

Immediately to the left of the door was a small room with the fridge and mini bar that worked quite nicely for our repacking purposes.

so much extra stuff to pack after almost two weeks!

As reported the views from the room were pretty nice:

Even better were the views from the pier directly behind the hotel.

The hotel runs a small terrace bar on the pier which was a nice location for watching the sunset and the city lights come on.

As an unexpected treat, each night we received turn-down service that featured some tasty cookies:

Eric ate most of these…

If we were in Hong Kong to shop at high-end stores this hotel would be perfectly situated. However, to get elsewhere in Hong Kong means a good 10 minute walk to the Tsim Sha Tsui metro station that was the busiest and most crowded station we experienced.

Overall we had a good experience with the MarcoPolo Hong Kong and I would recommend it for someone looking for a comfortable room with a view. On our next trip I think we’d place a higher priority on booking closer to a metro line at a hotel with breakfast or in an area with good breakfast restaurants.