Review: Holiday Inn Golden Mile Hong Kong: handy for Kowloon
By John Walton, September 28 2012
Country
China - Hong Kong
City
Hong Kong
Hotel
Holiday Inn Golden Mile
Notes
The Good
- as you'd expect from a Holiday Inn
- comfortable two-seater sofa
The Bad
- poor soundproofing
- needs a refurb
- expensive wifi
X-Factor
- Nathan Road location
Introduction
Most business travellers will find a hotel on the Hong Kong side of Victoria Harbour the most convenient for their HK business trip, but sometimes your event is Kowloon side, or you fancy making the most of your downtime by basing yourself right in the middle of the hustle and bustle of Nathan Road.
The Holiday Inn Golden Mile -- smack bang in the middle of Kowloon -- looks to be the perfect spot. But was it noisy? Did it measure up to the competition? That's what I went to find out earlier this year.
Location & Impressions
At 50 Nathan Road in Hong Kong's Kowloon district, the Holiday Inn Golden Mile sits right next to Tsim Sha Tsui MTR station, incredibly convenient for just about anywhere you need to get to in Hong Kong.
The hotel itself sits above a shopping centre, so make sure you don't miss it on arrival.
A busy but bright lobby could use a revamp to bring it up to international style -- it's a trifle dated -- but cheerful, friendly and helpful staff had me heading up to my room swiftly.
Room
My Executive Club King Room was a decent size for Hong Kong, although it could have been lit more brightly.
The room was a standard hotel room layout: big rectangle, bathroom on the way to the bedroom, bed, sofa, desk, window.
I'm on record as liking the current batch of Holiday Inn beds, with their squashy mattress topper, but this one was a little firmer than I've found elsewhere -- as one might expect in the Chinese market.
Top marks for a pretty comfy two-seater sofa that I enjoyed curling up on with a book after exploring Nathan Road, with a decent coffee table in front of it.
Extra points for providing a power point on either side of the bed -- it's amazing how many hotels haven't figured out that if you're travelling with your other half you'll both need to charge your phones.
An iHome iPod/iPhone dock-speaker combo was also available and worked well.
Of note was the rather nifty bedhead, an attractively matching set of curtains and standing lamps rather than overhead spots. (The overall light brightness, though, was a bit lacking.)
I also found the large built-in luggage rack useful -- travelling with a hard-sided suitcase can be a balancing act on smaller racks.
The bathroom really needed a refresh, with a shower-over-tub and no detachable hand-held shower wand, but it was clean and had the standard global Holiday Inn toiletries.
Work
A decent desk attached to the wall and a rolling chair are the main options for getting some work done.
They're not especially ergonomic, with the chair unable to be adjusted, so don't plan on working there for the full day, but an evening of getting things done should be relatively comfortable.
Since this is an Executive Club room, the club upstairs is also a decent spot to get some work done -- as well as for breakfast in the mornings and canapé hour in the evenings.
Wifi was just okay, at an eyewatering 140 HKD (A$18) for 24h, and with speeds of 4.2Mbps down and 0.8Mbps up, with a ping of 38ms.
Eat
Breakfast in the executive club was wideranging, with both Asian and Western options, and definitely worth your time in the mornings.
I had lunch in the remarkably authentic Osteria Ristorante Italiano -- not quite up to Melbourne standards, but praiseworthily good.
Room service was a little disappointing in terms of the range of dishes on offer, but the quality was fine, if nothing to write home about.
Relax
The reason to stay here is to be right on top of everything Kowloon has to offer, so you'll probably be heading out of the hotel once your work day is done, or curling up with a book on your comfy two-seater couch.
No world-beating views here, and it was indeed noisy, with music coming in from outside until late into the evening -- so if you're a light sleeper, this might not be the hotel for you, even on a high floor.
But there's a decent rooftop pool, big enough to get some lengths in to work off Hong Kong's restaurant scene, and a small gym upstairs too, if you're still feeling energetic. But be prepared to vary your workout: the gym frankly isn't big enough for the hotel.
Summary
The Holiday Inn Golden Mile is a solid offering in Hong Kong, with an ideal location if you want to be on this side of the harbour.
Its fittings are dated -- the bathroom especially -- but the room layout and furnishings are well thought through, and things are in good condition.
But the noise from outside is a problem, and it's a problem that can be fixed relatively easily with soundproofing. So if you want quiet, a view, something more luxurious, or don't want to feel like you could be in any other Holiday Inn in the world, you might want to think elsewhere.
Aviation journalist and travel columnist John took his first long-haul flight when he was eight weeks old and hasn't looked back since. Well, except when facing rearwards in business class.
United Airlines - Mileage Plus
29 Jan 2011
Total posts 157
I have been staying here for several years now and agree with everything that's been said.
I always stay in an Executive Club room and sometmes I can avoid the need to eat out for dinner by taking advantage of the drinks & food in the Club Lounge.
One other thing, it's just up the road from the well known "Spring Deer" restaurant which is a must.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
10 May 2011
Total posts 732
I like the hotel but am biased, my uncle used to be the GM here back in 2002 and managed the hotel 3 years and I visited him many times. He stayed on the top floor in a huge apt (where the exec lounge is) After he left I think they extended the exec lounge with his apt (new GM opted not to stay in hotel) i have very fond memories and think the spot is great. I also liked their German bakery in the basement and the Chinese restaurant was good too (not sure if either exists anymore, from memory they did not have the Italian restaurant). The location is fantastic (although the Sheraton down the road is a bit better as they have rooms with harbour view, but room rate wise they are morwe expensive). Nice review, as mentioned, brings back good memories (esp since my uncle passed away).
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
29 Mar 2012
Total posts 43
I love the Hyatt Regency Tsim Sha Tsui. It really is just your stock standard western hotel, but it is in a new, modern building, and the K11 shopping centre is underneath. Easy access to Tsim Sha Tsui MTR station and only a 2 minute train ride to central. Definetly reccomend it!
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