Job Discussion Forums

YellowHair · Joined: 29 Apr 2006 Posts: 41 Location: HK

Hello once again board members. I am trying to get a head start on apt. hunting so will be prepared if and when I get a PNET offer.

I would prefer to find a serviced suite or flat for around 6-9000/month. I do not know any links that allow this type of search, so was wondering if any of you know any websites that would be useful.

Also, does anyone know anything about the Horizon Suite Hotel in Ma On Shan. My fiance and I saw an ad for this and are going to try to check it out next weekend. I'd love to hear if anyone knows anything about it via personal or word-of-mouth experience.

For those of you who are curious, here is the website:

http://www.horizonsuitehotel.com/eng/index.html

YH

anninhk · Joined: 08 Oct 2005 Posts: 284

It is a very nice place. One drawback could be its location as it is not in the centre of things. If you have a school in that area then it would be fine. There is a train now from Ma On Shan that links to the KCR and then to the MTR and the buses but I didn't think it was feasible to live there as I work in Shek Kip Mei and have to be at school by 7.20 - it would have meant leaving about 6.20.

hkteach · Joined: 29 May 2005 Posts: 202 Location: Hong Kong

I lived in Horizon Suites for my first year here.

At the time, I was working locally so it was handy to school. It's also a reasonable bus trip to Sai Kung which was a good thing because Ma On Shan doesn't have much at all in the way of entertainment. On the weekends, I spent a lot of time going back and forth to HK Island.
There are plenty of restaurants in the vicinity, including a couple which do pretty good western food - one nearby and one in the shopping plaza.

They provided free shuttle buses to KCR University station and Shatin and a shuttle to TST for about $10. (although now the KCR goes out there, things may have changed)

The 2 bedroom suites are small but well designed and have ceramic tile floors, split cane sofa and a couple of chairs, tv + tv unit, 2 bedrooms - one with queen bed big wardrobe and dressing table/desk and the other with two bunks, desk and smallish wardrobe.
You need to buy your own kitchen things, iron + board.
Pool is great, gym is small. On site coin laundry if you don't want to use the machine in your suite.

Don't be hooked in by their ads which offer 'serviced apartments' from $6800 HKD per month. Of all the people I knew there, NOBODY got an apartment for that. We were paying 9000+ (depending on whether you wanted cleaning, a seaview, a parkview or streetview and whether you opted to pay your own electicity by meter or just pay a set amount per month ....opt for the meter.... much cheaper).

The prices are a bit hard to work out, but basically seem to be based on supply and demand. At certain times of the year (i.e. when new NETs arrive, prices are usually higher)

One BIG drawback for me (apart from the location) was that they provided cable tv from icable. There was NO option for residents to have any other provider.

All up, not a bad option for a short term (you don't need to buy furniture) but most expats seem to stay for just a year (or less) and then move out.

ironopolis · Joined: 01 Apr 2004 Posts: 379

I've been thinking along the same lines as yellowhair and had seen the Horizon website too.

I suspected that, as anywhere, from a certain price means you ain't gonna be paying that price unless an awful lot of things coincide. Still, the figure you mentioned, hkteach, seems not too bad. Do you remember what you opted in and out of to come to that total?

Actually, as hkteach seems a veritable gold mine of useful information I'll be cheeky and ask a couple of other questions? Did you have to book your place there far in advance or did they seem to have plenty of room available even in the summer? Did you sign up for a year there from the start and have to stick to that, or is the contract you arrange flexible?

A few people have suggested a serviced apartment for when you first arrive, which seems to make a lot of sense. But I was wondering how flexible they are. I'd expect you might get a better deal if you sign up for longer; but does that mean there's a penalty for moving out early if you find a proper place to live quicker than you expected? On the other hand, if you sign up for a shorter period and end up wanting to stay longer, are they likely to kick you out because someone else is waiting for the suite you've been in?

Sorry, that's more than a couple of Qs, but the websites of the serviced apartments I've looked at don't seem to give much info about prices and conditions. Is this a HK thing for service type businesses to keep prices close to their chest? I'd also noticed looking at a few HK car websites that hardly any have any details of prices Question

BCinHK · Joined: 27 Oct 2005 Posts: 35 Location: Hong Kong

There are quite a few serviced suites listed at asiaxpat: http://hongkong.asiaxpat.com/property/serviced.asp
Of course some are WAY beyond a NET's special allowance (even when you add salary, retention incentive and gratutity). Last year we stayed for a week at the Four Seasons Place in a $90K/month 2-bedroom suite - it was lovely and worth every penny according to our friends who rented it.

There are NETs at the Goldcoast (Tuen Mun), Harbour Plaza Resort City in Tin Shui Wai, and Royal Plaza at Mong Kong KCR (easy to find with a google search) - and they may still offer a slight reduction for NETs.

hkteach · Joined: 29 May 2005 Posts: 202 Location: Hong Kong

Yes, well a few of us were discussing the $6800 suite/s and someone said they'd heard there was one... it was around the back overlooking either the carpark or the kitchen yard. Don't know if that's true, but as I said, nobody had one at that price....
I paid almost 11,000 and that didn't include cleaning service but it incuded free phone line + $100 of calls per month. I can't remember if I had to pay cable tv and broadband but I had to pay my electricity bill by meter, rather than pay the fixed rate... think it was 1500 per month.
Colleagues had apartments for around 9000 (either no seaview or lower floor) and others paid a bit more than me because they wanted cleaning service.

When I was there, they offered 12 month leases and month by month. But the 12 month worked out cheaper and gave a bit more security.... on a month by month, rent could vary - always upwards.
Some NETs who'd moved in there during their second year ended up at schools quite far away from MOS for their third year, and wanted to move before 12 months were up, but were not permitted to break their leases. They had to either pay out a few months of their lease or have a big trip to and from school. Not happy!

RE. the shuttle buses.........they also had another one to Diamond Hill. All the shuttles run fairly frequently.

hkteach · Joined: 29 May 2005 Posts: 202 Location: Hong Kong

Sorry........... no I didn't have to book at Horizon Suites far in advance. I just went there one day, had a look and made arrangements to move in a week later. No problem.
The suites at Royal Plaza in Mongkok/Prince Edward were not too badly priced, but they put the prices up by a lot last year and at least one NET who was a long-term tenant had to move due to rent far exceeding the housing allowance.
In the same area there's the Royal Park Hotel in Shatin - direct access to New Town Plaza. You can rent a large room with kitchenette by the month, but don't know the rent. Very convenient.......right across the street from KCR and bus station

There are apartments at Harbour Plaza in Hung Hom, but 4 years ago a 1 bedroom place was 16,000 but a year later were more than 18,000. Heaven knows what they are now.

You can also stay at the Panda Hotel in Tsuen Wan - don't know the rent though.

ironopolis · Joined: 01 Apr 2004 Posts: 379

Many thanks, hkteach.

islanddreamer · Joined: 22 Oct 2004 Posts: 28

We lived at the Horizon Suites for a few months on their 'long-stay' package. We paid about $11,000 for a low floor with sea view. Paying monthly we would have paid around $18,000 for the same room.

We then decided to move out into something bigger and cheaper - with two kids the two-bedroomed suites are pretty cramped. We moved to a village house with a rooftop and paid $6000 a month.

However, we had to pay a whopping $22,000 for the privilege of moving out of Horizon Suite, even after giving them a month's notice. We then had to completely furnish our new home, and it took us ages to recover financially from all this.

So make sure that you really want to stay there before you sign any leases with them!

starfall · Joined: 03 Jun 2005 Posts: 18 Location: hong kong

Yes, don't go taking out a long-term lease because you do get penalized if you break it.

YellowHair · Joined: 29 Apr 2006 Posts: 41 Location: HK

My fiance and I went to check out the Horizon Suite Hotel this evening. The room they showed was ok. The decorations were nothing fancy. They said that they could not show us the clubhouse due to privacy issues with the current occupants (found that to be a bit odd.)

We asked about the 6800 ad. They said that they have one room on the 2nd floor for that price but it is occupied. I asked about the different room sizes advertised on the webpage. They said that they weren't really all that different in size (yet website shows floorplans for the two bedrooms varying from 600 up to around 800 sq. ft. if I recall correctly).

The price quoted for a year-long lease was 9800 for city view and between 10800 to 14000 for sea-view a month excluding maid service and with by the meter utilities. The showman said that one month leases were going for around 17000 for the same suite. I asked if the rates were fixed and he claimed that they were for the year long contracts. However, I trust his words about as much as I do those of a used car salesman.

Needless to say, I believe we will be looking in other directions.

Best of luck to anyone else out there looking and be sure to let us know if you find anything/place worth sharing info about (good or bad).

hkteach · Joined: 29 May 2005 Posts: 202 Location: Hong Kong

Are you sure both sizes are for 2 bedroom suites? I only ask because EVERY 2 bedroom suite I went into was identical in layout and furnishings. The only differences were the accessories that people put in to make the place more personal.

It's a good idea to get an overview of what's available, but it would be too risky to arrange accommodation without knowing where you'll be working otherwise you could be doing a BIG trip to and from school each day. (I changed schools this year and didn't change apartments, so have an hour-long trip with multiple transport changes meaning I have 11 hour days which I find quite exhausing.

If you're already in HK you'll already be aware of this, but those prospective NETs who aren't here/haven't been here may think that the place is small when in fact HK covers quite a geographical area..

If you do want to get something in advance, the more central places or those with good transport links would be a much better bet...... perhaps the Panda Hotel at Tsuen Wan might be good for a short-term option?? from there you can get a bus/minibus or the MTR to lots of areas. You could take the KCR West Rail out to Yuen Long/Tin Shui Wai etc. if that's where you end up working.

hkleaver · Joined: 14 May 2007 Posts: 4

Just some further information. The Royal Plaza Mongkok have increased their rates substantially. In 2005, I stayed for a month and it was $18,000K. Not a good option. As always, where you live depends on how much you pay.
A few good options to look at from the Kowloon side are the follwing.

The following information applies to all these apartments. You can get you to Kowlon Tong, Hung Hom, the KCR Mongkok, Kowloon City, TST, all within 20 minutes (being generous here with times)! If you want to get to HK island from here there are a few options. The cross harbour tunnel has squillions of buses and you'll get one at least every 2 minutes. Buses can be taken behind the KCR. KCR train to TST East and walk through to TST MTR. Taxi from Central costs about $80HK one way and includes toll fees. LOts of eating options at TST - good Indian, Korean, Japanese, pubs and bars too. Knutsford Terrace restaurants are all around a $20-30 taxi. City Super supermarket is at TST and also Marks and Spencer. Taste is at Kowloon Tong and is the best supermarket however.

Lagunda Verde - Lovely views, clubhouse, close to some good shopping, good supermarkets. It is full of Japanese, Koreans, Australians and NZs. Mini bus to KCR and TST available.

Royal Peninsula is also good. Opposite KCR, close to shopping again, close to the others. Expats and locals. Have club house and pool as well.

The Metropolis Residence is right at the KCR Hung Hom. Supermarket, 7 eleven, food court, ATM's, Watson's and also a great laundry service. Mainly expats UK, US, Korean, Japanese, Mainlanders, Aussies .. v international. Very stylish inside. No clubhouse or pool. Amazing roof top views though.

Horizon Harbourview were doing special offers for 6 months for HKD 9,990 p/month. Now I know these have all gone. The next price bracket is $11,000. Includes, clubhouse, gym, great pools etc. Fully furnished but would have to check the serviced option. Mini bus to TST, KCR and MTR available.

All these places are very safe. 24 security. No-one can get in unless they have a code or have registered as guests. No issues whatsoever here. Rent will vary according to views and size of apartment. I have a 2 bedroom at the Metropolis. I work in Kowloon city. 15 minutes by bus. It is fully furnished and I pay $13,500 per month. No servicing...but you don't need it. Takes 5 minutes to clean.

Buzz me if you need more info...

briandwest · Joined: 10 Feb 2006 Posts: 98 Location: Hong Kong

Be careful with Harbourview Horizon as it's right next to a busy container port and flyover - some rooms will be very noisy. The waterfront garden is continually blocked by moored ships. Also, it's a horrible 10 mins walk from there to the shops / restaurants through a freeway tunnel. There is a longer route by the water but it's then about 20 mins to the shops. There is also a huge area of reclaimed land next to it that is up for sale this year so be prepared for serious building work over the next few years.

Laguna Verde is a very nice complex, but I'm not sure they do serviced apartments. It's also pretty pricey and about 15% of the quoted floor space is accounted for by shared facilites. One other thing to remember is that when the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal gets the go-ahead a new MTR station is going to be built right next to Laguna Verde so building work will extensive.