Job Discussion Forums

[kimchikowboy]

Hi,
I'm getting married in just under a month. My fiance would like to go to Hong Kong (we're in Korea) for our honeymoon. Could anyone tell me a great and romantic place to stay? We'd like a hotel with a nice view and somewhere near tourist attractions and shopping.
Also, any must-see places? I know locals have a better sense of the amazing than what might be covered in tourist brochures.
Thanks for any advice.

[foster]

There are plenty of nice and pricey hotels near the waterfront, which offers a nice view. I have heard the Peninsula is very nice. I know people who stayed at the YMCA Salisbury and they also have nice rooms with views.

Must see....romance...hhhmmmm

1. The Peak. You can go up on the Tram, have dinner at the top over looking the city and wander around and take cheezy tourist photos. (pardon the sarcasm- I do it too when on holiday!! )

2. Lantau Island Big Sitting Buddha

3. Stanley Market. Beautiful sea side views and great shopping, if that is your thing.

4. Temple Night market near Jordan Station. Opens at 7 or 8p.m. and has loads of touristy and chinese things to buy

5. Lan Kwai Fong on a Friday/Saturday night....night spot for the locals and xpats, but a must see.

6. Star Ferry from Central and TST. Cheapest way across the harbour and very nice at night.

7. Many nice hiking trails such as Sai Kung, Chinese UNiversity (across from there)

8. Lamma Island has great seafood restaurants and lovely views of beaches and nature.

9. Macau has some nice hotels and the casinos, if you are into that sort of thing.

Check out www.discoverhongkong.com or www.hkta.org

Good luck!! Have a good honeymoon!

[kimchikowboy]

Thanks for the advice. If you're ever in Daegu....

[foster]

Careful...haven't been to that part of Korea...just may take you up on that!

[Scott in HK]

I would like to make a suggestion...more than one in fact...

one...don't come just to hong kong...often you get flights to a nice beach destination and then stay over in hk for a couple of days before you go home or on the way there...

two...cheapest seaview that I know of is the ymca...

[kimchikowboy]

Scott,
Thanks for the advice, but we've only got a long weekend for the honeymoon. I work at a uni, and this is mid-semester. The date was chosen to take advantage of a free ceremony as part of the uni's anniversary celebration. Also, the little woman and I are not really beach people. More into city sights.
Also, thanks for the hotel advice, but YMCA doesn't exactly evoke romance for me (no offense intended to any Village People devotees). I saw their website, and know it's not what one typically thinks of as a YMCA, but if possible we'd like to a little more luxurious. After all, you only get married two or three times in life usually, so the honeymoon should be special.
Foster,
I was going to write, "If you're ever in Daegu, run screaming to the airport."
OK, nice place to live, but not much to see.

[Joachim]

Go to Sha Tin to see the 10,000 Buddhas Monastery - the views are incredible and the HK heritage museum is nearby - which is shockingly enough, very interesting.

The Grand Hyatt in Wan Chai is very nice - with great sea views and spacious rooms, which can be hard to find here.

And if you're hiking fans, head for the trails to Lantau Peak or Lamma - it's a good idea to see some of the outlying islands and try the seafood if time permits.

have a long and happy life together now!

[Roger]

Suggestion: Stay in that 3-star hotel - forgot its name but there are no two 3-star hotels on CHEUNG CHAU island.
This is one of the more popular dormitory towns off HK island, totally car-free, with good air, and long hiking trails and a sandy beach plus a couple of temples. Good shopping and many good eateries.
Just under one hour by ferry from Central. Beats any other location! And not more than half as expensive as any 3-star hotel in town!

[jenny-pnet]

Might end up being a bit hot for hiking. Weather is starting to warm up now.

[dandan]

People, people! The key phrases here are 'honeymoon' 'romance' 'luxurious' 'once in a lifetime' 'more into city sights' why's everyone telling him to go hiking? He's on a honeymoon weekend fer chrissakes, he's not going to have any energy left for hiking.

If you want a luxury hotel all the usual suspects spring to mind, The Penininsula, Mandarin Oriental, Island Shangrila (all will have views if you get the right room- more expensive of course) . The cheapest way to get a good hotel is usually with a flight/hotel deal from a travel agent/airline (obviously not a tour, just a flight/hotel package). If the top end is too expensive then any 4 OR 5 - star hotel in HK will be pretty good, check about views with the hotel.

For that 'once in a lifetime' romantic meal I'd reccomend either Amigos in Happy Valley (fantastic, rich, French food, superb service, cosy old-fashioned atmosphere) or Restaurant Petrus at the top floor of the Island Shangrila (French again, a little more modern style cuisine, excellent service). Expect to drop at least HK1000 per person.

For romantic sights, I guess a Tram ride to the peak and dinner at Cafe Deco, a night out in Lan Kwai Fong/SOHO/Wan Chai. The rest of the time you'll be in your hotel room, right?

Alternatively, if you want to beat the world record for fastest divorce you could suggest a bit of hiking.

[kimchikowboy]

Thanks for the suggestions, and please keep them coming.
Dandan, please don't be too hard on the others. Thanks for the romantic suggestions, but the missus and I do like hiking. Though I'm inclined to agree it might be too hot, and our energies might best be spent in other pursuits.
We'll probably do the flight and hotel combo, so hotel suggestions are helpful. I spent yesterday looking at hotel sites on the net, but sometimes advertisers are prone to exaggerate a wee bit.

[Scott in HK]

another option....and i know i am straying from what the op asked for dan...but bear with me....is macau...they have some nice resorts over there...and some really romantice hotels...and you have gambling...

[delian]

Hi - IMHO Macau is rather romantic for a short honeymoon. Especially if you stay somewhere like the Westin and go to Fernando's Restaurant down the beach. (I know, it's so bourgeois, but hey, it's nice!) At the Westin you can get bumped up to one their 'superior' rooms pretty easily - the beds are great () and the sea-view rooms have great private balconies overlooking the ocean. Fernando's is just a walk down the beach and is also really nice to spend long lunches and dinners eating some pretty good food for a lot cheaper than you'd find in Hong Kong. Of course, if you're set on coming to HK, the Peninsula is also nice. The Sunday bruch at the InterContinental (Harbourview) is a great spread as well - good seafood and all the champagne you can drink for $280 HK (not extremely cheap, but you can eat and drink a lot - and it is your honeymoon...) Maybe I'm stating the obvious, but I think you should book ahead for any of these places (including the restaurants).

Have a great trip whatever you do.

[Eunoia]

When some friends of mine and I visited HK last Sept., we booked through a travel agent in Seoul - he set us up in a NICE hotel (Grand Stanford Intercontinental, I think - rated 4 stars) overlooking the harbour on the Kowloon side. The flight and 2 nights was just over 500,000 Won each, if I remember correctly. You might want to contact some travel agencies here in Korea and see if you can get some kind of packaged deal.

Or, try booking online, often hotels and airlines give discounts through the internet - I know Asiana had a deal on international flights in April (20% discount if booked online), and I think that has been extended.

Check out www.flyasiana.com and hit the link to "Foreigners Site"

[kimchikowboy]

Hi guys,
We're leaving Friday. Any more suggestions? Thanks for the advice so far.