Grand View hotel in North Point

Because we decided to go to Hong Kong at the last minute, I hadn't had my whole itinerary ready beforehand and we had to plan most of the things during our trip. Right before we left for Hong Kong, we got the tickets from Hong Kong to Korea, but we still had a few days left in Hong Kong without a hotel room. It happened to be around Golden week public holiday too, so it was almost impossible to book a hotel room in the week before, without paying outrageous prices. The only hotel that we could find that was still affordable was the Grand View hotel in North point.

Grand View hotel in North Point Hong Kong night view from window room
 Night view from the Grand View hotel room window





Grand view hotel

We were a bit wary of the unusual, relatively low room rate and when we arrived, we found out that it was, because they were in the process of renovating the entrance and other parts of the hotel. But it didn't hinder us at all during our whole stay. They planned everything in the afternoon and I was never in the hotel during those times, because I left in the early mornings and returned during or after dinner time. I was also not inconvenienced by the entrance that was cut in half, as the friendly porter offered to help us bring our luggage inside and the scaffolding was wrapped up neatly, so nothing could suddenly drop on us. We did end up in old looking rooms (with a bath room in the same state; toilet with weak flushing and a not very clean bath tub) and we had a slightly depressing street view from the windows, but it was okay for the couple of days that we were there. The elevators are a bit slow, so it is best to let the person who is ready first to go out and press the elevator button ahead of time. The scent in the room and in the hallway can be a bit not so fresh, so if you are sensitive to scent, it is best to bring a room spray. 

Surroundings

Breakfast was not included, but across the street of the hotel, there is a small, local Chinese bakery with very affordable prices and there are lots of eateries nearby, such as the Michelin star, budget dim sum restaurant, Tim Ho Wan (添好運), and Ocean Empire Congee (海皇粥店). I had dim sum at the nearby Fung Shing restaurant (鳳城酒家) with my aunt (no pictures, because it was a family gathering). The tables were a bit too close to each other and we needed to wait for a while, before we were seated, as it was full house, but the dim sum was reasonably good. They also brought out chairs for us to sit on, while we waited for a table.  

The crowded wet market is basically right outside of the hotel, so you are forced to walk through it every time, you go in and out of the hotel. The walking space in the street of where the hotel is located, is very narrow, wet/slippery, and uneven (don't wear heels!). I often walked in between the tram rails in the middle of the road, as it is the best place to walk on (watch out for the tram though!). Every once in a while, you may also get water drops falling on your head from the air conditioning of the apartments above. But it isn't as bad as it may sound, as it is just a short walk of a few minutes.

Turn left when you exit the hotel to reach King's road, where you can almost find everything you need. Two different supermarkets are within 5 min walk: 2 Wellcome supermarkets on King's road and the PARKnSHOP supermarket on Fort street 19. There is a small Metropole mall with affordable fashion brands, such as Giordano, G2000, Baleno, a Jusco Living Plaza (HK$12 shop), and a large Esprit outlet on the top floor. The mall seems to be targeted to housewives, as you cannot really find many hip and exciting brands. As for food, there is a Cafe de Coral (affordable Hong Kong style food), a Hung Fook Tong (health food), and a Saizeriya (Japanese family style, Italian restaurant).

Public transport

The metro (North Point MTR station, B1 exit), the tram (North Point Road (北角道) tram stop on King's road, green round icon on Google Maps), and the main bus stop, Merry Court; King's road (美麗閣; 英皇道), with 30 bus lines, are in close vicinity of the hotel. We didn't plan this, but the nearby North Point ferry pier made it very easy for us to get from Hung Hom to North Point (within minutes and for only HK$7.50), and the A11 bus at the main bus stop on King's road (practically at the back of the hotel) made it easy for us to go to the airport for our trip to Korea. It was also very nice of the hotel to allow us to leave a suitcase in their luggage storage for the entire duration of our trip to Korea and pick it up, when we returned.

Some things to do nearby


North Point is only three metro stops away from Causeway bay, a main shopping area. You can also plan a trip to the nearby Lei Yue Mun (鯉魚門), a small fishing village famous for their seafood restaurants. You can buy your own seafood at market stalls and bring them to the restaurant of your choice for preparation. It is only two stops with the metro (purple line) to Yau Tong station, from where you can take the taxi to Lei Yue Mun, or three stops with the metro (blue line) to Sai Wan Ho, from where you take the ferry to Sam Ka Tsuen Ferry Pier (三家村渡輪碼頭). You can also get good seafood at Sai Kung (西貢), which is a bit further away. It is five metro stops with the purple line to Hang Hau station, where you can take the minibus 101 M, or 7 metro stops with a transfer at Yau Tong station, to Choi Hung station (green line), where you take minibus 1A at exit C2 (source: Discover Hong Kong).
 

 


             

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