“Budget lodging in the middle of Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong”

We initially stayed for 8 nights in this hostel with SMALL but very CLEAN rooms. We returned for 7 more nights. The owners of Australian Guesthouse own 8 hostels in the Chungking Mansion. One of the best things about this hostel is its location. Within 200 feet of the entrance are four shopping cen… Plus

We initially stayed for 8 nights in this hostel with SMALL but very CLEAN rooms. We returned for 7 more nights. The owners of Australian Guesthouse own 8 hostels in the Chungking Mansion. One of the best things about this hostel is its location. Within 200 feet of the entrance are four shopping centers including iSquare, the Tsim Sha Tsui subway station, and lots of restaurants. The Kowloon Promenade is only two blocks away. Our room had air conditioning, a mini-refrigerator, in room safe and EXCELLENT wi-fi. The entire hostel is non-smoking. There were about 8 TV channels. I booked a double room. Since the rooms are very small, the luggage is stored under the bed. When we checked in the host first showed us a double room and said since we were staying for 8 nights, he would give us a room for 3 so that we could put our suitcases on the remaining bed. The staff was mostly from India and was very friendly. Chungking Mansions has about 80 guesthouses (hostels). At the entrance there are lots of people trying to lure you to their guesthouse or sell knock-off watches. It can be overwhelming. We got used to it. They are just doing their jobs. The first two levels are a large shopping center with small stalls and some restaurants. There are two money exchange stalls at the entrance. Do not use these or others along the street. They give only 7.08 HKD per USD. There are several additional money change booths inside (20 or so total) which give 7.74 HKD per USD. This is a difference of about 8.5 USD per 100 USD. There are people from all over the world either visiting or working in Chungking Mansion. Be aware that the entire building is divided into 5 towers or blocks. The Block on the address indicates which set of elevators to go to. One elevator in each block services the odd floors. The other elevator services the even floors. The elevators are small and often run full. I have seen on-line horror stories of having to wait half hour to get an elevator. The most I had to wait was 10 minutes. Usually the wait was 5 minutes or less. A trick can be that if your even elevator is full, take the odd elevator to the above or below floor and take one flight of stairs.

Moins