Holiday Inn Express Hong Kong SoHo Will Surprise You

If you ask me for a hotel recommendation, 99% of the time I’m likely to suggest a Starwood hotel, because that’s primarily where I stay. However, there are a few times when I have to branch out and Hong Kong is one of those.  I work in the Sheung Wan district on Hong Kong Island and there aren’t a ton of good hotel options within a reasonable price range.

A few weeks ago you might have remembered I had a mini rant about the hotel from hell in Hong Kong and it was because of that nightmare that I found the Holiday Inn Express Hong Kong Soho.

Let’s start at the beginning.  None of the SPG properties are anywhere close to where I need to be. I tried the Courtyard Marriott, which was very nice, but was a very, very long walk to the office and not such a good area at night as everything closed around dusk. I searched and searched for other options within walking distance and couldn’t find any chains.  Someone local suggested a “boutique” hotel which ended up being the hotel from hell.  I tired it and checked out the very next morning.  With 1 more night in Hong Kong, I had to find something asap!

A colleague said, “why aren’t you staying at the Holiday Inn Express?”  I replied that it was too far of a walk.  She gave me an odd look and said it was about two blocks away.  I pulled it up on Google Maps and sure enough, there it was.  It’s a very new hotel and when I was doing my searches based on hotels in the Sheung Wan district, it didn’t come up, the only one I found was the Holiday Inn Express Causeway Bay.   (I did mention this to the hotel’s manager, and he was very happy for the feedback.)

Needless to say, I jumped onto their website and booked a room for the night.  The rate was very reasonable. For $140 USD/night I got the room and breakfast. That’s very good for the area and the season.  This hotel will surprise you, it’s not your everyday Holiday Inn Express.   The hotel has an amazing view from the upper floors so try to get a high floor facing the bay.  My room had an awesome view.  The rooms were much larger than anything I’d found to date in Hong Kong and since everything was new, the room really was nice.   I’m not even sure what status I have with IHG anymore, but it’s pretty low. Even so they allowed me early check in and brought a welcome amenity to my room.

The shower was strange but great at the same time.  The shower door was really odd, but the water pressure was good!  You can’t drink the water in Hong Kong and they had plenty of free drinking water in the room.

The lobby is quite small, but the staff is very helpful and checkin/out was easy.  On the second or third floor there is a community type room that has computers, vending machines, tables and seating area.  This was a great place to sit w/my colleague and get some work done. It was also nice because we could pick up lunch and bring it back and eat there.

There was a breakfast room, the breakfast was just fair, but what you would expect for the rate.  It was extremely crowded so I found myself walking to the Starbucks about two blocks from the hotel and on the way to the office.

I will be back in Hong Kong this year and you can bet I’ll be staying at the Holiday Inn Express SoHo.  It’s a great location, close to public transportation, close to tourist attractions, and best of all, it’s GREEN! The hotel has won many awards for being LEED certified and following GREEN standards.