We have flown to Australia a few times now so now the girls at aged 3 and 6 they are pretty used to long haul. We have made the epic journey both direct with just a couple of short transit stops, and with layovers. In our experience, if you can afford the holiday leave and time, a layover of a day or two either side is well worth it – at the very least for you to feel refreshed.
For our recent trip to Australia we decided on a stopover in Hong Kong. It’s a 12 hours flight time from the UK and a further 10 hour flight to Australia from Hong Kong.
Researching family friendly hotels in Hong Kong, I found several great possibilities. However, finding a hotel with family room in Hong Kong and with a pool, wasn’t as easy as I first thought it would be. Researching one that could easily fit four was trickier than I thought.
A lot of hotel rooms can fit two adults and a spare bed but not for 2 kids – which raises the cost considerably. For us visiting Hong Kong during August also meant a hotel with a pool was a must. This narrowed down our search considerably. However, on the outbound journey we decided to try the fairly new Hilton Garden Inn Mongkok on Kowloon side of Hong Kong – approximately 30 minutes from the airport.
This Hilton Garden Inn has double bed and twin bed options. The single beds are fairly large and like small doubles – so we were easily accommodated. Like most Hong Kong hotel rooms, space is small but adequate. This room had little space between beds or around the beds, but we did not intend to spend much time in the room.
Rooms have complimentary tea, instant coffee making facilities and bottled water – plus an empty fridge of a decent size to put your own refreshments in. It would have been nice to have some UHT milk or fresh milk sachets provided instead of coffee mate powder – which just doesn’t work with breakfast tea.
The rooms have a TV with a range of channels and the plug sockets are 3 pin UK style. Conveniently, USB charging points are available too. There was no bath in our room but an efficient shower with luxury toiletries.
Garden Inn Mongkok Hong Kong facilities
A Hong Kong hotel with a pool was a priority for us with little ones. So you will be pleased to hear the Hilton Garden Inn in Hong Kong has a rooftop outdoor swimming pool. The pool is open in the morning til 5.30pm.
It would be lovely if the pool was opened a bit later as on our first night we arrived at the hotel just 30 minutes before it closed and on the second day as we were out sightseeing, we only had an hour’s use. A refreshing swim until the sun set would have been very welcome.
Around the pool are 4 or 5 sunbeds and a table with a few chairs and a single parasol. A couple more parasols for people using the sun beds would be a nice extra touch. The pool lends to a city and sea view.
The hotel has a small gym with the essentials and a restaurant and small lobby bar. The lobby bar is next to the reception and has a few tables and chairs but it is a small, but stylish area.
We enjoyed a breakfast buffet upstairs which incorporated western and eastern palates. You could also order a la carte too. The girls loved the waffle maker and enjoyed the process of making their own waffles. Fresh fruit was available, dim sum, yoghurts and an omelette station amongst other choices too.
We didn’t eat dinner at the Eagle’s Garden restaurant, but did experience Dim Sum Sunday lunch which was delicious. It was clearly a popular place to visit for locals and visitors alike and we were lucky to have a table at such short notice. Service was attentive and swift.
The staff made a fuss of the kids in reception and my kids were thrilled when presented with a couple of bags of mini Haribo sweets.
A very handy feature we didn’t need to use were the coin operated washing machines and dryers – a great way to avoid hefty hotel laundry prices.
Overview
The Hilton Garden Inn Mongkok is a mid range hotel which caters for both business and leisure travellers, but is also suitable for families looking for an affordable stay in Hong Kong. Rooms are small, so it is a place to literally rest your head for the night and make the most of exploring Hong Kong.
The immediate surrounding area (Tai Kok Tsui) is a little industrial with workshops etc but a 5-10 minute walk takes you Langham Place – a large shopping, restaurant, cinema complex with everything you may need. The area is within easy access to the iconic Star Ferry, Sneaker Street and Ladies Market.
Read TripAdvisor reviews
Book a room here at the Hilton Garden Inn Mongkok
Disclosure: We were given a press rate on a room only basis for the purpose of this stay. All opinions are my own and are not influenced in any way.
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