I stayed at a hotel called Panda Hotel in Tsuen Wan on a recent visit to Hong Kong. It’s quite a unique hotel, especially if you (or your kids) are big fans of pandas.
Hotel Lobby/Reception
The hotel is in a shopping complex building. The hotel lobby and reception is actually located on the 3rd floor of the complex.
There is a reason it’s called the “Panda Hotel”. The hotel certainly doesn’t skimp on the decor in the lobby/reception area. If you are into stuffed animals, you might enjoy this:
Or this:
The hotel even has two pandas sitting in a very pink car.
You can even buy panda-themed souvenirs from the hotel. I decided to pass.
The Executive Twin Room
Due to a mistake I made (more on that in a separate post), I ended up booking an executive room. This included breakfast at the executive lounge.
My initial reaction when I walked into the room was: “Wow, this is a small room.” This is in part due to two reasons:
- The hotel charged a premium for this room type.
- I recently stayed in a standard room at another hotel that was more spacious.
The Handy Phone
The hotel offered a “handy” phone which comes with a local number that you could use during your stay. You could make and receive local calls. It’s a convenient option. You just need to wipe the data at the end of your stay (a phone setting), and it’s easy enough to do.
The Executive Lounge
The executive lounge is located on the 30th floor. The executive lounge serves hors d’oeuvre in the late afternoon hours. If your executive room rate includes breakfast, you can also come up to the lounge for breakfast.
Would I Recommend the Hotel?
I’d recommend the hotel, if you have a need to stay around the Tsuen Wan area and you’re interested in checking out a themed hotel. There is nothing fundamentally wrong with the hotel, though I certainly have higher expectations for the premium rooms.
That said, I wouldn’t go out of my way to stay at Panda Hotel if I am traveling to Hong Kong for business. “Central” is the business district in Hong Kong, and there are plenty of hotel choices in the area. I am also far more inclined to explore other hotels/other areas of Hong Kong for other leisure trips.
Have you stayed at Panda Hotel in Hong Kong? What do you think?
I’ve stayed at the Panda before on a short HKG layover and liked it just fine. Your review misses a few salient points about the hotel. The hotel is located above a mall (as you did mention) with a great number of little shops, tiendas, restaurants, etc. Easy to just pop downstairs and grab something to eat. If you want to get out and walk around Tsuen Wan is actually a neat little relatively authentic neighborhood with everything you could need from pharmacy to McDonalds. There’s a great park and running trail along the waterfront. The hotel actually has a… Read more »
Good points. Thanks for sharing. To be fair, a good number of hotels I stayed in Hong Kong are either inside a shopping complex or near one. Hong Kong is also an eating mecca, so it’s not going to be too challenging find a good place to eat. In that sense, I wouldn’t say the location for Panda is particularly unique in that sense. Same for access on the subway. I like Tsuen Wan and its neighborhood, though, no question about it. Also, you may be able to get some really good rates if you book way ahead of time.… Read more »
I stayed in the Panda Hotel. What a mistake! Long long subway ride from Central. Do not stay here because of the Panda theme because not much more to do with Panda’s then it’s name, Stay away and stay in lower Kowloon or Central area.