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 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.
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 very decent pool area. It’s not a resort but it’s quite spacious, has good sunlight and is clean with comfortable loungers. Try getting that at a Central hotel. Adjacent is an ok workout area.
Access is relatively simple from HKIA but does require a change or two. Not more than 20 minutes though and then a 5 minute stroll on the elevated walkways to the hotel.
For the price (around $70) it really is hard to beat if you don’t absolutely have to be in Central.
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. The lowest I’ve seen is about $100 with all the fees (and I know this because I actually made a mistake and booked a year ahead). So I ended up paying a premium last minute rate (area hotels were sold out) for my mistake and AND upgraded to an executive room, so it was more like 3.5 times that. So, I wouldn’t say I’ve gotten the best value for this visit.
I like Panda Hotel enough. I’m just more inclined to try out another hotel in Tsuen Wan, perhaps the newer L’hotel Nina Et Convention Centre.