This trip to Hong Kong basically originated from a failed plan to visit Guam due to flight schedules and prices. The main purpose was very simple: I just wanted to see what Hong Kong looks like nowadays. Whether revisiting old haunts or simply enjoying the scenery, there were no other specific goals. As a result, the itinerary was quite packed yet very casual—essentially a trip filled with strolling and eating.
Hongqiao Airport Terminal 1 used to be old, small, and run-down. Unexpectedly, with the opening of the newly renovated Building A in March this year, it has suddenly become the international terminal with the highest construction standards in China. The duty-free shops and VIP lounges inside are spacious enough, and the environment is pleasant. Sunrise Duty Free is basically the cheapest place in Asia to buy skincare products; in fact, Beats headphones and similar items can be found at 30% off, which is even cheaper than in Hong Kong. Don’t hesitate—if you pass by, just shop, shop, shop!
The flight time from Shanghai to Hong Kong is about the same as flying to Changchun, roughly 2 hours and 10 minutes. In such a short duration, there’s nothing particularly special; both the aircraft and the in-flight meals are no different from domestic flights. The only difference was an extra Cornetto ice cream cone. On the return flight, it was Häagen-Dazs—does that mean Häagen-Dazs is cheaper in Hong Kong?…
Upon arriving in Hong Kong, we hurried to eat at Tsui Wah. Tsui Wah is located on the second floor of the airport, offering a view of the level below~~~ Then we bought Octopus cards. Although the Octopus card has a fairly wide range of uses and is convenient, it’s essentially equivalent to cash because you can only use cash to purchase or top up the card….
We stayed at Hotel Indigo Hong Kong Island this time, redeeming a room with points. We chose this hotel over the InterContinental and others for a few reasons: first, the Grand InterContinental requires a huge number of points and is quite dated; second, although the Grand InterContinental boasts unbeatable sea views, even with a one- or two-tier upgrade on a points redemption, you still wouldn’t get a proper sea-view room. Plus, it’s a bit of a walk from there to the MTR station and dining areas. One day while passing by, I noticed construction sites surrounding the Grand InterContinental on all four sides, and I felt relieved that we hadn’t stayed there.
As for the Indigo brand, it’s all about experiencing neighborhood life. Its location reflects this perfectly: on one side is Queen’s Road East, with upscale McLaren and Rolls-Royce dealerships right at the doorstep; on the other side is Tai Yuen Street, Hong Kong’s famous Toy Street. That’s the vibe—extremely down-to-earth… Every time we headed to Wan Chai MTR Station, we had to walk through this stretch first.
The building on the right is Hotel Indigo.
The hotel lobby is very small, but the front desk and concierge staff were extremely friendly—far better than expected. Half of the Ground Floor is leased to another restaurant. The hotel building itself isn’t large overall, with only eight rooms per floor, meaning four of them are actually corner rooms. Half of the 1st floor is also leased to a restaurant, while the other half houses a tiny gym equipped with just two treadmills and a few dumbbells.
Our points redemption room was upgraded by one tier to a Deluxe Room. At around 35 square meters, it’s not considered small for Hong Kong. It maintains Indigo’s signature style, which is quite nice. With panoramic floor-to-ceiling windows on two sides, although there isn’t much of a view outside since the building is squeezed into a narrow gap, it still feels pretty cool. The TV comes with a B&O speaker and includes a 3.5mm audio cable, though unfortunately iPhones no longer have that port. Right next to the TV is the sink area, which is very compact.
It seems the tea sets in every shop are quite interesting.
The member welcome gift was Kee Wah Bakery nougat presented in a small bamboo steamer…
This hotel is most famous for its cantilevered pool on the 29th floor, but the pool is so small too.
The adjacent building—the weather is truly beautiful.
Opposite the 29th-floor pool is a bar that only opens at night. It’s also quite small, and there’s absolutely no view outside the window. We received a welcome drink, so we went to check it out~~
Living in downtown Hong Kong really means living in the cracks between buildings.
By the way, the hotel provides this device called Handy. It’s essentially an Android phone, but it uses a virtual phone number. Each time a new guest starts using it, all data is reset, and a virtual number is assigned. You can use it to make and receive calls, and calls to Hong Kong or Mainland China are free, as is internet access. The device comes with some pre-installed apps, including restaurant reservations, coupons, maps, etc. However, because the hardware is quite outdated, it runs very slowly. Moreover, since roaming data packages for Hong Kong now typically offer unlimited data anyway, there isn’t much need to use it. To make matters worse, its hotspot feature only allows sharing for 30 minutes at a time, which is a real rip-off. I mostly just carried it around to make phone calls.
In summary, although Hotel Indigo is far less renowned than the Grand InterContinental and doesn’t house as many Michelin-starred restaurants, for those who don’t want to stay in a business-style hotel, switching things up to experience local Hong Kong character is a great choice.
Photos in this post taken with SONY A5100 + 16-50 f3.5-5.6 + iPhone 7, post-processed in Lightroom.
Support
