I am going to take my girlfriend to HK for the first time next month.

What is the best area to book a hotel for general sightseeing,shopping,etc.

Also any idea on the best things to see and do .

Cheers

Nathan Road, Kowloon should meet your needs.

Just stayed (March) at the Gold Coast in Hong Kong. It is a nice resort, but away from everything. Paid 450HKD/night which is exceptional, but was with a group, and off season.

SoCal is right, lower end of Nathan Road.

My all time favorite, Holiday Inn Golden Mile (50 Nathan Road) This hotel has basically no view, except into neighbours' windows, but LOCATION, in the mid of everything.

Price? I paid as low as HK$ 750 and did not go last month, as season rate around 1200.

The Empire Hotel in Tsum Sha Tsui, about 150 m off Nathan Road No. 100, (around Miramar hotel)should be the farthest I would take for shopping, if you wsh to go back and forth. Small but modern rooms.

Check on some web-pages for HKG-hotels. As said, preferably around Nathan Road, from Sheraton Towers to Miramar Hotel, or Canton Road, from HKG-Hotel (expensive) down to Royal Pacific Hotel and Towers. here are lot's of smaller hotels with harbour view and you can walk indoors using travelators.

Anyway, careful, room rates always changing due seasons, special eents etc.

There are some not so bad hotels in the Wanchai area, but perhaps you would not want to walk with GF at night time, from bar to bar til you reach the hotel (OK, it's not so bad), after Wanchai comes Cuaseway-bay, lot's of hotels and shopping, but the area is crowded.

Ah, shopping, What do you want to buy? HKG is expensive.

Sightseeing, use the ferry from TST (Tsim Sha Tsui) to HKG-side and go up by peaktram to The Peak (only on clear day).

Spend a day in the Oceanpark for fun (tickets can be bought in major MTR-stations (subway) and there are buses going there.

Have a look into this line, one of many:

http://www.discoverhongkong.com/eng/bob/2004/index.jhtml

Now don't laugh at this,but I just stayed at the YMCA in Kowloon.It's downtown and only a min walk to the star ferry or the MTR.It's as good as any 4 star hotel I have ever stayed in. It was over HKD1000 per night,but that was during the rugby 7's weekend so it was high season.I had a fantastic view over the harbour.

here is the link.

Hotel HKG

Rob,

Is your GF Thai?

I took my Thai GF to Hong Kong for a few days, we had such a good time we ended up extending to a week, and then surprised ourselves with another 2 days in Macau (trip refunded by the Lisboa Casino )

When you first arrive - buy an OCTOPUS card from the MTR station outside arrivals and put a few hundred HK$ on it. This is the card that gives you seamless travel throughout HK - MTR, buses, trams, ferries - you can even swipe it for a drink from a vending machine.

Highlights:

Po Lin Monastery on Lantau Island - There is a massive seated Buddha (hence my TGF loved it) which is at the top of a mountain. Probably easiest to include that in a package full day Lantau Island tour, if you don't know your way around the Outlying Island Ferries.

Shopping in Mongkok: Take the MTR to Mongkok Station, which will be easy if you are staying in Kowloon. Look for the exit to the Ladies Market. Great for cheap gear, handbags, watches clothes etc.

THE STAR FERRY. The cheapest, most stunning, harbour crossing in the world. Pay the extra few cents and go on the upper deck. This will bring you from Kowloon over to Central, where you can then walk about, or catch buses/trams etc to other attractions on the Island (Peak, Stanley, Wanchai, Ocean Park, etc etc)

Go to Stanley for lunch. Catch a bus there from Central. Walk around the markets then have lunch or liquid refreshments in one of the many beachside cafes/bars.

Evenings: Have pre-dinner drinks in SOHO at any pub, or LKF (Lan Kwai Fong). Choose a restaurant for dinner there or in the mid-levels (take the escalator). Wed night is good to go out, Ladies night means cheap or free drinks for her. Take advantage of Happy Hours, because its not cheap to water yourself in HK>

Later in the evening there are pubs and clubs in Central, or Wanchai if you're a late night fiend.

plenty to do in HK!!!

Now don't laugh at this,but I just stayed at the YMCA in Kowloon

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

No laughter necessary - by all reports the "Y" is one of the better mid range hotels to stay in. Everyone I have heard from that stayed there gave it nothing but praise.....