Australian Guest House

We booked two rooms at the Australian Guest House and stayed three nights, but after just one night we moved to another hotel. It was the most nightmarish guest house and room I’ve ever encountered. The website photos were outdated and misleading, and the entrance is inside a public market. Many local people pass through the building, and the lift is terrible. We often waited 10 minutes because residents use it too. I understand that’s typical of old Hong Kong buildings, but guests should at least be told about it beforehand. When we arrived at reception, we were horrified to see rats and cockroaches running along the stairs and exits. Both rooms, described as family size, were in terrible condition. One of my brother’s rooms had a leak, possibly from a toilet upstairs, and one bed had bed bugs. I tried speaking with the owner, but he was rude and completely unprofessional. Instead of explaining or offering help, he just told us to complain to Agoda. I hadn’t wanted to leave a bad review because this was meant to be a good vacation, but the experience was awful enough that we left after one night and booked another hotel.

The room was small, but that fits the price for a place in the heart of Hong Kong. Cleanliness was what had us nervous, but everything was okay. The staff were very friendly, and the location is great.

Budget-priced, with a small room. It could suit a solo backpacker, but I wouldn’t recommend it for women. Although it’s in the Tsim sha tsui area, the guest house is part of a large, crowded building without much privacy. The lift is slow and busy, so there can be a bit of a wait. Water is available in the common area.

The building is close to the train station and right in the city center. Keep in mind that the hotel is only on the 16th floor; the ground floor is full of stalls, mostly selling Indian food. I personally didn’t like the smell in that area, so I wore a face mask whenever we went out. The reception transactions were straightforward, though I don’t think they operate 24 hours. Once, nobody was there. The room wasn’t spacious, but that seemed fair for the price. They changed our towels every day. Still, I don’t think cleanliness should be sacrificed just because a hotel costs less. My aunt picked it because the photos looked nice and the price was competitive, but the room had an unpleasant smell, possibly coming from outside through the window, and the view wasn’t nice. There were stains on the walls, the refrigerator seemed unclean so we chose not to use it, and the bathroom was cramped and hard to move around in while showering. There was mold along the floor edges. One time, a cleaner seemed to have left something sticky or oily on the floor. I personally don’t recommend it. Based on our experience, the low price wasn’t worth it. I’d suggest adding a little to the hotel budget for a better place. I’ve stayed in lots of cheap hotels, and, sorry to say, this was one of the worst, even though one of the receptionists was from my country.