Bluejay Residences Ap Lei Chau

It was cheap, and as a place just to sleep, it was good value for money. But the room was unbelievably tiny, about as wide as a double bed and twice as long. The shower was difficult to use in such a cramped space, and there was virtually nowhere to store clothes. It might be fine for a night or two, but we stayed 10 nights. The walls were paper-thin, and we woke every day to workmen renovating the two rooms next to us. The location was excellent, right by the MTR, but the local area had few facilities, with only a few restaurants and no bars.

I stayed at Bluejay for a week and ended up with bed bug bites. I'd only ever dealt with mosquito bites before, and because I have allergies, I mistook the rash for an ordinary allergic reaction. If I'd known they were bed bugs, I wouldn't have stayed the whole week. They ruined my trip, and now I have to pay extra to get rid of the problem. I still have some scars that haven't fully healed. The place was super dirty, too. The TVs, shelves, windows, and bathroom were never cleaned, and thick dust greeted me. There was housekeeping, but they only changed the towels and bedsheets and didn't clean anything else. Even on a budget, please make a better choice for yourself.

The room was supposed to have two beds, but I opened the door and could reach them in less than a step. I had to lift my suitcase toward the window because the room was extremely tiny. The table was so small that I kept knocking over the water boiler, and the fridge didn't work properly, so I had to throw out newly bought ice cream. There were no eating utensils, so I'd have to spend extra if I wanted food in the room. Because of the lack of space, I ended up spending more on meals out and extra time at cafes to do emails and reading. In practice, my costs were about as high as staying at a four-star hotel. The room, at least mine, wasn't soundproof, and luckily I'd brought earplugs, another possible extra cost. I booked through Trip.com, which gave me no option for a partial refund even when I wanted to cancel early because the living conditions didn't suit me. I wish I'd booked a shorter stay first to see whether I liked the place.

It's good value and close to an MTR station. A useful base for budget travelers visiting Ocean Park, and only a few stops from central Hong Kong Island and Tsim Sha Tsui. You can also take sampans to the Aberdeen area. One tip: avoid the awful hostels that claim to be well located in places like WanChai, Causeway Bay, Jordan, and Tsim Sha Tsui. Some are overpriced, uncomfortable, and unhygienic, with terrible dorms and rooms spread across a few floors of old mansions.