Rai Lei Hotel

The location was fantastic, right beside Mongkok MTR station. The room was in okay shape, though there were marks on the wall and sometimes an odour from the toilet, which we think came from the ventilator. There was no kettle or bottled water, so we had to buy bottled water every day. Overall, a satisfactory hotel.

We stayed here at Christmas in 2019, six of us: four adults, one child, and one elderly person. We booked a family room for six. It was clean, the sheets were clean, and every bed had a blanket. There was a toilet in the room, with automatic hot and cold water, and free hot and cold drinking water outside the room. No electric kettle or refrigerator, but that wasn’t a problem. You can ask reception for hot water, and the woman there was very helpful, even though she didn’t speak English and tried to understand what we wanted. Getting there by bus from the airport was easy on the number 21. Get off at stop 7 or 8 on Nathan Rd. Both work since Rai lei is between them, though stop 8 is easier, opposite the Grand plaza mongkok. One small thing to know: the entrance has about 20 steps up to the second floor, and you carry your own bags. Then there’s a small elevator to the fourth floor reception. After that, you have to carry the luggage again up to the fifth floor room. For our family it wasn’t a big deal, and the place was comfortable. Mongkok market, restaurants, and the MTR subway train were all close enough to walk to.

Getting into the room was a struggle from the start: the elevator was out, so we had to climb four flights. The bathroom glass had what looked like half-washed vomit on it, there was grime around the shower faucet, and the beds had hair, dirt, and other specks all over them. The room smelled sickening, and we had to squeeze everyone into one room. There was no drinking water, the TVs didn’t work, and we got just one towel. Toothbrushes, shower caps, and razors were missing too. The photos were extremely misleading. I can’t believe Qantas and TripAdvisor advertise this place. Easily the most disgusting hotel I’ve stayed in. I definitely wouldn’t recommend it in Mong Kok, Hong Kong.

What we remember most is how the staff helped us after we left a briefcase with a laptop and our passports on a bus. We noticed it was missing two and a half hours later and raised the alarm. The administrator stayed involved through the night, contacting the City bus company, and somehow they tracked everything down. We managed across English, Chinese, and Russian with translators on phones and tablets. We’re deeply grateful to the hotel staff and bus company for being so honest and understanding. We’ll stay here on our next trip and recommend it to others. You’ll be safe at the Rai Lei Hotel. Thank you. Our stay was on April 26, 2015, with my husband. The location is excellent, right by bus stop No. 21. The room was clean, had all the amenities, and had hot water.