Disney’s Hollywood Hotel Hong Kong - Stay Here before the Twilight Zone Hits

My favorite thrill ride at Disney California Adventure and Disney’s Hollywood Studios is the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror.  When I was planning my first trip to Hong Kong Disneyland, I was thrilled to learn that it exists back in time when the Hollywood Hotel was in working order.  I booked Disney’s Hollywood Hotel for that trip and for every trip since.  It’s a beautiful hotel, decorated in the Art Deco style on a very grand scale.

HKDL DHH Full View

HKDL DHH Full View

The Hotel Checklist

Size:  The hotel has approximately 600 rooms, including handicapped accessible rooms, differentiated by views - Park, Garden and Sea.  In the U.S., a premium is charged for a park view room, but in Hong Kong, the Sea View rooms are more expensive.  I’ve been in both rooms and the views of Discovery Bay and the South China Sea are gorgeous, but I still prefer the park view.

HKDL Fireworks from DHH

HKDL Fireworks from DHH

 

Staff:  Everyone in the hotel is very friendly and helpful, from the reception desk to housekeeping.  The Disney customer service quality has definitely been translated to the Hong Kong resort.  From my second stay on, I’ve received a “Welcome Back” button on check-in.  The towel animals so sought after in other Disney hotels are present in new and fun ways, but my favorite Disney touch, was the “Welcome Back” sign spelled out in cursive in pipe cleaners when I entered my room this last trip.

HKDL Hollywood Hotel Towel Animals

HKDL Hollywood Hotel Towel Animals

 

Lobby:  The lobby is full of comfortable furniture and tables, giving it a relaxed feel.  The art, from the wall hangings to the table-top statuettes, is in the Art Deco style and my favorite piece is a screen attached to the wall.  On a previous trip, I had terrible jet lag, and spent quite a bit of time wandering the lobby at 2 am, when no-one was around to distract me from the lobby itself, I was struck by the detail, another Disney hallmark.  There is a children’s area with a television and tiny chairs, too.  Character greetings occasionally occur in the lobby, as well.

HKDL Hollywood Hotel Lobby

HKDL Hollywood Hotel Lobby

 

Children:  For children of all ages, Malibu Games has arcade games.  For day-care type services, Storybook Playroom is a fee-based children’s area (ages 2-12) at the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel (easily accessible by bus or on foot).  In the grounds, there is a large playground area overlooking the South China Sea.

Wi-Fi:  Disney’s Hollywood Hotel offers free wi-fi throughout the hotel, including in the guest rooms.

Grounds: Disney’s Hollywood Hotel has a beautiful piano-shaped pool, with a water slide and hot tub.  The pool has zero-entry access and is long enough to swim laps.  When I first started visiting Disney’s Hollywood Hotel, Goofy would come out to play in the pool with the kids.  Yes, in the pool.  I haven’t ever seen it happen recently though, and Goofy’s pool party is no longer listed on the hotel website, sadly.

HKDL DHH Piano Pool Zero Entry

HKDL DHH Piano Pool Zero Entry

 

The Piano Pool is nestled among the gardens with a lovely view of the Hollywood Hills.  The gardens are lined with walking paths, paved to look like movie reels, and there are photo-ops with “classic cars” up in the Hills.

HKDL DHH Movie Reel Pathways

HKDL DHH Movie Reel Pathways

HKDL DHH Classic Car Photo Op

HKDL DHH Classic Car Photo Op

 

If you’re a runner or walker, you can get a jogging map at the front desk and run along the bay, to Inspiration Lake (more on that in upcoming post), to Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel, and even out to Disneyland.  If you’re a distance runner, you’ll need to do multiple loops, though, because everything is very close, but the views are amazing!  Who can resist running along the bay looking out at Hong Kong?

HKDL View from DHH

HKDL View from DHH

 

Dining/Drinking Options:  The signature restaurant is Chef Mickey, a buffet restaurant with a Chef Mickey Mouse photo-op, like its namesake restaurant at the Contemporary Hotel at Walt Disney World.  I’ve only eaten breakfast there, but it’s an amazing meal and on my must-do list every trip.  There are breakfast foods from regions around the world.  There is a Chinese dim sum section, a noodle bar, an Indian section, a British breakfast section, an American breakfast section, a European continental food section, fresh fruits, pastries, cereals, and more.  I usually have 3 plates, which sounds like a lot (and it is), but I try to take just small amounts of a lot of different foods.

HKDL Hollywood Hotel Chef Mickey Breakfast Buffet

HKDL Hollywood Hotel Chef Mickey Breakfast Buffet

 

Chef Mickey’s at Disney’s Hollywood Hotel is my favorite place to get Mickey waffles (very much the same as any other Mickey waffle), because cinnamon sugar and chocolate syrup are available as toppings.  I sprinkle cinnamon sugar into all of the indentations, then saturate it with chocolate syrup.  Best Mickey waffle ever!

HKDL DHH Chef Mickey Mickey Waffle

HKDL DHH Chef Mickey Mickey Waffle

 

Besides Chef Mickey’s, the Studio Lounge offers cocktails and bar food, and Hollywood & Dine offers counter service meals, with prepackaged snacks and drinks.  I love to get breakfast at Hollywood & Dine, too, because they offer varying types of Hong Kong noodle bowls.

HKDL DHH Hong Kong Breakfast

HKDL DHH Hong Kong Breakfast

 

Merchandise: Celebrity Gifts is the resort gift shop and includes many items that are also available in the parks and also offers the same sales and gift-with-purchase offers that are available in the parks.  Discounts offered to Magic Access holders (Hong Kong Disneyland’s Annual Passholder program) are also offered here.

HKDL Pins

HKDL Pins

 

Accessibility:  As with all Disney resorts, the hotel has accessible rooms and the pool has a zero-entry option.  I’ve stayed in one of the Handicapped Accessible rooms and it was spacious, had an excellent view, with hand rails and plenty of space for stowing a wheelchair or ECV when in the room.

Transportation:  Taking a taxi to Disney’s Hollywood Hotel from Hong Kong International Airport takes about 20 minutes and costs about $15, so this is my recommended way to travel between the two.  The MTR (Hong Kong’s light rail system) can also get you there, but the trip involves 3 transfers (3 trains and 1 bus) and takes about 30 minutes, but costs only about $4 and it does come with a Disney-themed ticket for the trip between Sunny Bay and the Disneyland Resort.  There is also coach service from the airport to the hotel.

General Amenities:  the standard hotel amenities are available, including ATMs, pay phones, dry-cleaning and laundry services, baby-sitting services, a business center, package pick-up (available same-day), mail services (every trip, I ship a box of souvenirs home and Bell services has always taken special care to get the box to me), and more.  Parking is free for guests and, not only that, there is a complimentary electric car charging station, which I haven’t seen at other resorts (yet, complimentary or otherwise).

Park Transportation:  There is a single bus service that takes guests from Disney’s Hollywood Hotel to the Disneyland Park, then loops around to the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel and back to Disney’s Hollywood Hotel.  It is also possible to walk from the hotel to the park.  It’s about a mile walk, either along the South China Sea or the main roads on broad sidewalks with well-maintained landscaping on either side.

HKDL Grizzly Gulch Bus

HKDL Grizzly Gulch Bus

The Room Checklist

The Room:  The rooms are deluxe-sized, with plenty of space around the two double beds (there are also rooms with a king-sized bed) and each holds up to four people.  The kitchen area includes a coffee/tea maker and a mini fridge.  The television is quite large and there are a few English-language channels, if you need to keep up with the other side of the world while you’re away.  For added comfort, there are slippers for each member of your party.  You’ll find your towel animals on your bed and, sometimes, an extra one in the bathroom.

HKDL Hollywood Hotel Beds with Slippers

HKDL Hollywood Hotel Beds with Slippers

 

Toiletries:  As in the Stateside Disney resorts, the toiletries are H2O.  A nice addition to the usual shower gel, shampoo-conditioner, and soap, there is also a set of Disney cups, with adorable Mickey ear lids that hold toothbrushes, cotton swabs, shower caps and hair bands.

HKDL Hollywood Hotel Bathroom Amenities

HKDL Hollywood Hotel Bathroom Amenities

 

Disney’s Hollywood Hotel is my favorite hotel at Hong Kong Disneyland Resort.  I love everything about it.  As soon as I step out of the taxi, I feel like I’m home again.  From the first person who greets me under the porte cochere to the housekeepers who greet me with a smile in the halls, to the bell services cast member who hoists my much-heavier suitcase back into the taxi when I’m on my home, I feel like I’m a welcome guest and they’re happy to have me back and sorry to see me go.

HKDL DHH Mickey Head with Christmas Decorations

HKDL DHH Mickey Head with Christmas Decorations

 

If you have any questions, please post them in the comment section.  If you’d like to see more pictures of Hong Kong Disneyland’s Disney’s Hollywood Hotel, check out our gallery below.

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About George Gensler

George Gensler is a copyrights specialist during the week and a runner on the weekends. She lives in New York City now, but has lived in five countries on three continents. She grew up traveling the world, but her official residence was in Southern California and every visit home included a trip to Disneyland. She has also visited every Disney Park around the world and sailed on board two Disney cruises. She threw in a visit to the Disney Family museum in San Francisco for good measure, and has had the Premier Disney Park Pass since its inception.