Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel - A Classic Comes to Life in Hong Kong

I have always loved the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel from afar (well, not really afar, because I run past it every trip I make to Hong Kong Disneyland), but on my recent trip (November 2014), I decided it was time to stay there (a very cheap airfare made it possible within my usual budget).  It’s a beautiful hotel, modeled after the Grand Floridian at Walt Disney World, which was modeled after the Hotel del Coronado in Coronado, California.  The theme is Victorian, from the costumes to the decorations.

HKDL Disneyland Hotel View from Sea

HKDL Disneyland Hotel View from Sea

The Hotel Checklist

Size:  The hotel has approximately 400 rooms, including handicapped accessible rooms, differentiated by views:  Garden, Landscaping, and Sea (with or without balcony), plus Fantasia and Kingdom.  Fantasia Rooms have king-sized beds and Jacuzzi tubs and are for couples (or singles).  Kingdom Club is the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel club, or concierge, level.  There are rooms and suites in the Kingdom Club class, with Garden or Sea views.  While I prefer a park view, the more expensive rooms are the Sea view rooms.

HKDL Disneyland Hotel Balcony View

HKDL Disneyland Hotel Balcony View

 

Conference Rooms:  The Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel has conference space available for business meetings, weddings, etc.

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.  The towel animals so sought after in other Disney hotels are present in new and fun ways.

HKDL Disneyland Hotel Towel Animals

HKDL Disneyland Hotel Towel Animals

 

Lobby:  The lobby is full of comfortable, but elegant, furniture and tables.  It is very reminiscent of Walt Disney World’s Grand Floridian.  There is a children’s area with a television and tiny chairs, too.  Character greetings occasionally occur in the lobby, as well.

Children:  For day-care type services, Storybook Playroom is open (free to hotel guests) for children aged 2-12.  There are activity sessions for most of the day and a Disney Storytime is offered each evening in three different languages.  The Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel is also home to the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique.  In the grounds, there is a large playground area overlooking the South China Sea.

Wi-Fi:  The Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel offers free wi-fi throughout the hotel, including in the guest rooms.

Grounds:  The Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel has two pools, one indoor and one outdoor.  The outdoor pool has a water slide and hot tub.  The pool has zero-entry access and is long enough to swim laps.  There are gardens all around, but the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel is most famous for its Mickey Maze, a shrub labyrinth (about 4 ½ feet tall) that guests can wander through and around.

HKDL Disneyland Hotel Garden Labyrinth Close-up

HKDL Disneyland Hotel Garden Labyrinth Close-up

 

There are also tennis courts and a “multicourt” for which you can borrow basketballs or soccer balls.  There is a gym inside the hotel, as well.  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 coming post), to Disney’s Hollywood 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 Sea Wall and View

HKDL Sea Wall and View

 

Dining/Drinking Options:  The signature restaurant is the Crystal Lotus, an elegant Chinese restaurant that serves Disney dim sum on the weekends.  I’ve only eaten dim sum here, but if the rest of the menu is any indication, the food is well-made, properly seasoned, and delicious.  Walt’s Café is a more casual dining experience, but the food choices are pretty top-notch.  I only had dessert here, but the special hot chocolate is delicious and the trio of Disney desserts is one of the best desserts I’ve had on property.  For character dining, The Enchanted Garden offers buffets at breakfast and dinner, with two seatings for each meal.

Walt's Cafe Trio of Desserts

Walt’s Cafe Trio of Desserts

 

Merchandise:  Kingdom 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.

Toy Story 2 Outfit

Toy Story 2 Outfit

 

Accessibility:  As with all Disney resorts, the hotel has accessible rooms and the pool has a zero-entry option.

Transportation:  Taking a taxi to the Hong Kong Disneyland 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 the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel to the Disneyland Park, via Disney’s Hollywood Hotel, then back to the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel.  It is also possible to walk from the hotel to the park.  It’s about a 10-minute walk, either along the South China Sea or the main roads on broad sidewalks with well-maintained landscaping on either side.

Mystic Point Bus

Mystic Point Bus

The Room Checklist

The Room:  The rooms are deluxe-sized, with plenty of space around the two double beds (only Standard, Fantasia, and Kingdom Club rooms have the option of a king-sized bed) and each holds up to four people, except the Fantasia rooms, which hold up to two people.  The kitchen area includes a coffee/tea maker and a mini fridge.  The television is quite big 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 Disneyland Hotel Sea View Room

HKDL Disneyland Hotel Sea View Room

 

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 a basket of Seven Dwarfs boxes with additional amenties, including a toothbrush and toothpaste, comb, cotton swabs, sewing kit, etc.

HKDL Disneyland Hotel Bathroom Amenities

HKDL Disneyland Hotel Bathroom Amenities

 

In the bathroom is a Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs mirror, with each of the characters displayed around the frame.

HKDL Disneyland Hotel Bathroom Mirror Detail - Snow White

HKDL Disneyland Hotel Bathroom Mirror Detail - Snow White

 

My favorite themed item in the room is the tissue dispenser.  I’m sure you can guess why, but here’s the photo, because it’s just so darn cute!

HKDL Disneyland Hotel Sneezy Tissue Dispenser

HKDL Disneyland Hotel Sneezy Tissue Dispenser

 

While I prefer Disney’s Hollywood Hotel, the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel is charming and luxurious and formal and I wouldn’t say no to a future visit, if the airfare cooperated again.  I would certainly love to experience Kingdom Club level and explore the grounds more.  I would try to schedule in an afternoon tea in the Grand Salon, too. The very Victorian Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel is just made for enjoying afternoon tea.

HKDL Disneyland Hotel Lobby Christmas Tree

HKDL Disneyland Hotel Lobby Christmas Tree

 

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 Disneyland Hotel, check out our gallery below.  Note: the photo gallery requires Flash Player, click here to view all the photos if your device is not Flash equipped.

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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.