Where We Stayed in Hong Kong: Dad & Elaine stayed at ibis Hong Kong Central & Sheung Wan โ good value, a relatively spacious room by Hong Kong standards, convenient airport and MTR connections, and everyday local Hong Kong just outside the door.
Some hotels become favorites because they’re luxurious.
Others become favorites because everything just works.
For Dad, ibis Hong Kong Central & Sheung Wan is firmly in the second group.
Good value.
A surprisingly spacious room.
The A11 airport bus nearby.
MTR and Macau ferry within walking distance.
Supermarket, convenience stores, laundry and local food around us.
And perhaps most importantly, a neighborhood Dad actually enjoyed walking around.
Walk east and you get bustling Central (ไธญ็ฐ).
Walk west and you get the Hong Kong Dad prefers.
๐ Why Dad LOVE This Hotel
Dad doesn’t automatically choose the hotel in the busiest, most famous or most central location.
He looks for:
- value for money
- a comfortable room
- convenient transportation
- somewhere easy to eat
- somewhere easy to buy everyday things
- and a neighborhood he actually enjoys exploring.
That’s why ibis Sheung Wan became one of Dad’s favorite Hong Kong hotels.
We stayed here ourselves, and it’s one Dad would happily stay at again.
๐๏ธ First Surprise: The Room Didn’t Feel Tiny
Anyone who has searched for a hotel in Hong Kong will probably have noticed something.
Hotel rooms can be small. Very small. ๐
That’s why Dad was pleasantly surprised by our room at ibis Sheung Wan.
Compared with other Hong Kong hotels of a similar class that Dad has encountered, our room felt relatively spacious.
No, this isn’t a luxury hotel with an enormous suite.
But we didn’t feel as though every square centimeter had been squeezed out of the room either.
For Dad, that’s part of the value equation.
It’s not simply:
How much does the room cost?
It’s:
What am I actually getting for my money?
And here, Dad felt we were getting good value.
๐ฅค Everything We Needed Was Around Us
This is something hotel booking pages don’t always communicate very well.
What happens when you walk outside?
For us, everyday life was easy.
Behind the hotel was a 7-Eleven.
Elaine could pop over and buy drinks whenever she wanted.
There was also a DIY laundry nearby when we stayed, which was extremely useful during a longer journey. Small businesses can change, of course, so check what’s currently operating when you visit.
There were places to eat almost directly across the road.
A supermarket was roughly a five-minute walk away.
And once we started exploring the surrounding streets, we found plenty of:
- local restaurants
- small food outlets
- supermarkets
- convenience stores
- markets
- everyday neighborhood businesses.
You don’t necessarily appreciate these things when you’re choosing a hotel online.
After several days of traveling?
You do. ๐
๐ Even Getting Here From the Airport Was Easy
Another reason Dad likes this location:
we didn’t need an expensive private airport transfer.
The A11 airport bus connects Hong Kong International Airport with Hong Kong Island and stops in the Sheung Wan area.
For us, the relevant bus stop was only about a 7-minute walk from ibis Sheung Wan.
So getting to the hotel was straightforward:
Hong Kong Airport โ A11 bus โ Sheung Wan โ about 7 minutes on foot โ hotel.
And when heading back toward the airport, the bus connection provides another practical option.
This matters when Dad talks about value for money.
Hotel value isn’t only:
How much did we pay for the room?
There’s another question:
How easy โ and how expensive โ is it to actually get there?
For us, ibis Sheung Wan worked well on both.
๐ About 10 Minutes to Sheung Wan MTR
Sheung Wan MTR station (ไธ็ฐ็ซ) was roughly a 10-minute walk from the hotel for us.
That meant we could easily connect with the rest of Hong Kong whenever we wanted to go farther.
Put everything together and we had plenty of transportation choices:
- A11 airport bus โ our stop was about 7 minutes’ walk away
- Sheung Wan MTR โ about 10 minutes’ walk
- Hong KongโMacau Ferry Terminal โ about 10 minutes’ walk
- Hong Kong trams โ right in the neighborhood
- Central โ walk east
- Sai Ying Pun (่ฅฟ็็ค) โ walk west
But Dad increasingly thinks there’s another question worth asking when choosing a hotel:
What can I experience without getting on public transport at all?
And that’s where this location gets interesting.
โด๏ธ About 10 Minutes to the Macau Ferry Too
The Hong KongโMacau Ferry Terminal was also roughly a 10-minute walk from our hotel.
That turned out to be particularly useful because Dad & Elaine actually did a DIY day trip from Hong Kong to Macau.
We walked from the hotel to the ferry terminal, took the ferry to Macau, explored Macau, and returned to Hong Kong by bus across the Hong KongโZhuhaiโMacau Bridge.
๐ Hong Kong to Macau Day Trip: Ferry to Macau, Bus Back to Hong Kong โ Our Step-by-Step Journey
If you’re considering Macau during your Hong Kong stay, we’ve also put together a broader DIY planning guide:
๐ Hong Kong to Macau: How to Plan a DIY Day Trip
For us, being able to walk from the hotel to the ferry terminal made that morning particularly easy.
๐ถ But Here’s the Real Reason Dad Likes the Location
Stand outside the hotel.
You have two choices.
Walk east โ Central.
Walk west โ Sai Ying Pun.
Dad usually walks west. ๐
Walk East: Central Gets Busier
Head east and gradually you move toward Central (ไธญ็ฐ).
More office towers.
More international businesses.
More famous restaurants and bars.
More shopping.
More people.
More buzz.
And generally, higher prices.
Central is absolutely worth exploring.
Dad enjoys going there too.
But Dad doesn’t particularly enjoy staying in the middle of the busiest and most expensive part of a city simply because that’s where visitors are expected to stay.
We can visit Central.
Then walk back.
๐ Walk West: This Is More Dad’s Hong Kong
Now head in the opposite direction toward Sai Ying Pun (่ฅฟ็็ค).
The feeling changes.
This is the direction Dad enjoys exploring.
You start seeing more of an everyday commercial neighborhood:
Local restaurants.
Small businesses.
Markets.
Supermarkets.
Convenience stores.
People buying groceries.
People going to work.
People eating.
People simply getting on with everyday Hong Kong life.
And importantly for Dad:
Local food at more local prices.
Instead of deliberately searching for another famous Hong Kong restaurant, sometimes we’d simply look around and see:
What are people here eating?
That’s much more Dad’s style.
๐ฅข We Even Found Local Food Above the Market
One of the neighborhood experiences Dad enjoyed was visiting a local wet and dry market.
Downstairs was the market.
Upstairs?
Food.
The cooked-food area had the atmosphere of traditional Hong Kong dai pai dong (ๅคง็ๆช) style eating โ straightforward local dishes and people coming in for an ordinary meal.
Nothing fancy.
Nothing designed especially for tourists.
Just:
Lunch.
๐
And that’s exactly why Dad enjoyed it.
๐ท Sometimes the Neighborhood Is the Attraction
There’s another reason Dad likes staying around here.
You can simply walk out with a camera.
Old shopfronts.
Markets.
Trams.
Restaurants.
Deliveries.
Apartment buildings.
People buying vegetables.
Older Hong Kong sitting beside newer Hong Kong.
A neighborhood starting its day.
A neighborhood settling down at night.
None of these necessarily qualifies as a famous Hong Kong “attraction.”
But together they give you something Dad values enormously when traveling:
a chance to watch everyday life happening around you.
Take photographs.
Stop for something to eat.
Look inside the market.
Watch a tram go past.
Or don’t do anything.
Just absorb it.
We felt very safe walking around, and the neighborhood generally felt much less overwhelming to Dad than the busiest parts of Central.
Authentic Local Food โ at Local Prices
Another reason Dad likes staying in Sheung Wan is the food.
You don’t have to rely on hotel breakfasts, shopping-mall restaurants, or places aimed mainly at tourists. Step outside and you’re in an older, lived-in part of Hong Kong where local cha chaan tengs (่ถ้คๅปณ), noodle shops, bakeries, roast-meat shops, dim sum places, and small neighborhood restaurants are part of everyday life.
And importantly, you can still eat at local prices.
For us, that’s part of the appeal of staying here. You’re close enough to Central and the major sights to make sightseeing easy, but when it’s time to eat, you can simply walk around the neighborhood and see where local people are eating.
That’s much more our style of travel.
Dad’s tip: Don’t search only for โbest restaurants near me.โ Walk a few streets away from the main tourist flow, look for a busy little shop full of local diners, and have a look at the menu. Some of our most enjoyable Hong Kong meals come from places we never planned to visit.
And if you’re wondering what Sheung Wan itself is actually like beyond the hotel, read our new Sheung Wan story next. We walk through the neighborhood as travelers โ the streets, food, atmosphere, and the side of Hong Kong you can easily miss if you only commute between famous attractions.
๐ย Read next:ย
๐จ Who Would Dad Recommend ibis Sheung Wan To?
Dad would particularly consider this hotel if you want:
โ Good value on Hong Kong Island
โ A relatively spacious room for this class of Hong Kong hotel
โ An inexpensive airport-bus option within walking distance
โ Sheung Wan MTR within walking distance
โ Easy access to the Hong KongโMacau Ferry Terminal
โ Supermarkets and convenience stores nearby
โ Plenty of local food within walking distance
โ A neighborhood that’s lively without feeling overwhelmingly crowded
โ Everyday Hong Kong scenes outside your hotel
โ Easy access to Central without actually sleeping in the middle of Central
Would Dad recommend it to everyone?
No.
If your priority is luxury, glamorous nightlife immediately downstairs or being right in the middle of Central’s shopping and dining scene, there are better locations for that kind of trip.
But that’s precisely why Dad likes this one.
๐ China Usually Has Another Way
When choosing a Hong Kong hotel, it’s easy to think:
More central = more convenient = better.
Dad looks at it a little differently.
A good hotel should make your trip easy.
But it should also put you somewhere you enjoy being.
For us, ibis Sheung Wan did both.
The airport bus got us close to the hotel.
The MTR was about 10 minutes away.
The Macau ferry was about 10 minutes away.
Everyday necessities were around us.
Local food was around us.
And Central was still close whenever we wanted it.
Walk east when you want the buzz of Central.
Walk west when you want everyday Hong Kong.
Dad usually walks west. โค๏ธ๐
๐๏ธ Check ibis Hong Kong Central & Sheung Wan for Your Dates
Hong Kong hotel prices can change significantly depending on your dates, weekends, holidays and events.
๐ Check ibis Hong Kong Central & Sheung Wan rooms and current prices on Trip.com
This is an affiliate link. If you book through it, ChinaTravelBUG may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Dad recommends this hotel because we stayed here ourselves and genuinely liked both the hotel and its location โ not because of the commission.
๐ More From Our Journeys
Hong Kong to Macau Day Trip โ Ferry There, Bridge Bus Back
Hong Kong to Macau: How to Plan a DIY Day Trip
Where We Stayed โ More Hotels Dad & Elaine Actually Stayed In
Real journeys. Real stories. Real China.
