Woo Sung Street
“Evergreen…”
The shuttle bus driver said as the shuttle stopped at Woo Sung Street. The other passengers were not moving. I stood up and told Mama that we’re supposed to get off the bus. It took her a minute before she followed me and she was laughing as she alighted the vehicle.
“Dito na ba talaga tayo? (Are we staying here?) ‘Di ko alam na dito pala (I didn’t know that we’re staying here),” she said laughing.
“I thought we were in Binondo,” added Mama.
Okay, the surroundings of Evergreen Hotel, which is near the night market at Temple Street, resembled those of the Philippines’ China Town in Binondo. But of course, both have Chinese influences. We were after all in the Special Administrative Region of China–Hong Kong.
I assured Mama that I’ve read good reviews about Evergreen, even reviews from Filipinos. Those reviews given by fellow Pinoys and the reviews in TripAdvisor helped me decide to book this hotel, which ranked #116 out of the 338 hotels in TripAdvisor.
We approached the reception and showed our booking reservation.We had our reservations prior to our arrival. It turned out that it was not still credited. The Chinese receptionist asked us to pay in HKD cash. This was a bit of a hassle for us. Good thing, we had enough for the payment.
I booked their promo: 3 nights twin bedroom with airport pick-up and daily buffet breakfast on their website, which summed up to HKD 2,122 (Php 12,000=Php 4,000/night x 3 nights Note that price was quoted December 2010). It’s not the cheapest hotel that you can find but we got good values for the price that we paid.
There were a lot of backpacker inns at Chungking and Mirador Mansions along Tsim Sha Tsui. However, I read not-so-good stories about staying there. Since I’m traveling with Mama, I want to ensure that we have a comfortable, clean, and decent accommodation.
We were ushered to our tiny room, which has a 14 square-meter floor area. The bed sheets were clean. The pillows were fluffy. There’s a mini-fridge, complimentary tea/coffee and a flatscreen TV.
I checked out the bathroom. The bathroom showed that the hotel was a bit old but it was maintained well.
The amenities in the comfort room were basic: Shower cap, toothpaste, toothbrush, shaving cream
BUFFET BREAKFAST
The following morning, we proceeded to the Evergreen Hotel Cafe for breakfast. Wow! There were so many to choose from: Hard-boiled eggs, baked potatoes, noodles, salad, cereals, bread, sausage, coffee, tea, milk, orange juice.
We even met a Filipino family, who were staying there as well. Anna and Carlo were also spending their holidays with their kids. They came from Bermuda in the United States, where they work, and chose to spend their vacation in Hong Kong before visiting their relatives in the Philippines.
The downside of the buffet breakfast: They serve the same menu everyday. So it’s up to you on how you’ll schedule eating noodles, rice, or cereals.
WIFI-ZONE
-Yes, there’s wifi in the hotel. The signal even reached the room. During our stay here, I became mayor on Foursquare. 
LOCATION: Woo Sung Street
-It’s near the night market at Temple Street
-Walking distance to Jordan MTR Station, near Yau Ma Tei
-When you walk out of the hotel, you’ll find Delicious Cafe, hawker food stalls, and other eateries, which serve delectable Chinese cuisine.
HOW TO GET HERE from Hong Kong International Airport:
-The hotel pick-up from the airport service was one of the reasons why we chose this hotel. The pick-up is included in the room package. So we didn’t have a hard time commuting from Lantau Island to Kowloon Island.
But since the HKIA was so huge, we were a bit lost at first. Here were the tips:
1. Never hesitate to ask.
2. Find the hotel desk at the airport.
3. Find Bay 27 Hotel Shuttle Bus Exit.
4. Ride the hotel shuttle bus. You will be riding with other visitors from other hotels.
5. Enjoy the scenery from Lantau to Kowloon
