Family Vacation: Hong Kong (Disney Hollywood Hotel)

We rode a cab from Hong Kong airport to Disney's Hollywood Hotel, where we stayed for just one night. This was a bit of a splurge since we could have gotten a nicer hotel in the city for the price we paid here. However, the hotel was a really fun place if you have kids or if you are a kid at heart. There were hidden Mickeys everywhere and the decor was all Mickey inspired. Plus it was close to the theme park and there were shuttle buses going back and forth, so it was easy to go back to the hotel when the kids were tired or were wanting to nap or rest. We also got the two-day tickets so we didn't have to rush around the park and could explore it at a leisurely pace.

For those of you planning to visit Hong Kong Disneyland, do consider staying at the hotel and getting two-day tickets. Room rates start at HKD1650 (Php8700) per night for a garden view room at Hollywood Hotel, breakfast not included. I suggest getting park view rooms, which was a bit more expensive than the garden view room but cheaper than the sea view room. You can actually watch the fireworks from the comforts of your room! Of course, it won't be as amazing as when you watch from inside the theme park, but it was still awesome. And it worked really well for us since Ally gets spooked by fireworks. Sayang naman if we miss it, diba? Not only did we get to watch the fireworks from our room, we didn't have to worry about the kids being exposed to the elements in the chilly January night. Less worries for me!

Park view room at the Disneyland Hollywood Hotel

Cribs are free of charge, subject to availability though

The room was very child-friendly - no scary corners to be worried about!

Infant/toddler-appropriate Disney Jr was available on TV

Our view of the fireworks 

The beds were perfect, not too soft and not too firm.
Sofia gave it a thumbs up after a good night's sleep! 

What I love with this hotel was that the hotel itself can entertain you with its amenities. It has a huge outdoor pool (which unfortunately was closed for maintenance), expansive sprawling gardens decorated with classic cars (perfect for photo ops), a kid-friendly game room, outdoor playground, a gift shop, and hotel restaurants where you can actually dine with Disney characters. If these aren't enough, you can hop on the shuttle to go to the other Disney hotel, the Hong Kong Disneyland Hotel, which is a more posh, slightly more expensive hotel (compared to the Hollywood Hotel). Now this hotel has a spa, an indoor pool (which will undergo maintenance from end March to April 2013), live music entertainment, outdoor basketball court and tennis court, storybook playroom and a Mickey Mouse maze.

We weren't able to go to the Disneyland Hotel since we opted to spend our whole day at the theme park instead. Of course, we made time for a mini-pictorial session at the Hollywood Hotel's lobby and gardens with their classic cars.

Even the bench had touches of Mickey!

The two-day tickets on the other hand, allow you to visit the park on any two days within a 7 day period (so it is not necessary to visit the park on consecutive days). And if you are thinking that it is twice the price of the the single-day ticket, you are wrong! One-day ticket costs HKD399 (Php2100) for adults but two-day tickets costs HKD499 (Php2620). See? Not bad for an extra day in Disneyland, right?

Check out their website because they currently have a hotel room + 2-day ticket promo. Rates start at HKD2532 (Php13200) for 2 adults. They also have early booking discounts. I booked our room more than 45 days in advance so I got a 20% discount. Good deal, no? Oh, and like most hotels, the room rates are slightly more expensive Fridays and Saturdays. So if your travel dates are flexible, better to stay during weekdays for additional savings.

More of our Hong Kong trip on the next post!