Historic Shek Kip Mei Estate to open its doors to backpackers
But travellers can expect to pay at least double the rates of other YHA hostels, which the association says is reasonable given its location
Backpackers and budget travellers staying at a soon-to-open youth hostel in a converted public housing block will pay at least double the amount charged in other hostels.
But the Youth Hostels Association, which has taken over Mei Ho House, the last remaining block of the historic Shek Kip Mei Estate, says the prices will be reasonable given its urban location.
It will start taking guests from October 24 but it will be open for public visits two days before.
Characterised by two identical wings linked by a cross-piece forming an H-shaped complex, the building has 129 rooms including multi-bed dormitories and double rooms, a museum on public housing, communal space and an outdoor sitting area.
The association said yesterday it would wait until the last minute to disclose the room rates for commercial reasons.
But association chairman Michael Wong Yik-kam said the price "will be at least double the rates of the six other hostels also run by the association". The prices would make reference to the rates of hotel rooms in the same district and the ability of overseas and local guests to pay, he said.
A stay at the Jockey Club Mt Davis Youth Hostel, perched 269 metres up Mount Davis in Pok Fu Lam, costs from HK$120 a night for a dormitory bed to HK$540 for a double room for association members. The average hotel rate in the city was HK$1,489 last year, according to the Tourism Board.