Hong Kong Prices

I read with keen interest your Travel section week after week, and as a world traveler I find some of the information erroneous. About Hong Kong in particular, the Beyer-Rabey item June 9 regarding hotel rates, I can tell you firsthand that the prices quoted are so far incorrect that it is almost humorous. Try to get a room at the Peninsula for as little as $128. True, they pick you up at the airport, but there is a $10 U.S. charge for this service. It is not free by any stretch of the imagination. The Grand Hotel is a very nice place, but because it is small it is almost impossible to get reservations, even through a good travel agency.

But one of the things people will learn firsthand when they do go to Hong Kong and try for a good deal at any decent hotel is that they tell you yes, we have special rates for corporations that are listed as regular clients. Otherwise you pay the higher going rate. I can assure you that the Regal Meridien, as a good example, has singles for as little as $85 a day, and the Hyatt, too, has rates comparable. But don’t expect a room with a view.

Hong Kong is a delightful place to spend time, one of the great places in the world. But it is not as inexpensive as the article seemed to indicate. Even the third-rate hotels, with tiny rooms that face inside courts, are not inexpensive by our standards. What applies to Hong Kong also applies to Singapore, Bangkok, Taipei and Tokyo.

HENRY N. EHRLICH

Los Angeles